Birmingham Commonwealth Games Bill [HL]

Baroness Burt of Solihull Excerpts

Tuesday 25th June 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Burt of Solihull (LD)]

My Lords, I do not as a rule speak on DCMS matters, but when I learned that there was to be a Second Reading of the Commonwealth Games Bill and the Games were being held in the young, vibrant and diverse city of Birmingham, where I just happen to have been born and brought up, I wanted to speak and express my delight. That delight is not just at the fact that the amazing city of Birmingham is to be the focus of attention for an estimated 1.5 billion viewers; it is not just because we anticipate that the Games will attract more than £1 billion of revenue to the area; it is not just because we will show the world just how to organise a successful set of Games—she said with confidence—despite having had only four and a half years to do so, instead of the normal seven; and it is not just because of the income that they will bring to the local area. It is also because the Games should leave a legacy that will remain long after the athletes have departed and the visitors have gone home.

It is on the legacy aspect that I want to focus. I look today for some assurances from the Minister, as far as he is able to give them, on what that legacy will look like. I understand that the village to be built will house 6,500 athletes and officials. This accommodation in Perry Barr has been described as “homes away from home”. What is rather more exciting for me is how many homes will be available after the Games for local residents to live in. I understand that the 1,400 new homes for the athletes’ village will constitute the first phase of a regeneration project to provide some 5,000 homes in the longer term. However, in his letter to noble Lords of 24 June, the Minister said that “a proportion” of properties across the site will be built to “lifetime homes” standards. That begs the question of what standards the rest will be built to. Will the Minister please elucidate? I also echo the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, about the proportion of affordable homes, which are desperately needed. Can the Minister give the House any further details on that?

Building homes is only part of the legacy that the Games will bring. On wider infrastructure improvements, we are having a remodelled Alexander Stadium, a world-class swimming pool—sorry, aquatics centre—two upgraded stations, local access improvements, an interchange and a Sprint rapid bus service along the A34. All are very welcome in areas that really need some regeneration. The council has secured a commitment from the lead contractor to sign up to the Birmingham Business Charter for Social Responsibility. This charter aims to help the community by supporting local businesses, creating jobs and making sure that workers are paid a fair wage. Four hundred new jobs will be created, including 50 apprenticeships, although at the peak of construction around 3,000 people will be working on the project. Those workers will be paid at least the voluntary living wage of £8.75, as opposed to the national living wage of £7.50. The charter covers training, including pre-employment training, apprenticeships and on-site training. Local people from marginalised communities in the area will get a look-in, and talent and skills will not just be shipped in from outside. Afterwards, construction trainees will have the qualifications to continue to other work. This should come in handy in tackling the huge construction skill shortage we have now—and will have even more as HS2 continues its development.

This is all great, but will the Minister press the organising committee to ensure that the supply chain is paid properly too? The Carillion affair has left a very bad taste in the mouths of subcontractors, many of which went to the wall because Carillion and others used their suppliers to fund their own cash flow. This can be avoided by using project bank accounts where the funding is held in one central account, untouchable by the lead contractor. Suppliers will be paid on time and in accordance with contract terms. Does the Minister think project bank accounts would be a good thing, and will he recommend their use to the organising committee? The Birmingham Business Charter for Social Responsibility expresses the sentiments and behaviour that all companies should express. All companies should have an implicit contract with the area—and its people—in which they operate.

In Birmingham we have talent of all kinds and diversity in spades. The Minister has today announced an investment of £778 million and a 75:25 split between the Government and Birmingham. I hope and trust that Birmingham City Council can meet its 25%, despite its cash-strapped situation, which has led it to sell off some of its key assets. The noble Lord, Lord Hunt, has already expressed his concerns about the vulnerability of funding. Will the Minister bear this in mind and ensure that the Government will review that percentage if Birmingham struggles to meet it? No one wants to be left with the bitter taste of these Games being won only at the expense of the vulnerable.

It is incumbent on us to make every penny that we receive, from whatever source, work to create a legacy of infrastructure and skills for the future and to showcase some of the best talent in the world—not least our own.