Charity Leaders Condemn Olympic Cuts - Comments from Eleanor Burnham

1.02.52pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 23rd Apr 2007

Welsh Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Culture, Welsh Language and Sport Eleanor Burnham has today responded to news that four leading voluntary organisations in England have demanded a House of Commons debate on using lottery funding for the 2012 Olympics. The National Lottery stands to lose an additional £675m to fund the event, impacting upon good causes throughout Wales.

The widespread condemnation comes after it was revealed in February in a letter from Culture, Welsh Language and Sport Minister Alun Pugh to Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell that Wales could lose between £24m and £36m due to the current Olympic overspend.

Ms Burnham said: "Tessa Jowell has stated that charities in the UK, including those in Wales, should view the cuts as 'a loan to the Olympics', but that is hardly the case for many smaller Welsh charitable projects that may well cease when their funds dry up after 2009.

"It's no secret that here in Wales we have always had a severe lack of funding for basic services, let alone our cultural and sporting causes, and we rely heavily on national lottery funding to support cultural and sporting projects in my own region of North Wales.

"We know from the Culture Minister himself that Wales will lose an estimated £24 - £36 million pounds. We cannot be certain that the benefit of the Olympics to Wales, which has the potential to provide training grounds and stages for some of the 2012 events, will justify the cuts to our charitable organizations.

"This loss is still a high price to pay for the use of our facilities and training grounds. The Welsh Assembly Government will have to do all it can to make the most of the impact of the Olympics on Welsh tourism, sporting success, business and public health and fitness. We will have to wait and see if the ends justify the means in 2012 and beyond."

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