UK charities urgently need the government to refund ‘borrowed’ Olympic lottery millions

The jubilation of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio is unlikely to be felt in Britain’s communities this week as they are reminded of the loss of nearly half a billion pounds which was raided by the government to fund the 2012 London Olympic games.

Campaigners have renewed calls for the government to immediately repay the £425m which was raided from the Big Lottery Fund in 2007 in order to make up for a massive shortfall in funding for the 2012 Olympics.

At the time, the government made a commitment to repay the money after the games by selling off assets, such as the stadium and aquatic centre. Yet nearly four years on this has still not taken place, in spite of the Olympics actually coming in £500m under budget, with government ministers repeatedly holding to the line that refunds may take until 2030.

Campaigners have said this week that a repayment is now urgent and have cast doubt on the sincerity of the government’s commitment to repay. Speaking on ITV London News last night, Ciaran Price, Policy Officer at the Directory of Social Change said that ‘we have seen demand on the services of charities rise year on year while charities are struggling to get the financial support they need’, ‘charities are now in a period of unprecedented uncertainty. With our departure from the EU and the potential loss of billions of pounds of European grants, we could well see that demand rise further.’

He continued to say that ‘given the under spend, and the fact that the government has given away one of the biggest Olympic assets to West Ham United, we have to question the sincerity of their promises.’ Last year, under what has been described as the ‘business deal of the century’, West Ham United won 99 year lease which will see the club pay just £2.5m for the exclusive use of the Olympic Stadium. The club has an annual income of over £115m.

In spite of questions over the sincerity of government to repay, the campaign remains hopeful that the new government led by Theresa May will realise the urgency of the issue.

The campaign points out that at the time of the raid, when May was shadow minister for Culture, Media and Sport, she argued that ‘every pound the Government choose to snaffle in that way is a pound that cannot go to help community groups’. The campaign recently wrote to May as well as London Mayor, Sadiq Khan and the new Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Karen Bradley highlighting the need for an immediate repayment.

The Big Lottery Refund campaign, run by the charity Directory of Social Change, has repeatedly called on the government to take on the role of creditor in the Olympics assets deal by repaying the Big Lottery Fund now, against future income from the sale of assets. The campaign says this will ensure the 10,000 charities that have lost much needed funding since the raid of 2007 will be able to support some of the most vulnerable people in society.

The Big Lottery Fund makes grants to thousands of small charities and community groups around the country and is described as a lifeline for communities and millions of people who rely directly on charitable services.

The campaign is calling on people to join them and write or tweet to their MP or do anything they can to highlight the urgency of a repayment.