The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Concerns on scrutiny of Horsecross Arts charity
Councillors have asked how Perth and Kinross Council can better monitor Horsecross Arts. Concerns were raised as members scrutinised an audit report of the charitable organisation which operates Perth Concert Hall and Perth Theatre.
The council’s internal audit report of Horsecross was presented to a virtual meeting of the audit committee this week.
The internal audit came two years after a “damning” report by external auditors – Audit Glasgow – commissioned by the council to identify the extent of issues at Horsecross in 2019.
The Audit Glasgow financial management report found “serious control weaknesses relating to financial management, budgetary control and associated key processes” and recommended “urgent action”.
Following the publication of what several councillors at the meeting referred to as a “damning report”, the majority of the Horsecross board resigned in 2019.
Horsecross now has a new chief executive, chairman and head of finance.
The scope of the council’s internal audit was to review areas of progress made in the governance and financial management of the charity since 2019.
Horsecross Arts Ltd operates as an arm’s-length external organisation (ALEO) of the council, running Perth Concert Hall and Perth Theatre on behalf of the local authority.
This week SNP Strathtay councillor Grant Laing, who sits on the scrutiny committee, told the audit committee: “Back in 2013 we sat through this as well. How do we monitor and audit it moving forward because where was the monitoring and auditing between 2013 and this damning report in 2019?”
The council’s head of
culture and community services Fiona Robertson said that while “significant issues” were identified in 2019 “a lot has changed” since then.
She told the audit committee: “I, as the senior monitoring officer, am satisfied that reasonable progress across the board is being made on these areas that were formerly of significant concern.”
Audit convener SNP Perth City Centre councillor Eric Drysdale also asked if, prior to 2019, the council should have been looking back.
Ms Robertson said Horsecross had been scrutinised by internal audits in the past. She said the problems in the past were “systemic” and “multiply layered”.
The council’s culture chief said: “The redevelopment of the theatre, the departure of several chief executives, the departure of previous board members – all of these have been contributory factors.”
She said Horsecross was “not home and dry yet” but offered to share details with the committee of the council’s monitoring of the charity over the past 10
years after the meeting.
Ms Robertson explained that as an independent charity the council could not direct Horsecross but could give advice as “sole member of that charity” with “rights and responsibilities to intervene where there is significant failure”.
She added: “That’s what we did in 2019 and, going further back, in 2013. We can give advice and sometimes we give very strong advice but we cannot direct.”
Following the discussion Conservative Strathearn councillor Roz McCall said: “I’m slightly concerned that we would be looking at using officers’ time to replay or investigate some of the issues of the past.
“We obviously have learned the lessons and we know what the lessons are. Now is not the time to replay those or review them but to learn from them and put in place – as we have done – the ways forward. Now it’s time to move forward and actually make sure the concerns and issues don’t happen again.”
Mr Laing was “surprised” by Ms McCall’s comments and said: “I do think we have to look at how we got to such a damning report in 2019 and learn lessons from it.”
Highland Perthshire Independent councillor Xander McDade said he too was “slightly surprised by Ms McCall’s comments” and said: “The purpose of this committee is to provide scrutiny.
“The Audit Glasgow report is one of the most damning I have seen.”
He said it was the role of councillors on the audit committee to “provide strong questioning” and added: “I have assurance now, at the end of that questioning, the situation is under control and that we are in a better place now than when that report was issued.”
Perth City South Lib Dem councillor Liz Barrett said: “The situation is not quite under control but it is headed in the right direction.”