1 THE NEED FOR STRONG GOVERNANCE
AND DELIVERY STRUCTURES
1. There are three principal stakeholders in the
Games—the Government (represented by the Department for
Culture, Media and Sport), the Mayor of London and the British
Olympic Association—and a large number of other bodies are
also involved (Figure 1).[3]
Figure 1: Summary of the delivery structures
for the 2012 Games
Source: National Audit Office
2. There is a tripartite relationship between the
Olympic movement, the Host City (which signs the contract with
the International Olympic Committee) and the Host Government (which
has to provide an underwriting guarantee), and the Department
stressed that a fundamental lesson from previous experience was
to get that relationship right. More generally the delivery structures
had drawn on lessons from previous Games, in particular from Sydney
which had ended up with the model now put in place for London.[4]
3. Two new bodies have been set up to take the lead
in delivering the Games. The Olympic Delivery Authority will provide
the venues and infrastructure, and the London Organising Committee
of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) will stage the
Games themselves. It is a requirement of the International Olympic
Committee to have an Organising Committee, and the creation of
the two bodies was a lesson to emerge from the experience of the
Millennium Dome in terms of the need for different skills at different
stages of major projects.[5]
4. The Department considered that a key achievement
of the past year was getting the new delivery bodies up and running,
with professional management and staff with strong capabilities,
and that the responsibilities and accountabilities of the two
organisations were clear. On the question of continuity in key
posts in the run up to 2012, the Accounting Officers of the Department
and the Olympic Delivery Authority confirmed their intention to
remain in place for the duration of the programme.[6]
5. The Olympic Board has been established to bring
together the key stakeholders and oversee the delivery of the
Games. The Board comprises the Secretary of State for Culture,
Media and Sport, the Mayor of London, and the Chairs of the British
Olympic Association and LOCOG. The Chair of the Olympic Delivery
Authority also attends Board meetings as a non-voting member.
No individual has overall responsibility for delivering the Games.
The Board aims to work by consensus, although the individual members
have a right of veto over key decisions which affect their particular
responsibilities.[7]
6. The delivery structures are complex, and the Department
acknowledged that, from the experience of previous Games, one
of the key risks was delay in decision making. It considered,
however, that the structures were appropriate, with the Olympic
Board providing strategic oversight and reviewing the Olympic
Delivery Authority's budget. The Board had worked effectively,
for example in agreeing the draft transport plan. In addition,
the Olympic Projects Review Group, responsible for ensuring that
projects were processed speedily and smoothly, had already recommended
a number of significant projects for approval.[8]
7. As for the Department, it oversees both the Olympic
Delivery Authority and LOCOG, whose Chief Executives are additional
Accounting Officers. The Department is also responsible for co-ordinating
the contributions of other parts of government to the Games, such
as the Department for Transport and the Highways Agency who will
help to deliver the necessary transport improvements in London
and elsewhere, for example in Dorset where the sailing will be
held. A new team within the Department for Culture, Media and
Sport, the Government Olympic Executive, had been set up to manage
the government's interest in the Games and provide cross-government
co-ordination. The capability of the Government Olympic Executive
to oversee the Olympic programme was to be enhanced by the recruitment
of a new Director General and Financial Director with commercial
experience of major projects.[9]
3 C&AG's Report, para 25 Back
4
Qq 3, 39, 76, 90 Back
5
C&AG's Report, para 27, Figure 3; Qq 84, 94 Back
6
Qq 76, 92, 166-168 Back
7
C&AG's Report, paras 31-33 Back
8
C&AG's Report, para 37; Qq 82, 86, 89, 91, 172-173 Back
9
C&AG's Report, para 34; Qq 86, 105, 152-153 Back
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