London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Bill

I was just dwelling on the joys of discussing rail franchises with the noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw, not once but twice this week. I am grateful for his amendment, which addresses an important issue. He is absolutely right that the continuity of rail franchises and services over this period is of the greatest importance. The Committee will be all too aware that rail provides an essential service to London at all times. Although the Olympic Games are to take place in August, that does not alter the fact that a very large number of our fellow citizens will require normal rail services to be maintained over the period; continuity is important. The Olympic Delivery Authority is not going to be responsible for anything to do with the awarding of franchises to rail operators or for setting the terms under which those franchises are obliged to operate. I can assure the noble Lord that the companies will be operating under the franchises they have already signed up to. The major rail franchises such as the integrated Kent franchise, Thameslink and the One franchise, which has recently been renewed, will be the predominant franchises serving the area of the Olympic park. Those franchises, and others that will be renewed between now and the games, contain clauses for co-operation on the provision of Olympic services. The rail companies have already signed up to them, and the new franchises will include those explicit provisions. The services they will be asked to provide during the period of the games will be for them to agree to in normal commercial negotiations with the Department for Transport. Work on designing the service specifications for the Olympic Games is already under way. We are all too well aware of the fact—and if we were not the noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw, would have reminded me—that you cannot plan too far ahead in the rail industry, certainly not with regard to franchises. We are taking the Olympic Games issue seriously. The level of services to be provided for the two years either side of the games will remain as set out in the terms of the individual franchises. Continuity is not a matter for the ODA. The noble Lord has rightly identified that when we are considering transport arrangements for the games, we must have a keen eye to ensuring that we provide adequate transport facilities for those wanting to attend the games and to participate in them, thus making the games the success we intend them to be. By the same token, we also have obligations to many of our fellow citizens who will continue to come into London. Some of them will take great delight in using the rail services to get to London for the games, but inevitably a percentage of our population will need to travel for other purposes. We must ensure that adequate rail services are maintained throughout the period. Of course, the actual period of the games is restricted to a matter of weeks. The noble Lord was concerned to emphasise that the period of challenge for the railways is longer than that, and I take that fully on board. I am grateful to him for raising the issue. Transport is of great importance to the success of the games. I reassure the noble Lord—as if he needed reassurance—that the Olympic Delivery Authority’s status is very limited in relation to franchises. The Government are ensuring that the Department for Transport, in negotiating the railway franchises that obtain over that period, will make sure that due provision is made in the franchises to meet the challenges presented by the Olympic Games.