NAO report: 'Good progress' on Olympics but more could be done

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is broadly making “good progress” in delivering infrastructure for the 2012 Games, but needs to improve on generating competitive tenders and rolling out the procurement of its contracts.

These are the findings of the National Audit Office's (NAO) Preparations for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Progress Report June 2008.

The report, which plots the progress of the Olympic programme so far, concludes that the ODA is making good progress in taking forward preparations for the Olympic Park - in some cases ahead of schedule.

It added that the ODA had developed a robust procurement policy and process which was consistent across all its projects.

However the report outlines some slippage in the ODA’s procurement timetable with the award of only 23 of the 33 contracts due to be sealed by March. The delays, said the report, have been attributed to the time taken to produce specifications and in obtaining project specific planning permissions and necessary stakeholder input.

To help prevent further slippage in the construction timetable, the NAO calls on the ODA to secure accurate and timely data from suppliers - currently being developed. This, said the NAO, will become a challenge as construction work begins in earnest this year and as the number of suppliers on site increases.

To help with this issue, the NAO said the ODA has yet to determine how best to engage with the wider supply chains that will soon be operating across its construction sites. This should include encouraging suppliers to come forward as soon as possible on any matter likely to impact on performance or delivery.

On the question of competitiveness in the tender process the NAO said that although competition was secured on a majority of its procurements, there was a "loss of competitive tension" on the tender process for the Olympic Stadium and the Aquatics Centre, although the ODA expects to make further savings from "competition down the supply chains".

As a result, the NAO in its recommendations has called on the ODA to establish arrangements to determine whether effective competition is being achieved by suppliers in their procurement of subcontractors.

The need for fair payment across the supply chain also gets a mention with the NAO recommending that the ODA secures the effective performance of construction suppliers if it is to achieve its wider objectives for fair payment, equality and inclusion and health and safety.