Don’t waste Olympic legacy, watchdog warns
The final Olympic bill could come in £377m under budget but the government must provide strong leadership to ensure the legacy is not wasted, a new report claims.
The government has been warned not to waste the success of the London 2012 Olympic Games by a spending watchdog report that calls for “strong leadership” in creating a legacy.
The National Audit Office report also suggests that the Games could come in £377m under budget, as estimated, against its £9.3bn public sector funding – but the final figures are still uncertain.
The future of the £429m Olympic stadium is currently being finalised, but the report also warns that with so many different organisations involved in creating the legacy of the £9.3bn Games, focus must not be lost.
Campaigners have seized on the announcement to call on the government to repay £425m that was taken from the Big Lottery Fund to help finance the games.
The NAO’s post-Games review explains that the extent of the shortfall is under discussion between Locog and G4S, but the Ministry of Defence has provided 135,000 additional days of military personnel time, at an estimated cost of £36m.
The NAO outlined the success of the Games, spanning from the opening and closing ceremonies to the 11 million tickets sold for the events. The event was also praised for meeting a huge logistical challenge recruiting 70,000 volunteers.
Lottery refund campaign
Campaigners Big Lottery Refund have called for the £377m potential surplus to be used to cover the £425m taken from the Lottery fund to help finance the Olympics, claiming it will create a “legacy to be proud of”.
Jay Kennedy has been campaigning for lottery funds to be returned as soon as possible claiming they could fund 10,000 charity projects helping over 8 million people.
“It’s great that there could be money left over, they should use it to pay back the lottery fund,” he told Channel 4 News.
“The money could create a lasting legacy with funding for groups helping people with learning disabilities, older people and allowing small charities to provide help in innovative and practical ways.”
“This legacy would mean these is support for charities in difficult times.”
The £425m taken from lottery funds in 2007 was on top of £213m taken to support the original budget. Sports Minister Hugh Robertson has confirmed the lottery is entitled to receive £675m from the receipts from land sales in the Olympic Park, “dependent on the timing of the land sales – currently envisaged to take place over a 25-year period”.
Unexpected costs
The head of the NAO, Amyas Morse, has said it seems likely not all of the Olympic funding package will be used, despite the unexpected security costs.
“There has been progress in setting up arrangements to strengthen co-ordination and oversight of delivery of the planned legacy of the Games. Crucially, the Games passed off without major transport disruption or security incident.
“The operational costs within the 2007 public sector funding package increased markedly, including an extra £500 million needed for venue security. Nevertheless, taken as a whole, the Games were a success by any reasonable measure and it looks as if not all of the funding package will be used.”