London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Bill

My Lords, I may be seeking the indulgence of the House, in which case I hope that it will be granted, but my noble friend’s amendment covers broadly the same concepts as I sought to cover in an amendment in Committee. The Minister will recall that I was unable to move it at that stage, as I was participating in the debate in the Chamber relating to the Speakership in my capacity as chairman of the Association of Conservative Peers. I said that I would move the amendment on Report. I fear that I was foiled at the end of last week by taking to my sick bed, so my amendment was not put down. Nevertheless, it relates to the relationship with the local authorities responsible for aspects of public services. I hope that the Minister will be content if I expand on this somewhat. The amendment which I sought to move on the last occasion was to Schedule 1, page 31, line 15, at the end insert:"““(4) The Secretary of State shall ensure that the Authority includes at least one member who represents the interests of the London borough councils””." As the Bill stands, there is no formal provision for any London local authority representation on the ODA, yet it has many provisions that will significantly affect the powers of local authorities, including the loss of powers in relation to planning, cleansing, lighting, transport and licensing functions, which of course are touched on in my noble friend’s amendment. It is, of course, local authorities which have the current expertise in many of these areas. Naturally, the Olympics are an event of unprecedented scale, but it is fair to point out that many London local authorities not merely operate these services just on a day-to-day, run-of-the-mill basis, but have significant experience of running them to facilitate major national events. The City of Westminster, for example, which drew this amendment to my attention, has a fine record in delivering services to ensure the smooth setting up, running and completion of major national one-off events such as the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, or, to pick a more recent example, the enormous Live 8 concert in Hyde Park, as well as large annual events such as the Notting Hill carnival and the London marathon. In 2012, Westminster will be the host borough for four Olympic events as well as the start of the marathon. Venues being used in Westminster will include Hyde Park for the triathlon, Regent’s Park for road cycling, Lord’s cricket ground for archery and Horse Guards Parade for beach volleyball. These are venues where the local authority already has, in many cases, huge experience in facilitating big events. So it would seem just plain common sense for local authorities to be formally represented on the ODA in order to create a clear channel to feed in their many years’ experience of operating the basics—services such as cleansing and lighting, which are the subject of the clause and which need to be got right. It is essential that there should be a voice at the table that can represent London local authorities to bring this knowledge and expertise to bear directly on the direction and operation of the ODA. The concept of an individual or authority having lead responsibility in pan-London matters is very familiar to anyone who has experience of private Bills in London, where a single authority promotes a Bill on behalf of the ALG as a whole. If the Minister casts his mind back, he will recall that when he was a London member he moved a 10-minute rule Bill to abolish the Corporation of the City of London—different times and different agendas. In terms purely of structure, the Government have clearly acknowledged that the model for the London fire authority, which includes borough representation, is working so well that they are actively consulting in rolling out this model to encompass other parts of the GLA family, such as Transport for London. Therefore, not adopting the structure for the ODA seems to run counter to the structural changes being made elsewhere in London. The Minister’s response in Committee to my amendment, which I could not move but which was supported by my noble friend Lord Glentoran, was:"““When we considered how the ODA ought to interact with the borough councils and with others that greatly impact in its work—and on which it is in many ways dependent—we took the decision that the ODA board members should be chosen not for their representative quality, which is not the role of the board, but for the expertise that they bring to the overall organisation of the infrastructure relating to the games””.—[Official Report, 31/01/06; col. GC70.]" It seems to me that the response that I have just cited is torpedoed by what is stated in Schedule 1, page 31, line 15, which immediately precedes the provision in the amendment that I failed to move in Committee and failed to table for Report. Schedule 1(3) states:"““In appointing members of the Authority the Secretary of State shall have regard to the desirability of their having experience relevant to—" (a)   the nature of the authority’s functions, and (b)   the places in relation to which they are likely to be exercised””. Both those paragraphs seem to me to call for exactly the kind of experience that an appropriate representative from the London boroughs would contribute. I have sought the indulgence of your Lordships’ House—the Whip is nodding that I have done so and I concur with him—but I should be grateful for a somewhat more extensive response than the Minister gave in Committee.