House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee Potential Benefits of the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics for Wales Eighth Report of Session 2008–09 Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 14 May 2009 HC 162 Published on 22 May 2009 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £0.00 The Welsh Affairs Committee The Welsh Affairs Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales (including relations with the National Assembly for Wales). Current membership Dr Hywel Francis MP (Labour, Aberavon) (Chairman) Mr David T.C. Davies MP (Conservative, Monmouth) Ms Nia Griffith MP (Labour, Llanelli) Mrs Siân C. James MP (Labour, Swansea East) Mr David Jones MP (Conservative, Clwyd West) Mr Martyn Jones MP (Labour, Clwyd South) Rt Hon Alun Michael MP (Labour and Co-operative, Cardiff South and Penarth) Mr Albert Owen MP (Labour, Ynys Môn) Mr Mark Pritchard MP (Conservative, The Wrekin) Mr Mark Williams MP (Liberal Democrat, Ceredigion) Mr Hywel Williams MP (Plaid Cymru, Caernarfon) Powers The committee is one of the Departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the Internet via www.parliament.uk. Publications The reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the internet at www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/welsh_affairs_committee.cfm. Committee staff The current staff of the Committee is Dr Sue Griffiths (Clerk), Georgina Holmes- Skelton (Second Clerk), Judy Goodall (Inquiry Manager), Anwen Rees (Inquiry Manager), Carys Jones (Committee Specialist), Christine Randall (Senior Committee Assistant), Annabel Goddard (Committee Assistant), Tes Stranger (Committee Support Assistant) and Rebecca Jones (Media Officer). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Welsh Affairs Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 6189 and the Committee’s email address is [email protected]. Potential Benefits of the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics for Wales 1 Contents Report Page Summary 3 1 Introduction 5 Background 5 Our Inquiry 5 Delivery Structure 5 2 Events and Training Venues 7 Events 7 Mountain biking and canoeing 7 Training Camps 9 Benefits of hosting pre-Games training camps 9 Marketing Wales 10 Australian Paralympic Team 11 Other countries 12 Hosting Capacity 12 3 Developing Sporting Excellence in Wales 14 Increasing participation in Wales 14 Funding 16 Facilities 18 Volunteers 20 Maximising Performance of Athletes 22 Élite Cymru 23 Regional Sports Institutes 24 Relationship with UK Sports 24 Funding 25 4 Disability Sports 26 Community Programmes 26 Academy Structure 27 Legacy of the Games 28 Support Framework 28 Inclusiveness 29 Social Legacy 30 Funding 30 5 Economic Benefits 32 Tourism 32 VisitBritain 33 Ryder Cup 34 Benefits for Businesses 35 Contracts 36 Supply Chain 37 2 Potential Benefits of the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics for Wales Marketing Rights 38 6 Cultural and Educational Benefits 39 Cultural Olympiad 39 Torch Relay 40 Welsh Language 41 7 Conclusion 43 List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament 51 Conclusions and Recommendations 44 Formal Minutes 49 Witnesses 50 List of written evidence 50 Potential Benefits of the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics for Wales 3 Summary Our inquiry arose from our belief that any benefits of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games should be felt in Wales and not only in London and the South East of England. We cannot yet conclude whether Wales will benefit from the 2012 Games. Few events will be held in Wales and it is not predicted that Wales will benefit greatly from tourism generated by the Games. This will depend on the extent to which the Welsh Assembly Government, and tourism businesses in Wales can market Wales in the run-up to the Games. In terms of direct impact the Ryder Cup in 2010 will be of much more significance, and will provide an opportunity to raise the worldwide profile of Wales and also as a platform for promoting visits to Wales at the time of the 2012 Games. Apparently conflicting messages regarding the status of the Games arise directly from the formal requirements of the International Olympic Committee. The bid has to come from the host city, but no city in the world can make a bid without the active engagement and commitment of the national government whose objectives will go wider than direct civic benefit. The Government argues that these are UK Games with UK benefits; however it has to respect the fact that these are London Games with events inevitably taking place mainly in the capital. An opportunity was missed in the original bid to locate events in Wales particularly in respect of mountain biking and canoeing — decisions which deny Wales a profile which plays to our strengths and make no sense in terms of the sports themselves or in terms of the UK’s profile world-wide in those sports. In retrospect, with the advent of the current period of financial uncertainty, it now seems misguided to build expensive new venues when such facilities exist in Wales. It is certain that Lottery funding will be diverted from Wales to fund the Games, with a loss of an estimated £100 million. The designation of the Games as a UK-wide project means that Wales will not receive consequential funding for the money spent on regeneration in London. On the other hand it must be remembered that most parts of Wales have benefited from similar designation in the past, receiving money outside the Welsh Block and the Barnett Formula for specific projects. Loss of funding in the short term will have a long-term effect on grassroots projects with a reduction in the number of new facilities built and the possibility that it will not be financially possible to maintain current structures. London’s successful bid was partly based on the Government’s commitment that economic opportunities would be felt by businesses across the UK. Whilst the Government has been proactive, launching the London 2012 Business Network and CompeteFor, there is little evidence that Welsh businesses have succeeded in seizing the opportunities to benefit. Welsh companies currently only account for 2% of all the total number of registrations on the CompeteFor network. We welcome the five supply chain contracts that have been awarded to Welsh companies and we are aware that this is still a small fraction of the business opportunities offered by the Games. It is vital that companies in Wales put themselves forward to win business, particularly during the adverse economic climate. The most obvious benefit to Wales arises from the fact that the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London provide a unique opportunity to generate interest in sport amongst 4 Potential Benefits of the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics for Wales children and young people. Disability sports is a great success story for Wales and the community programme ensures that there are opportunities for children and young people with disabilities. The academy structure ensures that talent is recognised and nurtured, and has had significant success. Other UK nations can learn from Wales’s success in this field. The Cultural Olympiad provides an opportunity for Wales to promote learning and skills development, and to use sporting programmes to engage and inspire people. Wales must have the opportunity to contribute fully to UK-wide programmes. In particular, we strongly recommend that the route of the Torch Relay should include the Urdd Eisteddfod to be held in North Wales in 2012. It is important that all sections of Welsh society are engaged with the Olympics and Paralympics and its ideals. Potential Benefits of the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics for Wales 5 1 Introduction Background 1. On 6 June 2005 the International Olympic Committee awarded London the rights to host the 30th Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. The promise that the games would deliver a legacy for sport was a cornerstone of the London bid. 2. The Government’s legacy action plan, Before, during and after: making the most of the London 2012 Games,1 sets out the Government’s ambition to create a lasting legacy which would spread to all communities in the United Kingdom. Our Inquiry 3. On 26 November 2008, we announced an inquiry into the potential benefits of the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics in Wales. Any benefits of the Olympics should be felt in Wales and not only in London and the South East of England. Our intention was to focus on three key areas: • the potential for developing sporting excellence in Wales; • the likely impact on businesses and on tourism in Wales; and • the potential educational benefits in Wales. 4. As part of our inquiry, on 19 January 2009, we visited the Newport International Sports village, where we met past and present athletes and trainers, and discussed the achievements of Welsh Olympians and Paralympians, together with preparations for 2012. During this visit we took oral evidence from the Federation of Disability Sport Wales and the Sports Council for Wales. We also took oral evidence from Alun Ffred Jones AM, Minister for Heritage, and Arthur Emyr, Wales Nations and Regions Co-ordinator, Welsh Assembly Government. At our second and final evidence session on 27 January 2009, we took oral evidence from the Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP, Minister for the Olympics, and Alan Bucknell, Deputy Director, UK-wide Legacy, Government Olympic Executive. Whilst oral evidence was taken in January, we have continued to receive written evidence and engage in discussions with the Wales Office and the Welsh Assembly Government to ensure this Report is up to date.