Bureaucrats received bonuses for helping deliver a successful Olympics (Picture: PA)

Bureaucrats have been accused of earning ‘Olympic-sized’ bonuses for helping to organise the 2012 Games.

In 2006-07, the total bonus pool at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport was £392,114. In the last financial year it was £793,540 shared between 353 staff.

The top individual payments also soared under the coalition, figures made public show.

The highest individual award in 2011-12 was £197,500, compared to £49,500 in the final year of the Labour government in 2009-10.


The payments came in a written parliamentary answer to Tory MP Priti Patel who dubbed them ‘shocking’.

‘The successful delivery of the 2012 Games should have been part of their normal job expectations and bureaucrats should not have expected or received Olympic-size bonuses for doing their jobs,’ said Ms Patel.



‘Government departments should be getting a grip on spending and this shocking increase in bonuses is systemic of the out-of-date entitlement culture in the civil service.’

A Cabinet Office spokesman said: ‘Since 2010-11 the government has restricted performance-related payments for senior civil servants to the top 25 per cent of performers, saving the taxpayer £15million.’