Lap of Wales charity spent £154k on event
A CHARITY walk which made just over £1,000 despite being given more than £155,000 could have had “an alienating effect” due to its Welsh-speaking celebrity supporters, says an audit report.
The Lap of Wales challenge, which was run by Cerddwn Ymlaen in July 2015, saw celebrities visit major hospitals around Wales while raising awareness of organ donation and funds for Cronfa Elen, which was started to support patients and their families following the death of singer Rhys Meirion’s sister in 2012.
The event was expected to emulate the success of previous Cerddwn Ymlaen walks, which raised more than £400,000 for the Wales Air Ambulance.
Among its supporters were naturalist Iolo Williams, Wales rugby coach Robin McBryde and comedian Tudur Owen.
Organised by Eryl Vaughan, a now retired director of several wind power and tidal companies, the challenge saw participants using various mode of transport including donkeys, kayaks and tandems.
A report by the Wales Audit Office (WAO) showed that some of the money raised, which amounted to £155,414, came from the Welsh Government (£45,000) and Betsi Cadwaladr and Cardiff and Vale health boards, who gave £20,000 each.
The report questioned why £154,045 was spent on the event, leaving a surplus of only £1,368.
The WAO also questioned why £32,000 was paid to Cardiff-based media company Storm and Shelter, which had Mr Vaughan as its chairman and his son Gruffydd as a director.
The company was paid to provide a website, filming and advice.
The report said Storm and Shelter was asked to provide the service as it already hosted the organisation’s current website.
“Cerddwn Ymlaen did not believe it could secure an equivalent service elsewhere at comparable cost at such short notice,” it said.
Mr Vaughan told the Herald: “They’ve had their figures completely wrong. We spent £42,000 with Storm and Shelter.
“The truth is that we started working with (Betsi Cadwaladr fundraising charity) Awyr Las around 18 months previously.
“Storm and Shelter was formed as a company because they’d come together for Cerddwn Ymlaen.”
Mr Vaughan said some procurement rules were “like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut” and “hindered” the creativity of the event.
He said Cerddwn Ymlaen recognises the need for formal written agreements to be in place when dealing with public money.
Rhys Meirion said: “It’s fair enough. There’s no big criticism. We were just volunteers who hadn’t formed a company.
“It was very ambitious but successful in helping people to discuss organ donation before it became possible.”
A Betsi spokesman said: “The report found that the Lap of Wales was successful in meeting its key objectives in promoting public awareness and understanding across Wales.
“In approving the support to Cerddwn Ymlaen, it was anticipated that the income would exceed the costs, enabling the funding provided by the health board to have been repaid.
“The health board was keen to learn from this experience, which is why it asked the Wales Audit Office to carry out this review.”
In the WAO report, Cerddwn Ymlaen states that among its “lessons learnt” was that “the nature of the Welsh-speaking celebrities could have had an alienating effect on non-Welsh-speaking audiences”.
It adds: “A wider range of celebrities known to non Welsh-speakers could have made a big difference in attempting to include the wider community.”
Mr Meirion said: “It was a bilingual campaign. Many celebrities were asked to join the walk, including non-Welsh-speakers.”
Audit questions event’s spending but organisers say it ‘achieved aims’