APPENDIX 4
Memorandum submitted by the British Paralympic
Association
1. At a meeting of the National Paralympic Committee
on 5 December 2002, held at the Queen's Club, the British Paralympic
Association unanimously endorsed the British Olympic Association's
bid for London as a venue for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic
Games.
2. As you will be aware, the current agreement between
the International Olympic and Paralympic Committees provide for
the host city the obligation to organise both Games. Following
the outstanding success of the British Paralympic team in Sydney,
where it finished second in the medal table, we have worked tirelessly
to ensure that Great Britain remains at the forefront of Paralympic
sport and a London Games would endorse this position. It is
our belief that a London bid will enhance the growing
reputation of Great Britain's élite disabled athletes and
firmly demonstrate H.M. Government's commitment to their sporting
success.
3. The present administration's current commitment
to sport and the legacy it leaves through social inclusion, health,
education and facilities can have few clearer illustrations than
in supporting a Paralympic Games in London. The benefits that
would accrue to Great Britain's disabled people through the demonstration
of national commitment to their sports would be immense and tangible.
SOCIAL
INCLUSION
4. The survey of sports participation by young people
with a disability under the age of 16 conducted by Sport England,
and indeed its parallel survey for adults, painted a depressing
picture of lack of opportunity, encouragement, facilities and
motivation. There is a desperate need for sporting heroes and
cultural encouragement, particularly for young people with a disability.
That Great Britain, through Stoke Mandeville, is also the birthplace
of the Paralympic movement makes it all the more damning that
disabled people in GB continue to find such barriers to participation.
There is, therefore, a compelling practical purpose, as well as
providing a uniquely symbolic reason, for supporting a London
bid. A London Games would demonstrate an acceptance of the role
of sport in enhancing the lives of people with a disability, and
perhaps more fundamentally their right to participate in the ultimate
sporting arena. That GB should at last, in the 21st Century, fully
embrace and endorse the rights of disabled people to equality
of opportunity and access in both sport and society in general
would be a powerful message conveyed within the Olympic/Paralympic
bid and one endorsed by concrete and practical outcomes.
HEALTH
5. The recent Strategy Unit Report 'Game Plan' highlighted
very clearly the health, and by extrapolation economic, benefits
of participation in sport. The costs of at least £2 billion
a year of physical inactivity will be substantially contributed
to by the needs of the c.8.5 million registered disabled people
in GB. The benefit of using sport in medical rehabilitation was
of course discovered and pioneered by Sir Ludwig Guttman and the
benefits of sport to the further health of the general population
are well evidenced. The current poor levels of participation in
sporting activity by this significant minority grouping as well
as the general population could begin to be addressed through
the educational programme and sporting example that would be engendered
by an Olympic/Paralympic bid.
6. Few better examples of the impact of sport on
health could be found than through the Paralympics and would provide
significant leverage in encouraging behavioural change to produce
a sports and physical activity culture.
EDUCATION
7. The British Paralympic Association together with
NASUWT and DfES has recently launched an awareness raising pack
for schools on the Paralympics and disability sport. The motivation
for this included the acknowledgement that awareness of disability
and disability sport was very poor in our schools and a need to
contribute to the implementation of SENDA[1995]. An Olympic/Paralympic
bid would galvanise this work in schools and contribute significantly
to the PSE/Citizenship agenda of the National Curriculum as well
as highlighting the [lack of] provision in PE for children with
a disability. Evidence of the impact on school children can be
seen from the Sydney Paralympics where an innovative programme
resulted in considerable support for the event and the widespread
involvement of schools.
8. As in the case of health there needs to be a clear
example set if we are to impact upon the culture of young people
and a bid would offer a very focussed and explicit view of sport
and physical activity that would be hard to ignore.
FACILITIES
9. Despite over 50 years of the Welfare State and
the pioneering legislation of the Disability Discrimination Act
1995 [fully enacted October 2002] GB, and London in particular,
can remain distinctly difficult to access for the disabled. These
difficulties extend across all public facilities and transport
and not merely in the sport arena. The creation of new/refurbished
transport systems and the building and upgrading of facilities
that are fully accessible and would ensure that London begins
to reflect the expectations of inhabitants and visitors of a modern
capital city in the 21st century.
SPORT
10. Paralympic sport in GB has consistently been
at the forefront of the movement and finished second in the medal
table behind Australia in Sydney 2000. Despite hosting the early
events in disability sport competition GB has never hosted a truly
international multisport event for the Paralympic family.
As is so often the case other nations have taken up the mantle
once donned by GB and done so with great grace. The Olympic/Paralympic
bid would go a long way to demonstrating that GB has not only
the rhetoric but also the capability when it comes to organising
major sporting events. This would be particularly apt in Paralympic
sport where our representation and participation has not been
matched by our delivery of major events.
11. Disability sport maintains a growing reputation
and presence worldwide and once again there are perceptible
differences developing across the world and between GB in the
level of commitment and acceptance. The constant fight for credibility
would be ended with a bid that committed itself to a Paralympics
and the disabled sport movement in GB. Demonstrating an investment
in the sustainability of British disability sport would not only
immediately benefit the existing sportsmen and women but would
also provide the infrastructure necessary to involve more and
future generations in sport with all the benefits identified earlier.
It would also demonstrate that GB is serious about sustaining
its position as a leader in Paralympic sport and a major medal
winner.
12. GB's reputation in Paralympic sport at present
can be seen reflected in the appointment of Philip Craven as President
of the International Paralympic Committee [ and member of the
IOC] and Bob Price as President of the European Paralympic Committee.
In addition we have a significant number of representatives in
senior positions in International Federations and organisations.
These positions of influence are difficult to sustain when GB
is consistently seen to be incapable of hosting major events.
GENERAL
13. It is our contention that an Olympic/Paralympic
bid would deliver on the key policy issues identified by the Government
and outlined above. These key areas of Government social policy
could be quantified but it is in the qualitative not the quantitative
impact that a more compelling reason can be made.
14. In economic terms we do not have detailed figures
of our own that represent the impact of the Paralympic Games on
the economy but we would endorse the findings that Arup has included
in the report and which are based on the Sydney experience. We
would, however, point out that the disabled community in GB is
a very sophisticated economy that already generates a market in
excess of £40 billion and we would therefore anticipate a
significant consumer impact of a Paralympic Games.
15. Similarly it is difficult for us to put a value
on the economic impact of developing fully accessible facilities
and transport systems but it is not unreasonable to assume that
it would be significant to GB, Londoners and overseas visitors.
As a consequence the growing international disability market becomes
a major factor to add to the economic equation.
16. A final area in which we believe significant
social and economic value would be generated is in the areas of
employment and volunteerism. The opportunity to encourage people
with a disability to seek employment and/or to volunteer for the
Games operation would be a significant signpost to the social
values of GB. Further it would be a recognition of the ability
of disabled people to contribute significantly to economic decisions
around their own lives and to contribute to the wider economy.
17. BPA would be delighted to contribute further
to your considerations if it is appropriate. Meanwhile, we would
urge this committee to recognise the value of a London Olympic/Paralympic
bid for Great Britain and to provide the support of H.M. Government
and Parliament.
14 January 2003
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