London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Bill

My Lords, we discussed these issues extensively in Committee. The noble Lord, Lord Dixon-Smith, is doing himself an injustice by disparaging the quality of his amendments. They provoked an interesting debate, although not one to which I replied to the satisfaction of all concerned, otherwise noble Lords would not have tabled their amendments today; nor would the noble Lord, Lord Brooke, have made the contribution, that he has. I shall try to do better this second time. I accept that the noble Lord, Lord Dixon-Smith, has tabled the amendment because he seeks to limit the potential liability of the ODA to provide street lighting and cleaning. Otherwise, its powers, duties and obligations would appear to be almost limitless—up to the mythical Scotsman worried about lighting in his street well north of the Border. However, my noble friend Lord Borrie nailed the issue almost immediately with his characteristic perceptiveness. Clause 7 states that the ODA,"““may arrange with an authority””," for street lighting or cleaning to be carried out during the Olympic Games period. I fully appreciate the concerns of the noble Lord, Lord Dixon-Smith. I am certain that he shares with me one objective. We want to ensure that, with the spotlight on London, London looks at its best in 2012. In fact, we want a great deal of the country to look at its best in 2012 because the Olympic Games go well beyond London. Clean, tidy and well-lit streets form an important part of the environment looking good. We must recognise that we are not just talking about visitors, vast numbers of whom we anticipate being here. Television can be very adept at picking up such detail. That is why we want the country to look as good as it possibly can. We want to put on the best games ever and we want to ensure that they take place in the best possible environment. To deliver that, the Bill gives the ODA the ability to enter into arrangements with authorities, not the authority that governs that benighted Scotsman—he would be benighted if he thought that his street was not well lit but that would not necessarily be relevant to the Olympic Games—but to those areas relevant to the planning and provision of the games and the focal point of everyone’s attention while the games are on. The ODA will have a limited budget, so it will need carefully to consider in which areas it will need to enter into arrangements with particular authorities. It is bound to be selective, so I want to lie to rest the anxieties of the noble Lord, Lord Dixon-Smith, on that score. The ODA has the ability, not an obligation, to enter into arrangements and it will have to make the choice. Let me reassure the noble Lord, Lord Brooke, on this point. The Bill does not place any obligation on a local authority to provide additional services such as street lighting and cleaning. It states that the ODA may arrange with the local authority to improve cleaning and lighting. Of course, that will be part of an agreement struck by the ODA, exercising its proper authority, and the local authority concerned. I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Brooke, for emphasising that when the ODA approaches Westminster—I am sure that this is true for the other boroughs concerned—it will receive a welcome response. Several of those boroughs—Westminster is clearly an outstanding example—are used to putting on events to which the nation’s and, sometimes, the world’s, attention is focused, to a very high standard, including guaranteeing that the lighting and street cleaning are of the very highest standard. I also want to reassure the noble Lord, Lord Brooke, that I sought to disabuse the Committee of the notion that that outcome could be achieved by a representative quality to the ODA’s board members—that there should be a local authority representative on the ODA. We do not conceive of the ODA as being representative of interests in those terms. I reassure the noble Lord, Lord Brooke, with the leave of the House, by reading an extract from an advertisement for ODA board members, which lists the areas of expertise, interests and capacities that they may have. One of them mentions local government/communities. It states that the successful candidate:"““will be able to give evidence of significant successful experience of community liaison; an understanding of key local, social and political issues in London; significant leadership experience within local government; a clear vision of how to ensure delivery of the legacy for the local area and its people, not just in terms of regeneration””." So we are looking for expertise on the board that will reflect exactly the area that the noble Lord, Lord Brooke, was concerned to emphasise without thinking that that should be a representative role of an ODA member. When the board is drawn up, that is clearly an area of expertise and experience that we will expect to be represented by a board member or some board members. I emphasise that the Bill does not place the ODA under an obligation to provide street lighting and cleaning in all areas touched by the games. It will be for the authority to take the decision about which areas will be covered. It will of course negotiate with responsible authorities to ensure that it hits the highest standard possible. So the ODA is not being overstretched; it is not under an obligation. However, it has a clear remit to carry out its work and present the games in the best possible environment, which includes clean streets and well-lit areas. The authority will make sensible decisions, alongside appropriate local authorities, to guarantee that that is achieved. I hope that the noble Lord, Lord Dixon-Smith, will be reassured on those points and will feel able to withdraw his amendment.