Manchester Liberal Democrats have asked the District Auditor to investigate the loss of £421,000 of City Council funds due to a basic accounting error.

The sum was part of funding that went to Marketing Manchester (the tourist board).

Manchester City Council was supposed to pay 35% of Marketing Manchester’s costs and another nine Councils would be responsible for the other 65% between them. But, since 2004 and due to a mistake, Manchester has paid around 56% and the other Councils just 44%.

At the last meeting of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) Deputy Council Leader Jim Battle (who attended as Manchester’s representative) ‘kindly agreed to waive the overpayment’. How generous!

Here are extracts from the minutes of the meetings:

The Manchester Green Party has backed calls for the District Auditor to be brought in.

Marketing Manchester doesn’t seem to have benefited from the mistake or been responsible for it. But regular readers of my site will be only too familiar with this organisation as the one that has ramped up Manchester Pride into the high cost tourist event that it is today.

One individual is now Chief Executive of Marketing Manchester, Chair of Manchester Pride and Chair of the (gay) Village Business Association. An unhealthy concentration of power in my opinion. What is good for tourism and businesses isn’t necessarily in the best interests of our Pride celebration and community.

Update (July 2010):

In an article published in May 2010, The Mule newspaper has information about other payments made by Manchester City Council to Marketing Manchester.

Much has been written about the extra income that Manchester Pride brings in for the local economy.

In 2008, Andrew Stokes, who is chairman of Manchester Pride and chief executive of Marketing Manchester (the tourist board) told the press that Pride was worth more than £17.5m per year to Manchester’s businesses. Other estimates have been as much as £22m.

With Pride bringing in so much much cash for businesses you might think that Marketing Manchester would owe us? After all, Pride is funded mainly by the public, through ticket sales. In 2008, we coughed up about £600,000 — two-thirds of the total Pride income — to run this giant tourist bonanza for the city and its businesses.

But no… Take a look at page 21 of the 2007/08 Manchester Pride accounts (PDF) and you’ll see that Pride paid £6,040 to Marketing Manchester for ‘normal commercial services’. Whereas Pride invoiced Marketing Manchester just £92.

I can reveal that the £6,040 charge was because Marketing Manchester does the business accounts for Manchester Pride! What a nerve they have.

More interesting figures coming soon.

Update (April 2010): Andrew Stokes is now Chair of the [gay] Village Business Association, Chair of Manchester Pride, Chair of Queer Up North, Chief Executive of Marketing Manchester…

Vintage pig photos from the Library of Congress.

In a surprise development last night, Phil Burke the chairman of the Village Business Association issued a statement.

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LGBT community groups and HIV organisations that want to have a stall at the ‘Lifestyle Expo’ at this year’s Manchester Pride have been told they will have to pay £50 for the priviledge plus £30 for electricity.

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