London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Bill

As the noble Baroness foreshadowed, I shall speak to Amendments Nos. 25 to 27. Despite her observation about the word ““environmental””, the amendments fit well with the Liberal Democrat amendments in this group. I will share with her the information that NERC stands for the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill. I apologise to the Committee for my absence during the second group of amendments when I was due to move Amendment No. 4. I had to make a choice between the whole House debating the speakership and this Grand Committee. As I have a small role in the Association of Conservative Peers, I thought that I should remain in the Chamber, but I apologise for the discourtesy to this Committee. I will not try to make the speech that I would have made on Amendment No. 4 on Amendment No. 27, although it would have been quite an interesting intellectual test. I shall have to return to Amendment No. 4 on Report. I declare the interest that I declared at Second Reading. I am vice-president of the London Wildlife Trust. My fellow parliamentary vice-presidents are the noble Lord, Lord Smith of Finsbury, for the Labour Party, and Mr Simon Hughes MP for the Liberal Democrats. He still has an inner-city seat, as did the noble Lord, Lord Smith, and myself when we sat in the other place. I shall come back to issues which we discussed at Second Reading—I do not seek to make a Second Reading speech. The London Wildlife Trust believes that parts of the Bill should be strengthened so that the ODA can play its part fully in delivering the most sustainable games ever, which the Mayor of London and government departments promised. A sustainable games is critical to achieving a truly sustainable legacy for present and future generations. In that regard—this underlies the amendments—they want a stronger duty placed on the Olympic Delivery Authority regarding sustainable development to contribute to the protection, enhancement and management of biodiversity for present and future generations. That would emphasise the importance of the authority’s role both in the run-up to 2012 and, particularly, in its role in creating a sustainable legacy thereafter. I will quote back to the Minister the remarks that he made towards the end of his wind-up speech at Second Reading. They were addressed to both the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, and to me. He said:"““the noble Lord, Lord Brooke, dwelt on the sustainable aspect of the Games, particularly on the sustainable environment in relation to the Lea Valley. That is a very important point. As the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, reminded us, the Mayor cannot call these the green Games if what we leave behind is very different from greenness and there is no environmental sustainability. That is an important dimension; we will need to reassure ourselves that it is in place, and we will have the opportunity to explore it in Committee””.—[Official Report, 11/1/06; col. GC 291.]" That is the opportunity I am about to afford the Minister. There is little evidence—perhaps there should not be in the Bill—about the design and delivery of the park and the games. That is a particular pre-occupation in the context of the natural environment for those interested in that aspect of the preparations. We will obviously be moving into the design and build stage. The fear is that if there are funding problems, there may be short cuts on necessary structures. There is therefore a concern to see greater specificity on green issues. There is a series of ways, which can be shared, on how that greenness could be communicated. If funds become tight, and if such specificities are not in the Bill, such add-ons will run the risk of being ignored. I say that because in the nature of things there is no particular clarity about who will take over the responsibility of the legacy—about which we are all very proud and which has played some part in our getting the games—once the ODA ceases to exist. We need to know more about who is likely to take that role. The chance of the legacy going well will be greater if it is well planned now. I shall be interested to hear what the Minister has to say.