A board member for Women Out West says the restructure of the centre’s model was “necessary” and has been dealt with “professionally” and “reasonably”.

Six members of staff have been made redundant from Women Out West in Whitehaven and have spoken out about their experience.

READ MORE: 'Devastated' staff speak out after being made redundant from Women Out West

Emma-Jayne Gooch, a Women Out West board member, said the allegations made by former staff members were “not true”.

She said: “The restructure was necessary for reasons which have already been publicised. While such processes are difficult, WoW approached it professionally and reasonably. 

“The allegations are not true, or fact-based but we don’t believe it is appropriate or helpful to comment further.

“The process is complete, and we are now focused on providing a service for women which was already a valuable service and will now enable more women to benefit faster.”

A statement was released by Time To Change West Cumbria, which runs Women Out West, last week.

It said: “ Time to Change West Cumbria Project is a small social enterprise who set up and run projects for those in need in our community.

 “As most voluntary projects, securing ongoing funding can be challenging and we need to continually develop and improve to ensure the best service for all of our clients needing our services.

“At Women Out West, one of our projects, we have recently undergone a consultation to consider restructuring our model in order to operate in line with the other women centres in Cumbria. The new structure would enable us to reduce long waiting times for women accessing our services and help us focus on recovery.

“A consultation was carried out with all staff being given an opportunity to offer an alternative to the structure we were proposing and apply for the new positions.

“No alternative structure was offered and whilst some staff applied for the new positions others decided to take redundancy instead.

“As not all of the new posts could be filled internally, we have taken steps to recruit externally. We have been delighted with over 100 applications with many of our WOW clients applying for these posts. At TTC we value lived experience and we fully support those who have experience of issues such as domestic abuse, homelessness and addiction to have a chance of employment with us.

 Rachel Holliday, CEO and founder said:  “I will always accept that as a business leader, it is my place to take criticism from those who are unhappy with decisions we make.

“In the 10 years I have been working within the community I fully understand tough decisions must be made. It is entirely unacceptable to make disparaging comments about staff members and our volunteers who remain committed to ensuring WOW remains open and sustainable for the long term future.

“I would suggest that those who are critical of the new changes being made, consider starting their own project. I find this is a much more productive use of time and energy. In my eyes the more help that is out there in our community the better. Especially by those who feel they have so much more to give.

“I would like to thank all our national, regional and local funders for their support during this difficult time. Our partner agencies who have supported us throughout, namely Gateway for Women and Barrow Women Community matters.

“Without these women centres there would be no Women Out West Centre. I will always be grateful to you for guiding me through the planning, building and ongoing running of our centre.

“Moving forward, we have excellent support from national, regional and local organisations and third sector agencies to ensure all our clients have access to the right support at the right time.

“We continue to work with our local and county government bodies to ensure the quality of what we provide is to a high standard.”