London 2012 budget cut by £27m 25/05/2010 |
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The new coalition Government has announced that £27m is to be cut from the London 2012 Olympics budget.
The decision was part of the wider £6.2bn of spending cuts announced by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition on Monday (May 24).
The cutbacks will affect the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), which is the body building the venues.
The previous Labour government had said the £9.325bn budget for the 2012 Games in east London was ring-fenced.
Jeremy Hunt, the new secretary of state for culture, media and sport, claimed the savings should not interrupt the Olympic programme and that "frontline services" should be protected.
And Sports and Olympics minister Hugh Robertson said it was right London 2012 should "share the pain" of the spending cuts.
"We have the worst economic crisis faced by any incoming government in recent times and we are trying to achieve a balance,” he added.
"Against that backdrop, it is probably right that the Olympics share some of the pain but in a way that will not put at risk the greater good of the project."
The main savings are intended to come from cutting administration costs and restrictions on recruitment and pay.
ODA chairman John Armitt believes the savings can be made without affecting the programme.
He said: "Due to strong financial management and cost control to date, the project is on a sound economic footing and I am confident that the ODA will be able to save £27m from our budget this year.
"This saving will be found by continuing to make efficiencies in the way the project is delivered as we have already done in the past.
"This is possible due to the efficient way that the project has been managed.
"Our regular budget updates have consistently shown that we are on schedule and within budget with savings of around £600m already delivered to keep us on track."
Meanwhile, UK Sport, Sport England and the new UK Anti-Doping Agency will all have to trim budgets by three per cent as part of the cost-cutting measures.
The cuts will see savings of £61m from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport sector, which includes UK Sport, Sport England and UKAD.
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