Should government give more ’08 cash?

Oct 16 2007 by Caroline Innes, Liverpool Daily Post

Caroline Innes looks at the funding problems facing Liverpool less than three months away from its showpiece year

A FURIOUS row blew up last week after Gordon Brown claimed a small rise in local council funding would “help” Liverpool prepare for its Capital of Culture year.

City council leader Warren Bradley accused the Prime Minister of “spinning out of control” when the city is trying to plug a £20m funding black hole for next year.

The situation is looking increasingly difficult, with the city needing to find £20m to pay for Capital of Culture, now less than three months away.

The council is waiting to hear whether the Government will allow it to use money from land and building sales to help plug the 2008 funding black hole.

Two other options under consideration are re-mortgaging council property or raiding town hall reserves set aside for emergencies.

The funding dilemma was last week raised in the House of Commons by West Derby MP Bob Wareing, who urged Mr Brown to help both the city council and Merseyside Police.

In reply, Mr Brown said: “The local government settlement and the public expenditure plans announced in the Budget will help Liverpool and ensure jobs can be created in the area and also ensure that the urban regeneration continues. We will keep our promises to the people of Liverpool.”

Yet, ministers have repeatedly refused to give any more money towards 2008, prompting criticism that they favour the 2012 London Olympics.

Others say the Government and other funders have already given almost three times what was asked for in the bid document, and Liverpool should pay its share for 2008, as it pledged to do in its Capital of Culture bid document.

They argue the Lib-Dem council knew they should build up funds for their £20m contribution and have mismanaged finances.

So, the Daily Post asks: Should the Government contribute more money to Liverpool’s Capital of Culture?

carolineinnes@dailypost.co.uk

NO: The Case Against - We’ve already had three times what was asked for

by Cllr Paul Brant, deputy leader of Liverpool's Labour Group

WHEN Liverpool City Council bid for Capital of Culture, the finances were clearly set out in the bid document.

Our Lib-Dem leaders stated the council would contribute £20m in 2008 (over two financial years) and the bid document at Page 701 requests: “In the two years of celebration, the City will expect to benefit from the injection of £10m from Government, European, NWDA and other public sector programmes and to raise £4.6m by way of private sector sponsorship.”

In fact, Liverpool has already received public sector funding of almost £30m (including £10m direct from the Government’s Arts Council), but the council is £2m short on its private sponsorship fundraising (due to private sector concerns about council effectiveness).

The Government and other funders have given almost three times what was asked for in the bid document.

The Lib-Dems knew that they should build up a war chest since winning the bid in 2003 to fund their £20m contribution.

In fact, their own finance reports show they intended to set aside a £5.8m contribution this financial year – however, in a panic just before the local elections, they decided to scrap this reserve.

The council’s chief finance officer was so worried that, in his unprecedented public report of February 28 this year, he threatened the Lib-Dems that if they didn’t say how they were intending to pay for Capital of Culture he would have to consider his emergency powers to take over the council’s finances to prevent a deficit arising.

The problem is now damaging Liverpool’s reputation and senior Culture Company staff like Chris Green have left over the weekend.

The public understand the Government’s emergency capitalisation funds should be used to pay for true emergencies like floods and foot and mouth. Can we really look those communities in the eye and say we have a similar unforeseen emergency?

The Government is already pumping masses of cash into our city – a quick look at Saturday’s Post shows just a few projects; New Waterfront Museum, £32.7m build costs and additional £1.7m running costs; Kings Dock Arena, £15m and land value; Liverpool’s football stadium regeneration, £9.3m; Housing Market Renewal, over £90m.

When challenged on funding 2008, the council leader said on March 6: “We will deal with the savings as we have year-on-year.”

The same ostrich approach we have seen since 2003.

Even now, it is not too late to start to build up a war chest – indeed, the council is currently allowing £8m of its emergency reserves to be eaten into by excess spending this year.

Why on earth aren’t the Lib-Dems starting to put their own house in order, rather than demanding others dig them out of their own hole?

YES: The Case For: This will be a chance to showcase Britain at its best

by Cllr Mike Storey, Liverpool's executive member for special initiatives

LIVERPOOL is now ready for the start of 2008 – European Capital of Culture year.

We’ve got a great and diverse programme and we’ve had a phenomenal response from people across the world, showing that Liverpool ’08 will be the best-ever European Capital of Culture.

This isn’t just good news for the people of Liverpool, it’s good news for Britain.

Like Glasgow in 1990, Liverpool ’08 will use culture to transform national and international perceptions of Merseyside.

It will also be the starting point for the Cultural Olympiad, ensuring that London 2012 is a Britain-wide success story.

Delivering the European Capital of Culture is a big responsibility and it can’t be done on the cheap. There have been some great examples of cities like Glasgow, Lille and Bilbao that have seized the opportunity to put on a great year and transformed themselves and their regions.

But there have also been other cities who have not made the most of the opportunity.

Liverpool is determined to do Britain proud.

It’s a big commitment and the budget is around £100m over five years.

There have been major contributions from the European Commission, the Arts Council, the North West Regional Development Agency and the Government.

We have also had strong support from local and regional businesses through sponsorship.

But the lion’s share has had to come from Liverpool City Council.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime investment from the council, which is more than justified by the benefits we expect to get.

Tourism is vital to our future, as a major European city destination.

We’ve already gone from 16th to sixth most visited UK city, since winning the bid. 2008 should set the seal on Liverpool as a top tourist city.

Liverpool ’08 has given Liverpool’s economy a massive shot in the arm.

More than £3bn has been invested in the city’s infrastructure in the run-up to ’08, and regeneration activity is now accelerating with projects worth £4.6bn on site or in the pipeline.

Liverpool ’08 will be a chance to showcase Britain at its best.

We will be providing the curtain raiser for the Olympic Games in London in 2012, and launching the Cultural Olympiad.

And we are so confident that Liverpool ’08 will justify the in- vestment, that we have commis- sioned a major research pro- gramme to assess the ’08 legacy.

Our vision is not only to be the best-ever host city, but also to establish the benchmark by which all future culture years are measured. That’s an ambition for Liverpool and for Britain which is worth paying for.