Folk Festival ticket money missing

7th January, 2009

Once again Cambridge residents are left wondering what has happened to their money. Following the loss of £9million in Icelandic banks it looks likely that over £600,000 in ticket sales from last years Folk Festival will also never appear.

Leader of the Labour group on Cambridge City Council, Cllr Lewis Herbert, said:

'Unless we get an unexpected surprise in the winding up of Secure Ticket UK, the Liberal Democrat-run Cambridge City Council will be responsible for the loss of all £618,000 from 2008 Cambridge Folk Festival internet ticket sales.

'All this money belongs to Cambridge residents, and is the second black hole in the Council's budget this year after a potential loss of up to £9.5m in Iceland bank Landsbanki last October.

'This failure to protect public money could cause lasting damage to Cambridge, at just the time when the city needs financial leadership through the recession.'

As an indication of the scale of the problem, £600,000 is the equivalent of a 10% increase in Council Tax for a small Council like Cambridge. Instead of the planned (and not yet justified) Lib Dem 4.5% Council Tax INCREASE this year, this sum alone could have funded the full cost of CUTTING the 2009 Council Tax by over 5%.

Cllr Herbert added:

'Residents and folk festival goers also deserve quick action on their money, as well as an immediate and detailed explanation on what the Council already knows about the likely £618,000 loss, not just further delay. We hope that this money is still recoverable, but none of the signs are pointing that way.

'Labour Councillors are also determined that this will not affect the City Council's commitment to the nationally renowned Cambridge Folk Festival, which until last year had operated successfully for over 40 years.'

For more on the Folk Festival debacle, click here.