Charity regulator probe into 'financial governance' of collapsed CCA

The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) said it had received a number of “concerns” over the financial regulation of the organisation.

The CCA has faced a turbulent few years, hit by months-long closure on two occasions and recently, the site of a protest by the Art Workers for Palestine Scotland demanding the organisation adopt the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) policy.

The Scotsman revealed last week that Glasgow City Council had granted a £300,000 emergency loan to the CCA in August 2024 - 18 months before its collapse. Meanwhile, the first £832,000 tranche of three years of funding committed to the organisation by Creative Scotland was paid to the CCA over the past year.

It is understood a number of concerns have been raised with the regulator over the management of the CCA, which lost all but two board members before being taken into liquidation, with Glasgow-based Dains appointed to manage the process.

The investigation comes as one long serving CCA staff member told The Scotsman they had turned up to work on 30 January to find the doors locked and a security guard stationed outside.

The worker, who asked not to be named, said they had not been surprised by the closure, saying the CCA had been “on the slide” since the fire at the nearby Glasgow School of Art in 2018.

They said: “There was a security guard there and I waved him over and he told me the building was closed. I said ‘But I work here’. He called over a guy in a suit, who said he had been appointed to secure the building and change the locks.”

A few hours later, an all-staff meeting was held online, when workers were told by the remaining three members of the board - including chair Louise Norris who had only been appointed earlier that week - that the organisation was going into liquidation.

The worker also claimed they faced a "toxic", hostile environment when they voiced concerns about staff who were members of Art Workers for Palestine calling for a CCA boycott of Israel, warning the CCA's status as a publicly funded body and a centre which was open to all could be compromised.

At the online meeting, staff were told a business recovery plan introduced last April had not worked.

The worker said: “The reason it's not worked is the protests against us and the boycott - we were already on thin ice, and this campaign against us just pushed us over the edge.”

A spokesperson for OSCR said: “OSCR has received several concerns relating to the Centre for Contemporary Arts following the recent announcement of its closure.

“From our initial assessment work we understand that this charity was unable to pay its debts at the point when it ceased to trade. As company law would prevent the organisation from continuing to operate in these circumstances, the only option available to the trustees at this point was to begin insolvency proceedings. We do not currently intend to take any further action on this matter.”

He added: “Notwithstanding this, OSCR’s assessment has raised concerns about the overall financial governance of the charity during 2024 and 2025. Because of this we have decided to open an inquiry into the charity, so that we can establish the facts surrounding the historical financial governance of the CCA. We will consider what, if any, further action is appropriate during our inquiries.”