MPs warn on Olympic cost control
Public Accounts Committee fear financial risk of lack of ‘iron hand’ control over bodies organising 2012 London games
Spiralling costs of the 2012 Olympics have left the government financially
exposed, MPs are warning.
The plethora of bodies responsible for delivering the games threaten to
stymie decision-making, the Commons
Public
Accounts Committee says in a report on the risk assessment and management of
plans for the Olympics.
‘The truth is that the government is financially exposed,’ said Edward Leigh,
committee chairman. Delivery risks have to be managed ‘with an iron hand’, but
strong arrangements for monitoring progress and managing risk are not in place,
he added.
Bodies responsible for the games include the London organising committee
(Locog), which is in charge of staging the event, the Olympic Delivery
Authority, responsible for stadiums and facilities, a 50-strong team of civil
servants in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport;, and an Olympics Board,
consisting of, among others, the London mayor and the chairman of the British
Olympic Association.