London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (Amendment) Bill

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord for tabling this amendment and giving us another opportunity to provide reassurances on this topic. The safety and security of the Olympic and Paralympic Games are of paramount importance to the Government—and for all concerned—and it is only right that we give this subject the full attention that it deserves. This amendment would require the Government to place before the House, three months before the start of the Games, a report detailing the thrust of such consultations that the Olympic Delivery Authority, in exercising its security responsibilities under Section 6 of the 2006 Act, chooses to have with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner and other relevant police authorities. As covered in Committee, your Lordships will be aware that, as under the previous Administration, the Government have pursued and are continuing to pursue a policy of maximum transparency in communicating what London 2012 safety and security will look and feel like. This includes the overall London 2012 safety and security strategy, which was updated and republished in March this year and which sets out the overall approach to Olympic and Paralympic safety and security. Updates on security preparations and readiness form part of the Government Olympic Executive’s reports which are published quarterly; indeed, the next one is due very shortly. In line with the department’s responsibility for co-ordinating all matters of security and the emergency services for the Games, Home Office Ministers have also given supplementary statements when necessary. Notably, this included providing details on future Olympic and Paralympic safety and security funding as part of the annual police funding announcement last December. This set out the Government’s intention to deliver the core programme for additional policing and wider Games security in full for £475 million. I can reassure my noble friend Lord Addington that the Prime Minister has signed a guarantee to take all financial planning and operational measures necessary to guarantee the safety and the peaceful celebration of the Games. We are only a few weeks away from the announcement of police funding for 2012-13 and, without wishing to pre-empt what might be said, I am confident that it too will cover Olympic and Paralympic safety and security funding. Police chiefs and authorities have also gone on the record on the size of expected Games policing deployments next summer—up to 9,000 officers in London on peak days, and 12,000 nationally—and on the system of mutual aid that will be used, by which officers will be seconded to London, Dorset and elsewhere to participate in Games policing operations. The same points have been made in the answers which Ministers have given to Parliamentary Questions. This should address the concerns which the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, has raised again about the numbers of police. Let me also repeat a point that arose in Committee. Lending police forces will be reimbursed in line with prevailing mutual aid arrangements, which will enable them to backfill though the use of overtime, if they choose, meaning that local policing will not be denuded. I can reassure the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, that this is all within the budgetary plan. Your Lordships will appreciate that, as with day-to-day matters of security, there is a fine line to tread regarding quite what the Government put into the public domain on Games safety and security. Our goal, as stated in the Home Office strategy, is to deliver, "““a safe and secure Games, in keeping with the Olympic culture and spirit””." I agree with what my noble friend Lord Patten has said on the need to tread that balance between what is and is not in the public domain. We remain confident that we are on track to achieve our goal. However, for obvious reasons, there are details that the Government and the police would not want to put into the public domain. Within that constraint, the Government have been as open as possible in making information available about the policing and security operation and that will continue to remain the case. The amendment refers to security at our border. The noble Lord, Lord Rosser, explained that there were reservations over border security. We are confident that the border will be secure. The Home Secretary has made it quite clear that the pilot scheme which relaxed controls at the border has now been discontinued. Border agencies will be on their guard for the Olympics. The UK Border Agency has robust plans in place to manage the arrival and departure of those whom we expect to visit the UK next summer—both the Games family and regular spectators. I can reassure the noble Lord that the Home Secretary is in the lead on Games security but the overall goal—a safe and secure Games—is a communal endeavour. The police and LOCOG—as event organiser—have particularly significant roles to play. This includes, for LOCOG, the provision of private security at venues. As some of your Lordships will be very well aware, there has been extensive coverage of this matter, in yesterday’s Guardian and elsewhere. As I have indicated, the focus of the Government and everyone involved is to deliver a safe and secure Olympic and Paralympic Games that London, the UK and the world can enjoy. This remains a police-led operation. The police have substantial experience of securing major events. The police will police the Games and the UK, as they already do, but, separately, we need to ensure robust security of venues delivered by the right people with the right skills. The planning for venue security is nearing completion. As planning has matured, and as the final details of the competition schedule and of LOCOG’s wider management of venues have become known, the detailed requirement for security guards has been revised accordingly. It is not unusual for the complete details of security not to be known at the beginning of planning—it becomes apparent, as planning continues, just how many security personnel will be needed. The majority of the guard workforce will be private security guards, supplied by G4S and working for LOCOG, which, as I have said before, retains overall responsibility for delivering the venue security operation. The security guards will be supplemented by military personnel and volunteers where appropriate. All roles will be performed by people who are appropriately trained. The noble Lord made reference to the statement yesterday from the Secretary of State for Defence. The Secretary of State was not actually guaranteeing that there would be ground-to-air defences. What he was saying—quite appropriately—was that all measures necessary to ensure security would be taken. If the advice of the military is that they are required then there will be appropriate ground-to-air defences, but there were many caveats in that statement, and the Government would take the decision on whether or not the Armed Forces would be used and in what roles. This builds on long-standing work with the Ministry of Defence, which has been fully involved in Games security planning. Military support to the Games will make the best use of the UK’s highly skilled resources. I stress that this is not in response to any specific threat. It is part of a sensible approach to planning. We continue to plan against a severe threat level, and so we maximise our flexibility to respond to changes. I can reassure your Lordships that, as LOCOG works through the mechanics of how private security will be provided, there is no prospect whatever that private security personnel would undertake or in any way assume the duties or responsibilities of police officers, as was suggested in the amendment. The Olympic Delivery Authority—which, to remind your Lordships, is the focus of this particular amendment—has done an incredible job in delivering a series of truly world-class venues, to time, budget and quality. But, to echo comments that I made in Committee, its race is largely run. This January, the Olympic Delivery Authority will transfer its responsibilities at the Olympic Park, including security, to LOCOG. The torch, as it were, is being passed. It follows that the Olympic Delivery Authority subsequently will not be exercising its responsibilities under Section 6 of the 2006 Act; hence, any such update as may be presented to Parliament under the terms of the amendment at hand would not be particularly enlightening. The Government remain committed to transparent and bipartisan dialogue on Games security. The public have a right to know what to expect, and we hope that they will be assured by the very significant investment and very significant activity under way to safeguard and secure the Games. We are confident that we will be ready, and we will continue to release such information as is appropriate as soon as it is available. The noble Lord, Lord Rosser, asked about who was advising on the number of security personnel. That is a matter for LOCOG as event organiser, but of course it is working very closely with the police and security agencies. He also mentioned the story in the Guardian about the misgivings of the United States. We understand from the United States embassy that the US is perfectly supportive, that we have a very strong relationship with the US, and that the US is confident in our plans for a safe and secure Games. Everyone is determined to leave nothing to chance in our aim to deliver a Games that London, the UK and the whole world will enjoy. My noble friend Lord Patten mentioned void spaces. The police have a proper programme of checking, sealing and certifying void spaces. He also mentioned a range of other possible hazards which are not referred to in this amendment. I think we will probably not go into those this evening. In respect of the amendment which the noble Lords have tabled, I thank my noble friends Lord Patten and Lord Addington for their contributions, and thank again the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, for bringing this up again at this debate, but I hope that, with the reassurances that I have given, he will feel free to withdraw this amendment.