Letter from the Chairman to the Secretary
of State for Scotland
THE POTENTIAL
BENEFITS FOR
SCOTLAND OF
THE 2012 OLYMPICS
As you will know, the Scottish Affairs Committee
is currently conducting an inquiry into The Potential Benefits
for Scotland of the 2012 Olympics. We have already taken evidence
from the British Olympic Association (BOA), the London Organising
Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) and COSLA. Further evidence
sessions will be held with sportscotland and EventScotland,
Scottish Enterprise, Richard Caborn and Patricia Ferguson.
I am writing on behalf of the Committee as,
during our evidence session with the BOA and LOCOG, one particular
area of concern came up and colleagues have, therefore, instructed
me to raise this issue with you.
Charles Walker asked Mike Lee of LOCOG: ".
. . how are we going to stop this from becoming a jamboree for
the rich, famous and powerful? . . . What about Ian's working
class kids, how are they going to get to the Olympic facilities?
Who is going to pay for their travel? Who is going to pay for
their tickets? . . . This is very important, this is the country's
Olympics, it is not just for the rich but for those who would
otherwise have no chance of getting near a venue or this wonderful
celebration of sport."
Mr Lee's response was: "I think the primary
focus for us has been on ticket pricing. In fact, of all the five
bidding cities that competed for 2012 we have the best and fairest
set of ticket proposals, and that means the majority of the tickets
are under £30 . . . Also, every ticket with it will have
free travel across London. So an investment in a ticket gives
you a right to public transport across London for whatever the
ticket applies to on the particular day. Are we saying there is
a commitment at the moment to provide travel subsidies directly
from the LOCOG across the UK, the answer is no. Will there be
rail companies, bus companies and all sorts of other people interested
in being engaged and driving traffic and driving business, in
providing those sorts of discounted fares, I think absolutely
. . . It will not be a Games—and Seb Coe has made this absolutely
clear—for the rich and famous . . . Our intention . . .
is . . . this is a Games for the whole of the nation of this country.
I then asked: "Is there any provision—obviously
there are children and families who will not be able to afford
to buy a ticket—to subsidise those families . . .?"
The reply to which was: "We are not allowed
under the terms of the agreement with the IOC to directly provide
subsidised tickets. What we can do, and it is something we have
discussed, for example with the GLA, is work with them where they
are able to buy certain allocations that they can use in their
own communities. We are not saying that we will provide large
numbers of individually subsidised tickets but we can work with
local authorities and other partners to provide them with an allocation
that they can use in their own area."
The Committee accepts that BOA and LOCOG are
limited in their ability to offer assistance, and therefore wishes
to ascertain what the Government will be doing to ensure people
from disadvantaged areas are not further disadvantaged by being
"priced out of the market" as they are unable to afford
tickets for the Games. Of course, the Committee has a particular
interest in Scotland, but the principle is the same for wherever
those disadvantaged areas are—be they, for example, in Glasgow,
Edinburgh, Belfast, Wrexham or Manchester. Will poorer families
be assisted by there being subsidised tickets available?
It is not, of course, simply the question of
the tickets themselves. What will the Government do to help disadvantaged
families travel down from Scotland to London. Will there be subsidised
accommodation available? Will there be special trains or coaches
laid on? Even within Scotland, will there, for example, be special
low price transport between, say, Dundee and Hampden Park? It
is, of course, particularly helpful that this latter point falls
within both your remit as Secretary of State for Scotland and
Secretary of State for Transport.
It would be invaluable to have your views on
this issue before we take evidence from Richard Caborn on 7 December.
I am sending a copy of this letter to Richard, so that he is aware
of our interest.
Mohammad Sarwar MP
17 November 2005
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