London Olympics Bill

As this is the first group of amendments on Report, I begin by thanking the Minister for extending the courtesy of a briefing for myself and the hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Foster) at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the amendments tabled since the Committee stage. May I ask the right hon. Gentleman to pass on my thanks to his civil servants who were responsible for that briefing and for other aspects of the Bill? New clause 3 and new schedule 1 allow for the creation of transfer schemes to move contracts across from the Greater London Authority, the London Development Agency and Transport for London to the Olympic delivery authority. If the Secretary of State believes that it will best serve the ability of the ODA to carry out its functions, he or she may direct any of those bodies to make a transfer scheme. I wholly accept that a single body is needed to manage public sector investment in staging the games if we are to be best placed to deliver the games on time and to budget. The ODA creates a single point of contact for various public sector organisations involved in the delivery of those games. However, as the new clause has been moved since the Committee stage, will the Minister answer a number of points when he winds up? First, what safeguards are in place to look after the interests of the originators of those contracts? Secondly, how will accountability be preserved once the transfer is effected from an elected body such as the GLA to the ODA? Finally, how can the House continue to exercise scrutiny? Subject to the Minister’s reassurances on those three points, I am happy to signal my party’s support.