London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Bill

My Lords, I add my warmest congratulations to the noble Baroness, Lady Valentine, on an absolutely outstanding maiden speech. I am sure that she will already have gathered that we regularly have debates on sport in this House. The people she has heard today are an illustration of the distinguished people we have here. We have Olympians; we have people who have been involved in sport for many years; we have powerful voices in sport. In fact, I like to think that this is a really top team; an elite squad in itself. The noble Baroness will be very much welcomed to join us in these regular debates in this House and I look forward to her contributions in the future. Let us look back to 6 July. As has already been said, it was a moment that is frozen in time. It was a seemingly endless moment between the opening of the envelope and the magical announcement, ““And the chosen city is—London””. How we cheered, how we leapt—some higher than others—and how we wiped away a tear or two. The nation celebrated all the sweeter for it being that little bit unexpected. Tonight, we take on in this House the responsibility of ensuring that those magical moments of aspiration are converted into solid strategies for realising them. The Bill before us today is the blueprint. It sets out the structure for managing the key facets of the Games, the management planning and the financial investment that is essential if we are to be successful. The background to the Bill indicates the Government’s determination to create what has been described as ““the greatest stage ever constructed for the greatest show on Earth””. Drawing on expertise worldwide, the DCMS has formulated the Bill after the closest possible co-operation with key players. They have already been mentioned: the British Olympic Association, London 2012 Limited and the Greater London Authority. Those major agencies have brought to the table a huge pool of experience and expertise and the resultant Bill is, in my view, due in no small part to their professionalism and commitment. But whilst the British people have a warm heart in favour of staging the Olympics here in the UK after, as we have already been reminded, so many years, they also have a cold eye on delivery and cost—and quite right too. The Games have to be properly organised; they must be delivered on time—and, in my view, well before time in order to detect any flaws—and costs have to be not only controlled but realistic. Bearing all that in mind, we welcome the role of the Olympic Delivery Agency, the ODA, as set out in the Bill. It is charged with the responsibility of managing our approach to the Games. It has a huge challenge before it, balancing the long-term objective against the short-term delivery vehicle. At the same time it has to take, in that vehicle, public opinion, media challenges and national confidence. All those challenges have to be faced across the whole of the UK, not just in London where the Games will be principally staged. We in this House do not have constituencies to promote as Members of the other place clearly have. They quite rightly seek to ensure that where possible and reasonable their neck of the woods receives a fair share of the opportunity afforded by the Games. That fair share may be prior to the Games in training facilities, during the Games with specific sports being hosted in their area, and, equally important to their region, benefiting from the legacy of the Games. However, we in this House have strong ties and we should not be reluctant to make the case for dispersal of the opportunity that the Games can afford. I have to say that I unblushingly suggest that Corby be considered as a wholly appropriate venue for any stages of the Games that are set out. Yes, I confirm that I chair the URC, Catalyst Corby, and therefore declare an interest. That experience of chairing the first URC to be designated, some five years ago, makes me all the more appreciative of the extraordinary challenges that lie ahead of the ODA. It will require enormous attention to detail and the most sensitive approach to put the blueprint into effect. We are not just dealing with pieces of land; we are dealing with people’s lives—people who, at present, may feel threatened, and towards whom special care should be shown. I would welcome the Minister’s response to criticism from some quarters that existing businesses and some local residents have not had a proper hearing or compensation. How does the Bill help in these matters? Over the past months I have spoken at conferences looking at the opportunities for the construction industry and property developers, which were already flowing from the Olympic project. I have also spoken to local authorities closely involved with the project, who see the enormous potential for their areas. Several issues have emerged from these conferences, which I hope the Minister will be able to address, and perhaps reassure us. The construction industry has expressed concern at the lack of skilled and semi-skilled workers, who will be needed to build the facilities required. What is being done to increase the pool of such a workforce? There are existing schemes, with examples all over the country, including apprenticeships, technical training in further education and company-based training schemes. The long-term unemployed are being targeted to encourage them to take up such opportunities, and training in young offenders’ institutions and prisons is also under way. These are excellent projects, but what are the Government doing to support and encourage more? Are we providing enough advertisement of skilled and semi-skilled opportunities in all EU member states? Are the regional development agencies fully engaged? I know that the East Midlands Development Agency is doing pioneering work. Their support of Catalyst Corby has been outstanding; are we drawing fully on their expertise? What is the timetable for accountability? Will we be given regular briefings and, perhaps, brought into debates when problems—and they will arise—become apparent? Already the chattering classes, in Hampstead at least, are complaining about the lack of car parking facilities in the overall scheme at the Olympic venues. Perhaps the Minister could take this opportunity to show us how public transport will be transformed to more than meet the requirements. Important though these individual issues are, the Bill gives us enormous confidence that London will be a stunning success in all respects, and that the Games will indeed be a triumph. I know I share with the whole House our best wishes for those who lead this project, not least the noble Lords, Lord Coe and Lord Moynihan, and the leaders already appointed to take the project forward. Our Secretary of State at the DCMS and the Sports Minister have indeed been outstanding. Seven years seems a long way ahead; not a bit of it. I will be among the first to buy my tickets for many events and I confidently expect my grandsons, who by then will be 14, 12 and 10, to be with me. On behalf of sport lovers everywhere, and gallivanting grannies in particular, may I wish the Bill a safe passage through the House? I look forward with enormous excitement to witnessing the Olympic Games of 2012. May I finish by addressing the point raised by Lord Glentoran: the possibility of Wimbledon being hijacked? I have a far more pleasurable vision in my head: that of Andy Murray standing on the rostrum with the gold medal at his lips, in the Centre Court. I can hardly wait.