Press Release - Preparing for Sporting Success at the London
2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Beyond
20 March 2008
UK Sport has developed a strategy to achieve the Government’s
ambitions for the GB teams to finish fourth in the Olympic medal
table and to maintain second in the Paralympics table at the London
2012 Games. The achievements of athletes at recent elite
international events suggest performance levels are improving. The
NAO’s report identifies a number of risks to be managed if those
ambitions are to be realised, in particular the fact that plans
depend on raising £100 million of funding from the private sector
which has yet to be identified.
Meeting the 2012 goals would require Team GB to double the
number of gold Olympic medals that it won in Athens 2004. To
achieve this, UK Sport and the Department for Culture, Media and
Sport (DCMS) have agreed a £700 million funding package, with
nearly £600 million for elite athletes. This funding comes from the
taxpayer and the National Lottery, plus the private sector money
that still has to be raised.
The report highlighted the progress made in establishing a
system to support elite athletes up to and beyond the 2012 Games,
so that the next generation of athletes has access to the best
coaching staff, facilities and sport scientists. The ability of
sports governing bodies to handle public money has also been
upgraded, along with UK Sport’s capacity to assess their
performance.
In view of the competing demands for private sponsorship for
London 2012, there is a risk that not all of the £100 million will
be raised from the private sector. DCMS has met the Committee of
Public Accounts’ recommendation to draw on specialist fundraising
expertise to help raise the £100 million from the private sector,
though it did not put out to tender for a fundraising partner until
November 2007, 16 months after the Committee identified the need
for expertise.
Tim Burr, head of the National Audit Office, said
today:
"With four years to go until the London Olympic and Paralympic
Games, elite athletes need to know what support they will receive
for 2012. Clear targets also need to be set for the level of
success to be achieved at the Games, with the substantial funding
available."
Notes for Editors:
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website, which is at http://www.nao.org.uk/.
Hard copies can be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702
3474.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Tim Burr, is the head of
the National Audit Office which employs some 850 staff. He and the
NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources. Mr Burr
took up post on 1 February 2008.
Press Notice 18/08
All enquiries to Phil Groves, NAO Press Office: Tel: 020 7798
5339
Mobile: 07770 678 477