JESSIES BLOG: Why we supported the additional investment in the Scala

At tonight's Worcester City Council meeting, we supported the recommendation to provide a further £1.5 million for the Scala project.

It wasn't an easy decision.

Worcester has already invested an enormous amount of public money, political capital and time in the Scala. We are now very close to having an arts centre that could become a fantastic asset for our city.

But another £1.5 million is a significant ask, particularly when that money comes from Council reserves. Worcester taxpayers are entitled to expect councillors to ask difficult questions before agreeing to further investment.

I asked for additional safeguards

The Scala will be operated by an independent charity, and I believe that independence is important.

Councillors shouldn't be choosing performances, writing menus or trying to run an arts centre from the committee room. Those decisions belong with the people who have the expertise to operate a successful venue.

But operational independence must come with financial accountability when the public purse is carrying so much of the risk.

In my capacity as Vice-Chair of Policy and Resources Committee, I raised concerns with officers about the level of ongoing scrutiny and asked for additional assurances before I felt able to support the investment.

In particular, I wanted to know how councillors would monitor whether Scala was delivering the business plan on which our investment was based, how we would see its financial position and progress towards sustainability, and how members would be able to scrutinise what was actually being delivered.

As a result of raising those concerns, I secured additional checks and reporting arrangements which are now explicitly built into the Council's oversight of Scala.

These include quarterly and annual reporting to the Council, covering financial and operational information and progress against agreed outcomes.

There will also be an annual in-person event for councillors, providing members with an opportunity to question Scala directly and scrutinise its performance.

The Council's lease arrangements also remain an important mechanism through which it retains control of its buildings.

For me, the principle is straightforward: Scala should have the independence to run the arts centre, but councillors must have the information and opportunities necessary to scrutinise how taxpayers' investment is being used.

Why we supported another £1.5 million

The difficult question is why the Council should commit another £1.5 million at all.

We already have buildings under construction. Contracts are underway. Millions of pounds have already been invested. Some of the additional costs arise from genuine construction and infrastructure issues, including electricity infrastructure and fire-safety requirements.

Voting against further investment would not recover the money already spent. At this stage, it risked leaving Worcester with an unfinished project and without some of the income-generating facilities necessary to give Scala a realistic chance of becoming financially sustainable.

That doesn't mean the Council should keep writing blank cheques simply because money has already been spent.

But we had to make a decision based on the position we face now. With the **additional scrutiny and safeguards I secured**, I was satisfied that completing the project offered the better way to protect the much larger investment Worcester has already made.

Now Scala has to deliver

Supporting this investment isn't the end of the Council's involvement. It marks the beginning of a new phase of scrutiny.

Success cannot simply mean completing the building. It must mean people using it, audiences returning, commercial activities generating income and the charity making genuine progress towards financial sustainability.

We supported the additional investment because we want to **finish what Worcester has started, protect the investment already made and give Scala the best possible opportunity to succeed**.

And having secured stronger reporting and scrutiny arrangements, I intend to make sure we use them.

Scala now has the opportunity to deliver the arts centre Worcester has invested so heavily in – and we will be watching closely to make sure that investment delivers for our city.