WALTHAM FOREST: Poor fund cash spent on Olympics projects (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

WALTHAM FOREST: Poor fund cash spent on Olympics projects

5:37pm Tuesday 19th August 2008

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MONEY which was supposed to help people in the most deprived areas of Waltham Forest was spent on the council’s Olympics activities, despite previous apparent assurances to the contrary.

A damning report by consultants Pricewaterhousecoopers (PWC) into the Better Neighbourhood Initiative (BNI) found papers relating to ‘many projects’ in a disorganised file labelled ‘Olympics’.

As an example of the chaos which characterised the administration of millions of pounds under BNI and its predecessor the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF), the Olympic ‘Youth Ambassadors’ project was described as “extremely difficult to review”.

Papers were relating to the scheme were not clearly categorised and monitoring forms vaguely referred to the Olympics ‘in general’.

This made it ‘impossible’ to assess how the money was spent and how successful projects were.

The council has previously denied any BNI money was spent on supporting the borough’s 2012 team.

The PWC investigation found 78 per cent of all projects under BNI had “no logically structured files”.

It listed a catalogue of failings to monitor spending and follow basic rules to prevent fraud.

investigators were unable to locate signed contracts for half of projects and files were littered with inaccuracies and inconsistencies.

The “vast majority” of project files showed no evidence of appropriate tendering.

Of the 55 contracts inspected, none contained any evidence of review or approval by the legal department.

A council spokeman said: "The borough’s Olympics strategy has, at its core, an aim to use the opportunities presented by the 2012 Games to secure work and training for local people.

"To this end, BNI money was allocated to setting up the Worknet programme: a partnership initiative designed to match unemployed and unskilled residents with training and employment opportunities.

"Owing to an underspend in the original BNI staffing budget, a further £12,500 was spent on the Olympic Hoops for Health Primary School project.

"Although delivered to primary schools across the borough, priority was given to schools in or by BNI priority neighbourhoods."

Five council officers are currently under investigation for not reporting alleged fraud by EduAction, the company which used to run education in the borough.

Whistleblowers claim the company used £240,000 it was paid through NRF to boost profits.

The findings of the council’s investigation into EduAction’s role in the affair was blocked by the company’s lawyers last month.

The authority has now handed its evidence to the police, who have confirmed they will carry out a ‘full and thorough” review of the investigation.

It has also emerged that EduAction was given about £1 million by the council through BNI without contracts being signed and procedures to prevent fraud being followed.

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