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Government ignoring its Olympic sport legacy promises, say Tories
Pippa Crerar29 Oct 2008
THE Government has failed to deliver on its key Olympic promise of providing a lasting sporting legacy, the Tories claimed today.
They accused ministers of neglecting to invest in grassroots sports to support the next generation of athletes and boost the nation's health.
Shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said the "vision to serve those who come after us" had been a key plank of Britain's Olympic bid.
In a Commons debate on the Games, he told MPs: "A sporting legacy is not just an aspiration. It is also a matter of basic fairness.
"Britain's pledge was to use 2012 to enable young people through sport. Tony Blair talked of a vision which serves those who come after us. A vision that said to spend billions of pounds of taxpayers' money on 17 days of sport was not acceptable. But to harness that money to encourage young people to take up sport would be an investment worth making."
Tory sources added: "This was the key promise in our bid that won the Games and the one that the Government has so far ignored."
Mr Hunt added: "The Olympics will cost more than £500 for every family in this country, or close to £7million every day between now and the opening ceremony. That is a cost for taxpayers throughout the country which is why the Olympics must benefit people throughout the country."
The Tories have said the Government's legacy plan has been a series of renouncements plus an "unfunded" free swimming proposal.
They claim plans to offer free swimming to all under-16s and over-sixties are under threat because of a multi-million-pound funding shortfall.
However, Culture Secretary Andy Burnham insisted the Government was on course to reach its key sporting legacy goals.
He said two million people would be more active by 2012 and every child would be offered the chance to play five hours of sport a week. There would also be a "more focused" community sport system and more money for elite sports.
"It has been remarked that this country is better prepared in legacy terms than any other nation at this stage of an Olympic cycle. We continue to challenge ourselves," Mr Burnham told MPs.
