LDA cultural funding: Serious concerns prompt further investigation
A London Assembly investigation has highlighted serious concerns with the processes used by the London Development Agency (LDA)1 to manage and monitor the cultural projects that it funds to the tune of tens of millions of pounds.
(Media-Newswire.com) - A London Assembly investigation has highlighted serious concerns with the processes used by the London Development Agency ( LDA )1 to manage and monitor the cultural projects that it funds to the tune of tens of millions of pounds.
The Assembly’s Economic Development, Culture, Sport and Tourism Committee today formally considered and agreed2 its report ‘The London Development Agency ( LDA )’s funding of cultural projects’.
Manny Lewis, Chief Executive and Sarah Ebanja, Deputy Chief Executive of the LDA were present at today’s Committee meeting, but their defence of the LDA’s processes failed to reassure Committee members, who decided to propose commissioning independent consultants to carry out a full audit3 of the six LDA cultural projects4 highlighted in its report.
Chair of the Committee, Dee Doocey AM, said:
“The conclusions in our report are a damning indictment of the LDA’s project management procedures. Their processes are so poor that it’s impossible to judge why they decided to fund some of the projects, and what the outcomes were."
The Committee’s report, with a particular emphasis on the six projects, concludes that: · The LDA was unable to demonstrate in some cases what it expected to get in return for its funding, and did not fully demonstrate that it had adequately monitored projects as they developed, or evaluated the outputs. · There is a lack of detailed evidence considering project risks and their impacts. · There is insufficient documentation to explain why the LDA become involved in these projects.
Between 2001/02 and 2005/06 the LDA funded 61 projects in the arts, culture and creative industry sectors at a total cost of £70m. The Committee requested detailed information on the output of all 61 projects for the purposes of its investigation.
The information the LDA supplied revealed a lack of documentation and serious gaps in monitoring processes, prompting the Committee to appoint independent consultants5 to look in more detail at six of the largest projects.
The six projects selected for closer scrutiny are high profile and received a relatively large amount of funding from the LDA – around £18m in total, which is more than a quarter of the total LDA funding for cultural projects6.
Notes to Editors
1. The London Development Agency is the Mayor of London’s agency responsible for driving London’s sustainable economic growth. 2. The Committee agreed the report by majority at a formal meeting today. The report and appendices are available at: http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/edcst/2007/nov12/agenda.jsp 3. The proposal for a full audit will be considered at the Assembly’s Business Management and Appointments Committee on 27 November 2007. 4. The six projects were: · The Rich Mix Centre in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets – the LDA provided nearly £8 million towards the purchase and refurbishment of a building to create a cultural and arts centre; · The Bernie Grant Centre in the London Borough of Haringey - the LDA provided around £4 million to help create a performing arts centre; · The Laban Dance Centre in the London Borough of Lewisham - the LDA provided around £4 million to help redevelop a former waste depot into an arts dance centre; · The Centre for Fashion Enterprise - the LDA provided around £2 million to help provide business support and advice for new fashion companies across London; · The London Fashion Forum - the LDA provided around £500,000 towards the development of a website and forum to increase business awareness amongst fashion industry people across London; and · The West End theatre audience development project - the LDA provided around £200,000 to make West End theatres more accessible to disabled visitors, families with young children and youths. 5. Deloitte was appointed in August 2007. 6. Between 2001/02 and 2005/06. 7. As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For more details please contact Dana Gavin in the Assembly Media Office on 020 7983 4603/4283. For out of hours media enquiries please call 0207 983 4000 and ask for the Assembly duty press officer. Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit, Greater London Authority, on 020 7983 4100.
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