London Olympics Bill

If the hon. Gentleman will wait, I have something to say about London authorities and the Mayor of London in relation to the Olympics. The Bill establishes the framework for London’s games, a games that the Opposition, along with the Government, hope will be the finest the world has ever seen. We also hope that it will be a games that produces a significant, if not the largest ever, crop of British gold medals, and medals generally. We also hope that it will be a games that is delivered on time—it has to be delivered on time—and to budget. We will continue to give our support to the Government, but that does not mean that we will not criticise or raise concerns when we have them. We support the Bill, but all hon. Members must be careful to ensure that the Bill will genuinely deliver what we all want to see—the best Olympics and Paralympics ever—and that means that it must be subject to proper scrutiny. There are issues that should be raised at this early opportunity if we are to ensure just that. We all know that the ultimate guarantor of Olympic funding is to be discharged in a sharing arrangement with the Mayor of London and through additional national lottery funding. Any cost overrun will be picked up by taxpayers, by London council tax payers and, potentially, through loss of income to charities and other good causes throughout the country. The Minister for Sport and Tourism has already made it clear that almost every Olympic host city has seen the cost at least double from initial estimates. In evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on 15 January 2003, he said:"““On the financing, one point that was very interesting on our visits to cities that have already run Olympics was that in broad terms, on the cost, every one of them has doubled from the first figure that was given.””" Sydney and Athens ran more than 100 per cent. overspends. Sydney’s original bid costs were estimated at £1 billion and the games ended up costing about £2.3 billion. The final figures from Athens are not yet established, but the original bid estimate of costs was again £1 billion, and costs published to date are £3.98 billion. The Opposition are determined that London should learn the lessons from those cities, and we must ensure that the games are brought in strictly to budget and on time. We owe it to the many thousands of athletes who will be participating to do just that. We also owe it to council tax payers and to taxpayers, who will be left to pick up the tab long after the last medal is awarded if we do not put the right financial controls in place. We are pleased that Government propose that the Olympic delivery authority’s accounts will be examined and certified by the Comptroller and Auditor General, who will lay a copy of the statement and report before Parliament, because I assume that that will allow the National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee to examine and investigate the accounts. Perhaps the Minister will be able to confirm the PAC’s role when he winds up the debate. However, in the interests of transparency, and to allow the House fully to consider and discuss the development of the work, I hope that the Government and the Secretary of State will go further and agree to have an annual debate in the House on progress on the preparations for the games so that it is open to proper parliamentary scrutiny. The Government and the bid stakeholders have made public commitments to the IOC to establish the ODA. In particular, commitments have been made that the ODA will have development control powers in the Olympic park, powers to acquire land, and powers to control and co-ordinate Olympic transport. All those commitments are delivered on within the Bill. The Secretary of State will appoint members of the ODA after having consulted the Mayor of London. The Bill is not about Olympic goals or sport development. It is about street sweeping, massive building projects, and developing transport and infrastructure links. All those are complicated, costly and difficult to deliver. We have seen what can happen if we do not get the delivery of such projects right. That is why it is essential that we have the right people to do the job—not political appointees or placemen, but professionals, experienced in managing and delivering large-scale projects on time and on budget. I hope that the Minister will be able to tell us how the Olympic delivery authority will be appointed, and reassure us that the process will be open and transparent and that the Government intend to seek proven professionals. In the light of recent events, security is at the forefront of all our minds. We remember that the Olympics have been the victim of attacks on past occasions. We welcome the provisions to allow consultation with police commissioners from the metropolis and the City of London, and the British Transport police, as part of the transport plan. The Bill makes no mention of the overall involvement in security and policing of the event as a whole, although I understand that a Cabinet-level security committee will oversee the games. I hope that the Minister will be able to tell us more about the security arrangements and their funding, but if he cannot do that today, I trust that in due course a Minister will announce the arrangements to the House.