Questions over T in the Park's £150k government aid

An MSP has called on the Scottish government to clarify why it gave the organisers of the T in the Park festival £150,000 in funding.

Conservative MSP Liz Smith said there needed to be "absolute clarity and transparency" over the matter.

The government had stated the one-off sum was given to help fund the "successful transition" of the festival to its new home at Strathallan Castle.

It was relocated over concerns of an oil line at the former site in Kinross.

Festival organisers DF Concerts were forced to move on from Balado, the annual event's home since 1997, after the "substantial" concerns were raised by the Health and Safety Executive about the Forties pipeline, which runs underneath the site.

The group examined more than 100 potential venues across Scotland and the north of England before settling on fellow Perthshire estate Strathallan.

Councillors gave permission for the annual event to be held there for three years, following a public consultation.

The move drew criticism from some local residents.

On the issue of the £150,000 in funding, Ms Smith conceded it was "not unusual" for festival events in Scotland to receive Scottish government grants.

She said: "I have written to Ministers to ask the specific questions, the most important of which relate to exactly when the Scottish government was first approached about the provision of additional funding for T in the Park at Strathallan and by whom.

"What were these additional funds used for, particularly as the Scottish government's own website appears to imply that the move to Strathallan was only 'temporary'?"

She added: "The taxpayer surely deserves to know the details."

A spokeswoman for T in the Park said: "Many events in Scotland - often with smaller audiences and less economic impact than T in the Park - receive public funding.

"There is nothing secret at all about the award of £150,000 to the festival, the awards process has been as transparent as it is for any other event or organisation."

The organisers cited "exceptional circumstances" in their application for funding.

The spokeswoman added: "T in the Park was forced to move from Balado - it was not a decision made by us - and switching site is a hugely complicated and expensive process. In fact, it is the biggest move ever undertaken by a music festival of this scale in the UK, organised in just a few short months."

T in the Park said it had invested a seven-figure sum towards moving the festival, which organisers said had brought hundreds of millions of pounds to the Scottish economy over 20-plus years.

The Scottish government said the funding was consistent with its major events policy.

A spokeswoman added: "T in the Park is one of Scotland's most popular and successful annual cultural events, which last year generated £15.4m for the Scottish economy as well as employment opportunities in the staging and delivery of the event.

"Recognising the economic and tourism benefits T in the Park delivers for Scotland, the Scottish government invested £150,000 to support relocation of the event."

MSP Liz Smith had previously raised concern over the event. In a letter to the chief executive of Perth and Kinross Council she called for a "major review" of the festival's move to Strathallan Castle, claiming that "public safety was compromised" during this years event, which was held earlier this month.

DF Concerts issued apologies for transport issues on each day of the festival, with long queues forming at pick-up and drop-off points.