Oh, the expenses of it all !

BBC Sport is on a hiding to nothing in sorting out costs, accommodation and expenses for the London Olympics - but doesn't seem to be helping itself on the PR front. The Mail today goes off on one, about a slightly half-baked rule that staff who live more than 90 minutes away from the venue by public transport (as calculated by the current TFL journey planner) may qualify for overnight accommodation.

Rather than quote all the Mail's outrage, here's the bit attributed to a BBC spokeswoman. ‘We will only explore accommodation options for essential staff who would have to spend more than an hour-and-a-half each day on public transport. This excludes the time taken getting to and from their station, and into and through security at the Olympic sites. In many cases this will be very early in the morning or late at night given the round-the-clock broadcasting demands. We are also encouraging staff to stay with family or friends when that is possible. We have not yet finalised staff numbers working on the Games or accommodation details. However we have agreed the principle that the accommodation for staff will be predominately budget with much of it student accommodation. There will be no top-range hotels for staff.’

The big worry is that, nine months away from the event, this hasn't been sorted. Holiday Inn rooms (the "official Olympic provider") are running at more that £315 a night. The proposed Gunnell family campsite at Chigwell is now a non-runner. I find it hard to believe that usefully-placed halls of residence haven't all got customers sorted.

How will the BBC determine where home is for the staff ?  How many will have moved to Salford ? Will they get mileage and London hotels paid ?  How many will be renting in Salford, while keeping London bases ? All other terms and conditions for staff are in terms of mileage, not duration of journey - is this a new precedent ?

This may help beleaguered BBC planners think more clearly: the map shows stations that are 1 hour away from a London mainline station; that would allow, say, 15 minutes to get to St Pancras and 15 minutes on a "Javelin" to Stratford International.  Should the BBC really pay expenses for non-Salford staff who choose to live further away from their work than this ?