City of Culture to be loaned £1m in public cash by council in move that's 'not without risk'

[dutchman]

Parliament to hold debate on Coventry City of Culture Trust



Parliament will hold a debate on the collapsed Coventry City of Culture Trust after a local MP called for answers.

The trust called in administrators in February following weeks of financial challenges.

Coventry North West MP, Taiwo Owatemi, is set to raise an adjournment debate on Wednesday.

In March, Labour MP Ms Owatemi called for a debate on the the trust, "to ensure that there is proper oversight".

She was advised by House of Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt that it would be a topic for an adjournment debate, given it was a "highly local issue".

This type of debate takes place at the end of the day's sitting, allowing a backbench MP to raise an issue and get a response from a government minister.

Ms Owatemi said she was "pleased" to get the debate and called for people who oversaw the mistakes to be held to account.

"With many millions of pounds of public funding provided to the Trust, it is right that MPs will have the chance discuss how this situation was allowed to come about and the lessons that must be learnt for the future," she said.

[rebbonk]

Nothing will come of this.

[dutchman]

Assembly Festival 'could collapse' over £1.5m City of Culture debt



The boss of one of the Edinburgh Fringe's biggest venue operators has warned the company may not survive another year due to a £1.5m debt.

William Burdett-Coutts said the Assembly Festival was surviving on a short-term loan.

He said Assembly organised a festival for Coventry's City of Culture year in 2021, but it has still not been paid by the trust in charge.

The Coventry City of Culture Trust went into liquidation in February.

UK City of Culture is a competition run by UK government's Department for Digital, Culture and Sport (DCMS).

Mr Burdett-Coutts, Assembly's founder and artistic director, criticised Coventry City Council and the DCMS for trying to "wash their hands of the situation".

And he said Assembly could be "dragged down in the trust's wake unless those responsible take action."

It comes as the Edinburgh Fringe launched on Friday.

Speaking to BBC Scotland, Mr Burden-Coutts said: "Assembly has been presenting shows since 1981 and is an integral part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

"The company is of local, national and international significance working with arts organisations from around the world.

"We have played a significant role in the development of many world-class shows throughout the years and have helped launch the careers of countless household names, from Graham Norton to French and Saunders and many more.

"Assembly on its own plays to an audience equivalent to the live audience of Wimbledon and larger than Glastonbury - to lose that presence would be disastrous for the Fringe."

Mr Burdett-Coutts said Assembly's short-term loan would run out at the end of the year.

He said the Coventry festival - Assembly Festival Garden - had been very successful and the city had campaigned to have the event return in 2022.

However, he said that the trust had still not paid Assembly for months after the second festival ended.

"They kept on reassuring us that they would pay their bills and the money was coming," he said.

"But then come January or February we found out that the trust that ran the Coventry City of Culture went into liquidation owing us about £1.5m.

"So it's caused a massive hole in our finances - we're a small organisation so it's not something we can absorb. So we've got to find some way and somebody has to take responsibility."

Mr Burdett-Coutts added Assembly was in a "very precarious" position for future events. He said the Scottish government had written to DCMS urging it to step in.

"We're in a position where we basically run out of money at the end of the year," he said.

"We can get through this festival and look after everybody from this festival, but the next festival is in question. It depends on if we can find a solution."