Special taskforce to probe culture funding gap

Jul 31 2007 by David Bartlett, Liverpool Daily Post

A SPECIAL task force is to examine Liverpool’s Capital of Culture budget after a further £1.5m funding hole was exposed last night.

Councillors at the city’s Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee meeting clashed during a heated debate over finances for the 2008 celebrations, .

It emerged there is a further £3.7m shortfall in the £107m budget for next year’s celebrations – £2.2m of which the city had already agreed to underwrite.

Culture Company chief executive Jason Harborow was being questioned by Labour culture spokesman Cllr Steve Rotheram, who wanted to know how the remaining £1.5m would be funded.

Mr Harborow said culture officers were now seeking to bridge the gap. He said talks with public sector bodies and potential sponsors were con- tinuing, and he anticipated “further successes.”

In June it emerged the city council was to ask for government permission to seek a £20m loan to plug an existing gap in the culture budget. Last night, Mr Harborow revealed meetings had taken place in London last week between council chief exec utive Colin Hilton, and government officials over how the £20m shortfall should be paid for.

Borrowing the money would involve an extra 1% on council tax for the next five years, about 20p a week for most households.

If the government will not allow this there two other options: mortgaging council property or using council reserves, or a combination of those solutions.

Cllr Rotheram asked if the £20m loan, if granted, would be ringfenced for Capital of Culture.

Mr Harborow answered: “Of the £20m, as far as I am aware yes, but it’s not an issue that I have had much involvement with. But yes it is.”

According to council documents, the £107m is made up of £68.7m from the council, £30.8m from grants, £7.1m from sponsorship, and about £550,000 from other sources. Alan Southward, financial control officer, said there was a £3.7m funding gap, of which £2.2m was being underwritten and was included in the £20m asked of government.

At last night’s meeting, Labour councillor Dave Hanratty called for a special panel to be set up to scrutinise the Capital of Culture budget and potential problems associated with the programme of events.

The committee resolved to explore setting up a joint panel with councillors from both the Resources, and the Culture, Media and Sport select committees.

But Cllr Steve Radford, leader of the Liberals, said of the £1.5m: “With the greatest respect the blowing up of this relatively low shortfall is amusing to me, and quite bizarre.”

At one point the debate became heated between Cllr Rotheram and Cllr Steve Radford, prompting the committee’s chairman, Laurence Sidorczuk, to demand peace

davidbartlett