Lord demands far more cash for Gathering despite losses

Published on Saturday 14 November 2009 19:08

THE aristocratic organiser of The Gathering has called for more taxpayers' money to be ploughed into the controversial event, even though it made a loss of £600,000 under his stewardship.

Lord Jamie Sempill said the level of public funding had to be "much higher" than the 500,000 invested in this year's event if the celebration was to be an economic success in the future.

His remarks angered politicians, who are calling for a full investigation into the key attraction of the 2009 Year of Homecoming on 25 July after a series of embarrassing disclosures about its finances.

Sempill blamed the recession and the weather for the difficulties, admitting that "the size of the commercial failure has been a bitter pill for all of us to swallow".

But it was his remarks suggesting that the public should contribute more to future events that irritated his critics.

In his blog on the Panalba website, Sempill said: "To effectively create an event on this scale, the level of public funding has to be much higher. I believe that in future the budget should reflect a more equitable balance between public and private funding.

"I am also confident that the second Gathering will generate another great boost for the economy of Scotland. But as a final note to the taxpayer, of whom there are only some two and a half million in Scotland, your total contribution to the event amounts to a manageable 43p per head."

The event, which attracted 47,000 domestic and overseas visitors to Edinburgh's Holyrood Park, was a celebration of Scottishness that plugged into the Scottish Diaspora.

Sarah Boyack, the Labour MSP for Edinburgh Central, said a full investigation into the loss-making event was now necessary. "Lord Sempill's comment about it only costing the taxpayer 43p is completely unacceptable, in this climate, where there is so much pressure on public expenditure.

"These are astounding comments, given the fact that this project ran out of financial control. There are real questions about the lines of accountability that need to be answered. Just blaming this on the recession is not good enough.

"I am not anti the Homecoming, because there were some fantastic events. But we do need to have a proper look at this project."

Andrew Burns, the Edinburgh City Council Labour group leader, said: "To glibly suggest the event ought to be bigger and better next time round is not the right attitude. A much more sober and calm look needs to be taken to make sure the mistakes aren't repeated, and it has to be looked at in terms of what's going on elsewhere."

The thousands of visitors and expat Scots who came to the Gathering were estimated to have generated 8.8 million for Edinburgh and 10.4m for Scotland.

But that economic success was not reflected in the books of The Gathering 2009 Ltd, the company set up by Sempill and his business partner Jenny Gilmour.

A total of 600,000 was lost. Public sector bodies – including Lothian and Borders Police, the Scottish Ambulance Service and the Scottish Government, which handed over a 180,000 loan to ensure it went ahead – have written off 300,000 they were owed.

There is also uncertainty about another 300,000 which is owed to a string of private suppliers and contractors.

A deal to hand the intellectual property rights – and responsibility for the debt – to the recently formed Destination Edinburgh Marketing Alliance (Dema) appeared to run into trouble last week.

Norman Springford, one of the key Dema figures, quit the organisation because he felt the taxpayers' bail-out had taken place behind his back.

The Scottish Government admitted Dema had not been involved in any of the talks to take over the event and inherit debts which were racked up by its organisers.

Springford, an award-winning entrepreneur and hotelier, had been head of Dema's board and his departure was seen as a huge blow for the fledgling marketing body.

The agreement to hand over the debt to Dema was approved without the backing of Springford's board. Springford, a former accountant and ex-director of Partick Thistle who built up the Apex Hotel Group, was said to be furious at the prospect of Dema being saddled with huge debts.

Despite the problems, Sempill's blog described The Gathering as a "unique celebration of our historical traditions and culture".

He praised visitors for coming to Scotland in the "teeth of a global recession" and generating more than 18m for the economy.

He said that public funding was only 20 per cent of the budget at the beginning, but the "banking debacle" resulted in sponsorship drying up and costs escalating.

Sempill, who could not be contacted for comment yesterday, said on his blog that the organisers were "very fortunate" that the Scottish Government came up with its loan, saving the event from cancellation.