A leading SNP councillor says links with Big Noise Torry should have been severed last year – even after his own government stepped in to save the project.
The charity caters to hundreds of children in the deprived area of Aberdeen, providing free music lessons and trying to make sure youngsters stay on the right path.
Despite public protests, it was a high-profile victim of Aberdeen City Council cost-cutting last month.
But days later the Scottish Government swooped in with money to keep the programme alive.
Now a month on from the controversy, we reveal:
- The critical reports councillors based their decision on, made public after a P&J probe
- One senior SNP representative’s regrets that the grant wasn’t put on the line before now
- And a Holyrood spokeswoman admits that the money won’t be guaranteed beyond next April
Has councillor at the heart of row made another U-turn?
Big Noise Torry was slammed for making “no impact whatsoever” during the stormy budget meeting on March 1.
Chairman of Aberdeen City Council’s anti-poverty committee, Christian Allard, said the cash-strapped authority “wouldn’t give them the money even if they had it”.
It was one of many controversial remarks that caused ripples across the chambers.
Amid ongoing uproar about the move, the Scottish Government swiftly stepped in with a grant to keep it running alongside sister projects elsewhere.
Outraged onlookers accused Mr Allard of hypocrisy when he quickly took to Twitter to hail the intervention of his Holyrood superiors as “great news”.
Great news for the young people of Torry, Big Noise Torry @sistemascotland to be funded by @scotgov to remain in Torry.
I strongly objected to spend £4 million to extend the music service across the city.
My thanks to @Audrey4ASNK SNP local MSP and to @theSNP ministers. pic.twitter.com/1bu5xeZETk— Christian Allard SNP 🏴🇫🇷 (@Christia_Allard) March 4, 2023
And now he seems to have had another change of heart, insisting newly released reports prove the administration was right all along to strip the cash.
More than 160 pages of official documents were released after The Press And Journal probed the decision using freedom of information legislation.
The Torry councillor even suggested the findings from October 2021 should have prompted immediate talks on its funding.
What did reports say?
The decision to axe Big Noise Torry was based primarily on reports compiled by the authority’s education department in October 2021.
The council was led by a Labour/Conservative group at the time, which opted not to act on the findings or make them public.
But the documents were scrutinised by their SNP and Lib Dem replacements as they battled to balance the books after being thrust into power last May.
The studies compared pupils from Walker Road and Tullos schools in Torry with children in other deprived parts of the city.
The officers reached the conclusion that “there isn’t conclusive proof of the positive impact of Big Noise Torry on the attainment and engagement of all learners in the Torry area”.
Did councillors ‘misrepresent’ findings to justify cut?
Labour and Tory councillors were quick to point out that they saw the wider benefits of the cause – and opted not to place Big Noise Torry on the chopping block during the subsequent budget talks.
And distraught charity bosses said the ruling group had “misrepresented” the report to push through mammoth savings.
They argued that Big Noise Torry is “delivering clearly on confidence, wellbeing, and increasing educational skills”.
Big Noise Torry in numbers: How much does controversial cut save the council?
The council had been tied into a £4.3 million agreement with Big Noise Torry operators Sistema Scotland from 2020 until March 2026.
Under the contract, the authority has been covering 75% of its funding, with £606,000 in 2020/21 and £738,ooo in 2021/22.
The charity received £719,000 in 2022/23 and papers indicate it had been on course for a £774,000 grant over the next year…
Other documents recently made public include a letter from Sistema Scotland, sent as the recent decision loomed.
The pleading missive explains that its “life-changing” work to tackle child poverty is “more important now than ever”.
And bosses offered a compromise, given the council’s own “budgetary pressures”.
Although it would present “extreme challenges”, they said they could still operate if the grant was reduced from the expected £774,000 to £590,000.
The offer was not accepted.
Slashing funding completely will save more than £1.5m across the next few years.
What was said during latest council meeting?
The decision, along with many others, came under fire during heated Town House talks weeks later.
The documents were made public days before the meeting, with SNP councillors claiming they justified the unpopular cut.
Nationalist Lee Fairfull even asked for a breakdown of how much the council would be spending “per child” if the agreement remained in place.
She asked: “How many children, over the past year, benefitted from Big Noise… And how much would this work out as in the future, per capita spend per child?”
Officers were unable to break that down, explaining that not all of the 700 children who attend Big Noise Torry sessions engage with the project.
Mr Allard later stressed that he asked for the report to be released “many, many times” to back up the funding blow.
It comes as he now faces a confidence vote following his “attack” on Big Noise Torry last month.
Does ‘evidence’ mean government shouldn’t ensure future of Big Noise Torry?
The P&J caught up with Mr Allard after the meeting to clarify his views on the future of Big Noise Torry.
He told us: “We have got the evidence, look at the evidence.
“We fought hard to make sure it was in the public domain and now you understand why.”
Mr Allard said the findings of the 2021 report “should have been shared with the education committee” at the time.
That way, he explained, councillors “could have taken a decision” on continuing funding much earlier.
“It was not,” he added.
“We follow the evidence when it comes to the public purse: there was no change in attainment and no change in attendance.
“They didn’t do it as effectively as we would have hoped.”
Is Scottish Government wrong to fund Sistema?
So does the Torry councillor believe the Scottish Government is wrong to continue funding the project?
He answered: “I don’t work for the Scottish Government, that’s up for them to decide. It’s their money.”
When asked if he welcomes the use of taxpayer cash for a scheme he doesn’t support, Mr Allard said: “I welcome any money coming to Aberdeen.
“I don’t know what the Scottish Government would expect.”
Cllr Michael Kusznir claims that Cllr Christian Allard is “no longer fit and proper” to be convener of the Anti-Poverty and Inequality Committee on Aberdeen City Council.
It’s after he voted to cut funding to Big Noise Torry.
Cllr Kusznir spoke to our Reporter @Finlay_Jack5 pic.twitter.com/oRJndEQf1k
— Northsound News (@northsoundnews) March 6, 2023
Labour group leader Barney Crockett later expressed shock at the local SNP members “vigorously attacking” the charity saved by the party just weeks ago.
Do you think Big Noise Torry is of benefit to the area? Let us know in our comments section below
So where does all this leave future of Big Noise Torry?
The future of Big Noise Torry remains uncertain – with no clear indication of how it could be funded in years to come.
Councillors have been told that officials are “following the legal process” to terminate the contract with Sistema.
Meanwhile, they will “work with Sistema to ensure a smooth transition”, on the understanding the government will cover its costs “from here on in”.
Labour’s Ross Grant asked if this meant the charity’s fate is now in the government’s hands.
Chief education officer Eleanor Sheppard replied: “Our understanding is the Scottish Government has made that commitment.”
But that claim has now been disputed at Holyrood…
What does Scottish Government say about future funding of Big Noise Torry?
A Scottish Government spokeswoman praised the work of Sistema – saying it “plays a hugely valuable role” by helping thousands of young people across the country.
And she explained that the decision to fund the charity was based on positive studies undertaken by the Glasgow Centre for Population Health.
The spokeswoman added that Sistema has “clear impacts” on the youngsters’ health and well-being – setting them in good stead for later life.
But she said the funding was awarded to cover operations only in 2023-24.
The government is “not currently in a position to make commitments beyond this financial year”.
You can see the October 2021 Aberdeen City Council reports here.
Read Nicola Killean’s thoughts on the cut.
Conversation