There's more to running an organisation than simply raising revenue, and for a non-profit organisation it may not be a priority. What is important is that an organisation makes good use of its resources, accounts for them correctly and follows good business practice. I have simply no idea how good EFDSS is at any of these.

I can't see a need for EFDSS to organise festivals, there are already plenty of festivals throughout the country and throughout the year. Festivals demand a lot of time and effort, represent a massive financial risk, and I suspect most are not hugely profitable. Any profits probably need to be ploughed back into the next year's festival. I'd be very surprised if there would be much surplus for EFDSS to cream off.

I'm not aware of much interest in competitions on the scale that CCE organises, although the occasional competition can be fun.

I the EFDSS wants to boost its revenue it could do more to engage with people active in folk world and encourage them to join. I've been active in folk music for 40 years - I joined EFDSS in the 1970s but let it lapse after a few years because, frankly, I couldn't see the point of it. Out of the people I know, some are members but many are not.

I'm told it has reinvented itself, and there is clearly now more emphasis on song, but I'm still struggling to discover from its website what it actually does. Most of its activities seem to be centred around C# House and it doesn't appear to be doing much in the regions - or if it is, it isn't communicating it very well.

I would expect EFDSS to do more to support grass-roots activities throughout the country. Perhaps not financial support (although that would be welcome - just what are they doing with that Arts Council grant?) but support in terms of guidance, for example on issues such as insurance, health and safety, PRS and child protection.

Until the new government scrapped it (although I think it is actually under review) the proposed Vetting and Barring Scheme might have required anyone performing on school premises to be registered. Was there any mention of this on the EFDSS website? Not even after I informed them of the outcome of my own discussions with the department involved (they agreed that a PTA event would not require registration - but only after some persuasion).

The EFDSS should be a source of information about events, but there are very few on its website. Why doesn't it provide a service like Webfeet does for e-ceilidh events? There's not even a link to it.