Greens, ÖVP demand audit of Vienna summer camps

Vienna’s city audit office will examine the city’s Summer City Camps after the Greens and ÖVP jointly requested a review, ORF reported. The parties criticised the camps’ organisation and costs while supporting the principle of holiday childcare.

The camps were launched in 2019 for children aged six to 12. In 2025 and 2026, around 16 million euros was allocated each year to fund 33,000 places at 34 locations. Each place costs taxpayers about 500 euros, in addition to an 80-euro parental contribution. The Greens and ÖVP said comparable places from private providers were available for about 300 euros.

They questioned a change introduced in 2024. Until 2023, the city settled funding directly with the participating organisations. Since then, an association has received the funds and distributed them to partner organisations as the coordinating body.

The Greens also said the city-founded organisation Bildung im Mittelpunkt was involved, including in quality assurance. Education spokesman Felix Stadler described this as a possible three-tier structure and questioned whether public money was being lost. The parties also said the costs were surprising because the camps take place in schools and do not require rental payments.

Family spokeswoman Sabine Keri and Stadler criticised the registration process, which they said caused problems and frustration each year. They also questioned the regional distribution. Margareten, they noted, had no location despite a particularly high need for German-language support, which is among the camps’ objectives.

The audit office has been asked to examine the flow of funds, the total costs since 2019 and the appointment of the coordinating association. The Greens and ÖVP also want to know whether a transparent procurement process was conducted.