Culture trust to be examined by financial watchdog

Coventry City of Culture Trust entered administration in February

The National Audit Office (NAO) is to look into the Coventry City of Culture finances after it went into administration.

"Preliminary enquiries" are being made after the organisation entered administration in February.

It received more than £20.4m from Arts Council England and the government since 2015, a BBC investigation found.

The company's collapse meant its three-year programme of events, part of its heritage legacy plans, will not go ahead.

Coventry held the title of City of Culture in 2021.

Its year long reign was delayed by the Covid pandemic but oversaw aerial displays, light shows, musical performances and theatre. It ended with Harry Styles and other musicians at the BBC1 Big Weekend.

The initial inquiry will aim to establish the sources involved in funding the trust and the extent of them, the NAO said.

"The remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s statutory powers means we can only investigate matters relating to spending by government departments and other central government bodies," the watchdog's director Louise Bladen added.

The Heritage Lottery Fund told the BBC it allocated £3m to the trust.

The organisation received more than £6.5m from a combination of Coventry City Council, the West Midlands Combined Authority and Warwickshire County Council.

The preliminary inquiry by the NAO will look at where the funding for the culture trust came from, the watchdog said

Documents made public as part of the city council's investigations into the collapse revealed £3.3m was committed to the trust by the government as of September to deliver its legacy programme.

The trust also expected £2.5m of lottery funding as part of a £15.8m total predicted income it had budgeted for the legacy phase.

A government-led inquiry has been called for by the local authority.

The Charity Commission previously confirmed it was also examining the trust's finances.

A residents’ group named Lost City of Culture has called for an independent investigation into the collapse and more than 400 people have signed a petition calling for the inquiry.

The Public Accounts Select Committee told the BBC it has no plans to investigate at this stage but said it was often guided by the findings of the NAO.