| "Serious Governance Issues. Significant Costs for the Public Purse” |
Governance of Arts Organisations |
| Senedd Committee Reporting , National Museum of Wales , August 1, 2024 |
On a summer's morning in July three Cabinet Secretaries and the Counsel General in Cardiff Bay announced in sequence their resignations and left office. An hour later the First Minister of Wales announced his intention also to resign at a soon date. The tremors of the day reverberated to the BBC in Salford Quays. The “Front Row” of that day included a report on the condition of the National Museum of Wales. The news of the unmaintained roof of Cathays' magnificent building, since its revelation early in the year, has held a vivid fascination. The image of buckets placed by the staff in corridors to catch the incoming rain is not just graphic but has a metaphoric power also. That metaphor speaks for the mal-management of culture by those entrusted with its flourishing. The turn-of-the-year article of 3rd January 2024 was headed “A Year of Boardroom Malfunction Like No Other.” Its look-back over the year ranged across politics, sport, culture and media. Its subjects were the Welsh Rugby Union, Plaid Cymru, the Books Council of Wales, the National Theatre of Wales, the National Museum of Wales, S4C and YesCymru. The summary of the year's series of detonations closed with: “Most of all the managers of culture need to care. They need to care about culture.” * * * * But it goes beyond caring for culture. It is also about compliance. It is about adhering to the founding principles and the governance conditions of the institutions. The “Front Row” feature was not satisfactory. It had been assembled at speed. The research was scanty. The interviewer returned over and over to those buckets. The interviewees who had been selected restrained themselves in comment. It is not just about money. It is about management. It is about the managers that the Government of Wales has seen fit to put in place. The listening public for "Front Row" was not informed of the involvement of the Auditor General of Wales. The listening public was not informed of the report by the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee titled "Scrutiny of Accounts: Amgueddfa Cymru 2021-22" The information is not hard to find. It was reported clearly 24th June. Reference: https://nation.cymru/news/costly-dispute-at-amgueddfa-cymru-reveals-weakness-in-welsh-governments-management-of-public-bodies/ The incompleteness, the lack of depth and engagement of the feature had a reason. The National Museum of Wales is not in England. Had the subject been the British Museum the subject would have been researched. The interviewees would have discussed the subject in depth. * * * * On 9th November 2023 BBC Cymru Wales returned to the National Museum: “Bullying row over ex-WRU boss cost taxpayers £600,000.” “Roger Lewis was appointed by the Welsh government to be president of the museum from April 2019, before he recused himself in November 2022 as part of a settlement, and left on New Year's Eve 2022, three months earlier than planned. “Mr Crompton raised concerns over "serious governance failures" at the institution and said it could not show how it acted in the best interests of the public purse. Museum Wales, also known as Amgueddfa Cymru, said the report was not a "fair representation of the events that occurred". "Mr Crompton found the "decision-making process concerning the resolution of the employment dispute with the former director general was fundamentally flawed". He said the museum had not been able to demonstrate it acted in the best interests of the charity or that the settlement represented value for money.” The ties that bind: Mr Lewis was, for a while, with ITV. His boss there also went on to participate in the public culture of Wales. For the role of Sir Clive Jones see the history of the National Theatre of Wales. * * * * The last period of the National Museum is on record, part of the cultural history of Wales. On 5th March 2022 Wales Online reported the collapse of proper management process. The trustees had ceased to convene. "The relationship between president Roger Lewis and director David Anderson is said to be "at rock bottom.” The previous autumn, below 31st August 2021, the weekend press ran with headlines like "Welsh language use "systemically racist, Arts Council warned". The cause, below 10th September 2021, was a report that was illiterate and incoherent. Uniquely for a publicly commissioned report the authors were permitted to hide behind a cloak of anonymity. Roger Lewis of the Museum and Phil George, Chair of the Arts Council of Wales, expressed a warm welcome to the report. * * * * The illustration is a self-portrait by Mildred Eldridge. It is a striking picture, vivid in its colouring, with animated brush-work. It is aesthetically superior to some of the late portraiture of Augustus John held in the national collection. In 2023 it was for sale in a specialist London gallery for £7000. It natural place would have been to join the collection in Wales. The National Museum did not act. The governing bodies love to declare their fidelity to the interests of future generations; declaration across every field of activity stops short of action. The cost of the report that spread the culture of Wales across the national press of Britain had been commissioned for in excess of £50,000. The Trustees went on to spend vastly greater sums in battle with its senior member of staff. The underlying causes were not made manifest. Certainly a public exhibition of the time gave evidence of the degradation of scholarship. The Museum's report for the year 2021/2022 was filed 255 days late. The report for the following year was received on time. The President is recorded as receiving £26,387 and reimbursement of expenses of £38,884. The report from the Senedd Committee provided an addition on page 47: “Roger Lewis took up the role of President on 15 April 2019, which was subsequently announced by the Welsh Government, on 29 April 2019. This was the first time the post had been remunerated. No other members of the Board of Trustees were remunerated in 2021-22.” Page 33 of the National Museum's most recent report has a paragraph headed “Governance Issues.” “In 2020/21 some concerns were raised by senior executives about the clarity of the respective roles and responsibilities of the Board and the Executive. These concerns...drawn to the attention of Audit Wales, the Welsh Government and the Welsh Government’s Additional Accounting Officer.” “...There were several processes invoked, including grievances, employment tribunal claims and an issue raised under our whistleblowing procedure...settlement agreements were complex and were discussed fully with Audit Wales.” * * * * The article below 27th June opened: “On 26th June the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee issued a report that addressed the governance of Amgueddfa Cymru/ Museum Wales”. The section ended with “The report of 75 pages is deserving of scrutiny and explication.” 75 pages is a considerable length. As a skeleton of the content: The committee comprised Mark Isherwood, Natasha Ashgar, Rhianon Passmore, Mike Hedges and Adam Price. On page 7 the conclusion: “The Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee...exposed serious governance issues that led to significant costs for the public purse, as part of a novel and contentious settlement.” “The Committee was extremely concerned by the evidence heard about the governance arrangements that were in place at Amgueddfa Cymru and how, ultimately, they proved to be wholly unsatisfactory.” The Committee's focus is on the institution alone. The muddiness of the role played by the Government of Wales is a feature. “We have grave concerns about the processes that have been adopted throughout this dispute, not least in the interactions between Amgueddfa Cymru and the Welsh Government.” “In the context of these major issues, it is hugely concerning that the Welsh Government’s Tailored Review programme is in the process of being adapted to a self-assessment style of review." “The Committee is concerned that this approach will prove to be inadequate in identifying and resolving potentially serious governance issues, such as those exposed by the situation at Amgueddfa Cymru.” * * * * Twenty-five years are not long in the establishment of a political culture. The relationship between legislature and executive is in uncertain territory. The Committee expressed its dissatisfaction with the Government of Wales. The language takes a position of conciliation but is nonetheless clear. On page 7: “Throughout the scrutiny process, the Committee was concerned about the availability of crucial information that would have helped us to more effectively and promptly scrutinise the serious issues under consideration." “In future, the Committee encourages all bodies to reflect on the candour of their dealings with this Committee and all Senedd Committees, but also with the Auditor General for Wales, who plays a vital role in our scrutiny of major issues of importance and significant public interest.” * * * * Page 14 follows the sequence of events: “In June 2021, the former Director General and the former Chief Operating Officer submitted separate complaints to the Welsh Government about alleged inappropriate actions and behaviour on the part of the former President. The former Director General and the former Chief Operating Officer considered that some of the former President’s behaviour towards them constituted bullying and discrimination” Page 51 describes that the Government posture of an arms length relationship ceased to apply: “The Director General for Economy, Treasury and Constitution also told the Committee the Director of Human Resources had played a role “behind the scenes to try and mediate the situation." The reason given for “involved in the mediation, on behalf of Welsh Ministers", was because the former President was a Welsh Government Minister appointment to the Amgueddfa Cymru board. The Director General for Economy, Treasury and Constitution confirmed he did not consider there was a conflict of interest in the roles." Page 53: “The Welsh Government contributed £40,500 to the overall cost of the Settlement Agreement. £20,500 towards external services for the mediation process. £10,000 towards the compensation for injury to feelings. £10,000 towards the payment for loss of office.” * * * * The Government representative was asked whether “the practice of holding closed meetings of the board and meetings not being minuted suggested governance failures.” Response: “They are departures from the established practice, so to that end to your question they are points that needed to be addressed.” Page 30 addressed the lack of documentation and the issue of legal compliance. “The Auditor General notes there is insufficient documentation for him to satisfy himself about the decision-making process, and specifically about whether the payments being made to the former Director General complied with charity law....He reports significant concern about Amgueddfa Cymru’s decision-making between September 2021 and March 2022, when all Board business was conducted by email.” The Committee wrote plainly on its difference with the Government. Page 33: “Whilst we note the evidence provided by the Director General for Economy, Treasury and Constitution to the Committee, we disagree entirely that governance failures did not lead to “loss or damage to Amgueddfa Cymru”. “The Government does not acknowledge itself that there were broader governance issues within Amgueddfa Cymru. It is particularly concerning, given that contemporaneous board minutes and records were not kept over a significant period that was relevant to the dispute.” Page 35 asserts the authority of the Committee. “We wish to emphasise that Senedd Committees always reserve the right to scrutinise settlements such as this one when they believe the situation merits scrutiny." "This also extends to the work of the Auditor General, and it is essential that Amgueddfa Cymru, and all other public bodies, provide full candour to the Committee and the Auditor General, along with full cooperation, to ensure that public scrutiny is effective and timely.” |
Reviewed by: Adam Somerset |
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