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Lottery cash for lawyers' gym trips

Exclusive by Roland Hancock
21/ 4/2006

LOTTERY cash is being used to fund gym membership for lawyers, the M.E.N. can reveal.

A legal firm in Manchester has been awarded a '45,000 grant to send staff to an upmarket city centre health club to help boost their fitness.

Halliwells law firm is one of a number of high-profile businesses in the region to take advantage of lottery-funded handouts aimed at improving the health of office staff.

Another '15,000 has been awarded to ITV Granada to help build a gym which will be free to all staff - including top-earning Coronation Street stars.

And Manchester United, which owns state-of-the-art training facilities for its millionaire players, will be given '30,000 over three years to fund yoga lessons and lunchtime fitness sessions for staff.

The lottery grants were condemned by Withington MP John Leech, who said the cash should go to those who can't afford gym membership.

War veterans who were refused a lottery grant to fund a 2003 memorial journey to Monte Cassino also criticised the way funds were being allocated.

The lottery cash was allocated to the government body Sport England as part of a '1.2m drive to improve the fitness of office staff.

Companies and organisations were invited to submit bids for funding in March last year and Sport England has now revealed which firms has been awarded grants.

Halliwells, which employs 200 legal staff, many earning over '50,000-a-year, was allocated a total of '45,000 to pay staff gym membership fees at L.A. Fitness.

Funds

The firm was given the lottery grant on the condition that it is matched with '45,000 of the company's own funds towards the fitness drive. Ian Austin, senior partner at Halliwells, said: 'We have a range of people working for us for whom gym membership would be beyond their means.'

ITV Granada is putting in '40,000 of its own money into the new fitness facilities, as well as the grant. Spokeswoman Vicki Matthews said: 'If we reduce sick days we will reduce days off, which will be good for the economy.'

United will also be matching their grant in the fitness drive. This is all about getting staff in sedentary jobs active.'

MP Mr Leech said: "This is not a good way to spend lottery money. If there was an all party parliamentary group asking for free gym membership there would be an uproar.'

John Clarke, a war hero from Chorlton whose application for funding to send veterans to Monte Cassino. It's a very poor example of how to spend peoples' money'

John Hannen, at the Council for Voluntary Service in Manchester said: 'What these people have is the money to put together a professional-looking application.'

A spokesman for Sport England said: 'We have funded a wide range of organisations and projects, like Primary Care Trusts and other institutions.'

Good use of lottery money? Have your say below.


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Most recent 2 of 31 user comments

   I suggest everybody who is upset with Sport England contact them at Astley House, Quay Street, Manchester M3 4AE

08458508508 or fax 0161 835 3678
Raymond, Prestwich
25/04/2006 at 14:08

Offensive or Inappropriate?

   I work in Admin for a local Law Centre and was a "little" upset when I read that a huge firm like Halliwells has just received a ??45,000.00 grant for membership to LA Fitness for its staff. I know that they are going to match that. The organisation that I work for is a not for profit organisation and we are funded by the local Council and the Legal Services Commission. We have tried on many occassions to get a lottery grant for the Law Centre to assist the local community who are either on no pay or low pay and we have been refused. Our funds have been cut by the Council, the Legal Services Commission will not increase their funding and it just galls me that a company that doesn't really need any money is given ??45,000.00. If that were given to the Law Centre it would help to serve the community who needs us most. It seems that if you have money - you get money - maybe I should apply for a job at Halliwells - although I need to see a stress counsellor rather than a fitness instructor.
Diane Bell, Oldham
24/04/2006 at 16:16

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