Red card for sports spree

THE benevolence shown by Leeds Metropolitan University, and its discredited former vice-chancellor Simon Lee, towards the world of sport will certainly be welcomed by those clubs – and organisations – who continue to benefit from this extravagant misuse of public funds.
By The Newsroom
Published 23rd Apr 2010, 21:09 BST
Updated 23rd Apr 2010, 21:09 BST

They probably could not believe their good fortune that they had such a willing long-term backer of ambitious new building projects like the new cricket pavilion at Headingley Carnegie, or such a generous sponsor of rugby league's prestigious Challenge Cup, at a time when private firms were scaling back their contributions.

Yet, while many will benefit from this largesse, this exorbitant level of spending – and the failure of governors at Leeds Met to scrutinise Mr Lee's cavalier decision-making – cannot be justified at a time when "value for money" needs to be the public sector's over-riding objectives, and when so many universities are having to implement serious, and damaging, cuts.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

As the former Carnegie College, Leeds Met enjoyed a reputation for excellence in PE teaching, and sport, prior to Mr Lee's highly-damaging chancellorship. It already had established links with many of the organisations that it chose to lavish with vast sums of money with, in the case of the Challenge Cup, the contractual details regarded as an after-thought after 1.3m had been paid to the RFL by the publicly-funded university.

If Mr Lee, and his ineffectual governors, had the best interests of their students at heart, they would have spent this money on improving Leeds Met's capacity to inspire young people rather than bankrolling the former vice-chancellor's various sporting interests and the rolling out of the "Carnegie"' brand to irresponsible levels. Just think how many scholarship schemes, for example, could have been funded in return for the 20m plus that Leeds Met spent on its sports partnerships.

Thankfully, and belatedly, Leeds Met's new leadership team is changing its procedures after allegations of bullying brought about Mr Lee's downfall. Never again will such a spending spree go unchecked in the future. But the repercussions of the university's financial turmoil, which only came to light after a series of Freedom of Information requests by this newspaper, must not end here. This sorry episode is a

reminder to every manager in a public sector institution that they have a duty to be seen to be spending taxpayers' money wisely at all times.

Related topics:RFL