Disabled people are excited about the Paralympics in 2012. But they would rather have money to eat than watch a couple of ceremonies
The results of a recent survey by disability charity Scope suggested that many disabled people think that the Paralympic Games are a waste of money. When I first read this, I was more than a little surprised. As a disabled person, I have good friends who play disability sports. I have seen for myself how hard they work - and how much pleasure they get out of participating. So I certainly don't think the Paralympic Games as an event are in any way a waste of money. They are a way for disabled people to play sport safely and fairly. That makes them very necessary in my eyes.
I was as thrilled and excited as the rest of London on that summer's day in 2005 when it was announced that we had won the chance to host the Olympics and Paralympics in 2012. I've even got tickets to the Paralympics. So I'm looking forward to the Games as much as anyone else.
However, yesterday, when I read that the government has doubled the budget for the Olympic and Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies to more than £80m after David Cameron saw the plans, I was, once again, more than a little surprised. With some sadness, I realised that I can now understand why some disabled people see the Paralympics as a waste of money.
The extra money comes from an "Olympic funding package" that is worth billions of pounds. Hugh Robertson MP, the minister for sport and the Olympics, yesterday told the BBC that the extra money had been invested so that people would take away a better impression of this country after the Games. He said the government hopes the extra investment will make people want to return to Britain as tourists or to do business.
The extra money has reportedly been reallocated from savings made from the public expenditure budget for the Games.
If savings have been made from the original public budget for the Olympics and Paralympics, why can't the government use this money for something more permanent than opening and closing ceremonies? After all, the visitors they are trying to impress will go home after a couple of weeks. Yes, we need to show them a good time and impress them, but £41m is not a small amount of money.
I've heard so much over the last few years about how the government wants the Olympics and Paralympics to leave a legacy in London. Have they considered using the money saved on the Olympic ceremonies to fund better sports facilities in schools?
As for the money saved on the Paralympics, there are so many things that it could be used for other than simply improving the ceremonies. Wheelchairs, physiotherapy, even day centres.
Or how about using that money not to cut disability benefits so harshly? Because as much as Paralympians deserve recognition and celebration, I'm sure many ordinary disabled people would rather have money to eat than watch a couple of ceremonies, however beautiful the ceremonies may be.
• Sarah Ismail is a freelance journalist. She blogs about disability issues at SameDifference1.com