Aberdeen’s embattled anti-poverty convener survived a confidence vote after a two-month campaign to remove him from office.
And now Christian Allard is stoking further controversy – by making sure the Scottish Government is given a highly-critical report which could spell danger for future funding of Sistema Scotland.
Cutting council cash for the charity’s much-celebrated Big Noise Torry was what brought about calls for his job in the first place.
Local authority funding was pulled as city budgets were set in March. Within days, the Scottish Government had swooped in to cover the charity’s sudden – and unexpected – shortfall.
The decision was based on a report compiled by education chiefs, which questioned the impact Sistema is making, and is now being sent to send to ministers.
Napoleon Bonaparte was quoted during a debate lasting nearly two hours.
“In politics, stupidity is not a handicap,” Labour councillor Deena Tissera remarked.
But the Town House talks would end up far from the Waterloo of his fellow Frenchman Allard.
Why was anti-poverty convener Allard facing a confidence vote?
The anti-poverty convener, an SNP councillor for Torry and Ferryhill, claimed Sistema “had no impact whatsoever on the people who needed help the most” when announcing the cut.
“Let’s be very clear: if we had the money, we wouldn’t (support Sistema Scotland) either,” he told the March budget meeting.
But when the SNP government offered Big Noise Torry a year-long encore only days later, he hailed it “great news for the young people of Torry”.
Conservative Torry and Ferryhill councillor Michael Kusznir, backed by Labour ward colleague Simon Watson, accused Mr Allard of “rank hypocrisy” for the flip flop.
Torry is one of the poorest areas in Aberdeen, with the area’s children telling the story of the poverty endured.
It has the lowest proportion of primary one pupils at healthy weights, while it also has the highest alcohol-related hospital admissions in Aberdeen.
Mr Kusznir said: “To cut [Big Noise] without – any sort of consideration of what would replace it – is just unacceptable for a convener of anti-poverty and inequality.
“It’s not a personal thing, I just think he is no longer fit to be convener given his remarks and conduct over Big Noise.”
Sistema did not see critical report before Big Noise Torry funding was slashed
Chief education officer Eleanor Sheppard confirmed the critical report, which she’s been tasked with sharing with the Scottish Government, was not sent to Sistema before the axe fell.
Ms Sheppard’s dossier highlighted Big Noise Torry’s “limited impact” on educational attainment, and “no evidence” of it improving attendance at Walker Road and Tullos primary schools.
In the report, only released after a freedom of information probe by The P&J, the education boss wrote: “There isn’t conclusive proof of the positive impact of Big Noise Torry on the attainment and engagement of all learners in the Torry area.”
Sistema Scotland chief executive Nicola Killean claimed there were “no discussions” at the Big Noise Torry Strategy group, which Ms Sheppard sits on, regarding withdrawal of funding or ending the council’s partnership with the charity.
The agreement to continue working together was renewed as recently as last October. The deal was due to run until March 2026.
In a letter seen by The P&J, Ms Killean said feedback from the strategy group was “consistently positive and supportive”, while one of its aims was “to strive for continual improvement”.
The charity boss previously claimed evidence had been “misrepresented” in order to back the cut.
Allard: ‘We all have the Big Noise Torry report, I have absolutely no idea what we are doing here’
Defiant anti-poverty convener Allard began: “I’m here and intend to stay.”
The SNP inequality tsar blasted the Labour, Conservative and independents running the council before the May 2022 election for failing to publish the report, which had eventually cost Sistema its council stipend.
It was commissioned by the previous Labour, Conservative and independent administration in 2021.
Branding it an “unacceptable dereliction of duty”, he claimed he would be “furious” if he worked for the charity, or was a family member of any child involved in its work, since bosses were kept in the dark over official concerns.
He added: “Every comment I have made were from that evidence.
“Opposition councillors have it in front of them so I don’t know what we’re doing here. I have absolutely no idea.
“It is not big for me to evaluate. I am not qualified to do evaluation – our officers are.
“I ask people to take notes because they have obviously not heard me the first or second time. Maybe it’s the accent, I do not know, I’m trying to speak very slowly.”
But interim legal chief Jenni Lawson confirmed neither the council’s chief finance officer or monitoring officer had “any concerns” about the case for renewing Sistema’s funding being made without the 2021 report being circulated to councillors.
Despite a fiery couple of hours at the Town House, the vote went as those watching in the galleries might have predicted: along party lines.
The SNP and Liberal Democrat’s 24 voted to keep Mr Allard as anti-poverty convener. The other 21 backed calls for him to be stripped of his job.
Conversation