CCA to be investigated over financial governance concerns

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The Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) in Glasgow, which folded in January, is to be investigated by the Scottish charity regulator over its financial governance. 

The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) confirmed its decision to launch an investigation into the CCA after concerns were raised about the way it was run and claims of potential financial mismanagement.

The Ferret has spoken to several former CCA staff members in recent weeks. Concerns raised include questions about the use of restricted funds worth tens of thousands of pounds – ring fenced for specific project work – which staff fear were used to meet general running costs before closure. 

Emails seen by The Ferret – sent to all staff – reveal that one of the community projects managed by the CCA had used only £4,600 of a grant worth almost £20,000 when staff were told on 12 January that there was a freeze on spending. The funding stream was due to end in March 2026.

The funding largely came from a grant from the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, which was worth almost £240,000 in total and was specifically for the CCA’s community programme. The email seen gives a full breakdown of the restricted funds.

Other issues are understood to have been raised to OSCR about a proportion of that grant worth over £40,000. Questions about this funding were raised by staff at an online meeting on 30 January, during which staff were told about the charity’s closure.

It is claimed the instalment of this grant was received in December but was not spent on the project costs it was intended for. At the meeting the board denied any knowledge about the money. 

Questions have also been raised with The Ferret about money raised by several fundraising events held by CCA projects last year, including one to support Palestinian farmers. Donations worth £800 were raised for the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature’s Revive Gaza’s Farmland at one film screening. Another event was held for a Moroccan charity, Dar Si Hmad.

However although staff have asked for confirmation that these charities have received the money none has been forthcoming. The Ferret has approached both organisations for comment.

One former staff member said: “There are a lot of questions about this money that need to be answered. I’m really glad that this is something OSCR will now look into.”

Some staff were first alerted to the CCA’s financial problems when the spending freeze was announced in an email shared across the organisation. The CCA closed less than three weeks later, claiming its only option was insolvency.

The announcement came just a year after it secured three years of funding, worth £3.4m, from arts body Creative Scotland. In the months prior to closure Glasgow City Council had also agreed a loan of £300,000 to the charity. But the money did not prevent it from going into administration.

Staff were called to an online meeting on 30 January, which was chaired by Louise Norris – a solicitor who previously served on the board until last year. She was reappointed as a director just days before it announced it would cease trading and go into liquidation.

They were told they were losing their jobs with immediate effect and would no longer be able to access either the building or their emails, leaving many without any access to their equipment and cut off from work contacts. 

Staff told The Ferret the announcement as “outrageously brutal” and were said to be in “shock” at the way it was being done. One staff member had to ask Louise Norris: “Who are you?” because her appointment was so recent.

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Several concerns have been submitted to OSCR in recent weeks, including those about financial management, a spokesperson for the regulator confirmed. They added: “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.”

However, the regulator will not investigate concerns raised that the closure may have been made prematurely. OSCR said it accepted that the charity had no choice but to close in the circumstances, adding “we do not currently intend to take any further action on this matter".

“From our initial assessment work we understand that this charity was unable to pay its debts at the point when it ceased to trade,” a spokesperson added. “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.”

The CCA’s financial difficulties had been longstanding, with Covid-19 restrictions and fires at the nearby Glasgow School of Art closing the building for many months. It also closed on a temporary basis from December 2024 to March 2025 in order to save money. 

One staff member said that the experience of working at the CCA since then had been like being in “a hostile environment”.  Following calls for the charity to sign The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) in June, one former employee said: “The management and board seemed to think that staff were plotting against them. There was a real feeling of paranoia and of surveillance.” 

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One source told The Ferret that staff whose projects had already signed PACBI the previous year were threatened with disciplinary action if they did not remove public evidence of their support.

The board did not vote to sign the boycott, prompting protests by campaigners including Art Workers for Palestine. 

According to the most recent accounts, the CCA employed 39 staff members as well as a further 20 freelance staff. The charity had just £61,000 in the bank as of 31 March 2024. No redundancy plans were proposed ahead of the closure. 

Some former staff claimed that if the board had acted sooner the CCA could have been saved. One claimed: “The indications are that the CCA could have been saved if action had been taken. But there was absolutely no leadership, no attempt to reduce jobs or minimise expenses which should have been in place back in April 2025 when it was already apparent that there was a financial crisis.”

The Ferret has contacted Glasgow City Council and asked The CCA’s board members for comment.

Image thanks to Myriam Thyes under Creative Commons