Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012

Baroness Doocey Excerpts

Thursday 8th November 2012 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Baroness Doocey]

That this House takes note of the long-term legacy for the UK from the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

[Baroness Doocey]

My Lords, I have great pleasure in moving this Motion standing in my name. In doing so, I declare an interest: in the lead up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, I chaired both the London Assembly and Metropolitan Police committees responsible for monitoring the Games. I also served on the Home Office Olympic Security Board. My focus in this debate will be on the specific legacy promises made when London won the bid to host the Games and not on any other consequence of the Games.

Before the Games started, the doom and gloom merchants had a field day. They predicted that London would lose the bid, the infrastructure would not be completed on time, the transport system would be chaotic and security would be a nightmare. They were wrong on all counts. Yes, there were a few hitches, but they were inevitable in a project of this size. The Games were a huge success and we should pay tribute to everyone who contributed to that success, from the brilliant athletes and volunteers to the wonderful police and military personnel. They all did our country proud.

We should also recognise the enormous contribution of the noble Lord, Lord Coe, who secured the Olympics for Britain, and who, together with the noble Lord, Lord Deighton, John Armitt and Sir David Higgins, proved that we are capable of putting on a show like no one else.

I would also like to pay tribute to the LOCOG and ODA staff, who worked so hard behind the scenes to make sure that everything ran very well. In particular, let me mention the Olympic security team at the Home Office. I can testify personally to the skill and dedication of this extraordinary band of people, who worked tirelessly to anticipate and deal with every conceivable security problem in order to keep us safe.

If the 2012 Games had consisted of nothing more than a sporting event lasting a few weeks, I could end on that very happy note. However, that is not the case. A major reason why London won the bid to host the Games was its promise of a lasting legacy. The Games cost around £9 billion, which would be unacceptably expensive if all we could show for it was six weeks of sport. So, if we wish to honour the promise of a legacy and secure the best possible value for our £9 billion, there remains some serious work to do.

London originally promised in the bid document that,

“the most enduring legacy of the Olympics will be the regeneration of an entire community for the direct benefit of everyone who lives there”.

It is also promised that the Olympic Park will provide local people with significant improvements in health and well-being, education, skills and training, job opportunities, cultural entitlements, housing, social integration and the environment. Those were bold promises, but will they be met? There has been some very good progress to date, but much of the legacy still hangs in the balance and urgent and sustained action is necessary to ensure that London does not fail.

My first area of concern is the sporting legacy for disabled people. LOCOG deserves particular praise for delivering the first fully integrated Games, with the Paralympics as much a part of the games as the Olympics. The result was the most successful Paralympic Games ever, which inspired large numbers of people and did much to raise the profile of disabled people.

However, to provide a legacy for children with disabilities who are being educated in mainstream schools, as most are, we need PE teachers to be appropriately trained, to know what specialist equipment is available and where to get it. These teachers do not currently receive this training automatically but are instead expected to undertake training voluntarily in their own time, which is quite extraordinary. The Government must change this system. They should also make funds available to schools to bring in outside coaches to help.

My second concern is grass roots sport. The Olympics were to be used to encourage more people, especially young people, to participate in sport. The Games have undoubtedly inspired many young people, but the challenge we have is to leverage that enthusiasm, particularly in our schools. The Government abandoned the unrealistic target of using the Games to inspire 1 million people to play more sport but more down-to-earth programmes have succeeded brilliantly. For example, the London Youth Games has helped to get more than 2,000 disabled young people into sport and large numbers of young people to qualify as sports officials.

Unfortunately, most of the sports funding to schools is targeted at secondary schools, where it does the least good. Targeting resources on primary schools would be much more effective as it would encourage young children. If children can find fun and enjoyment in physical activity at a young age, they are much more likely to take an interest in sport when they get older. This funding should also be ring-fenced so that schools cannot spend it on other things, as some currently do.

The other legacy issues I wish to highlight concern the promised benefits to the local communities neighbouring the Olympic Park. This side of east London is one of the most disadvantaged parts of the country. The people who live there were promised better homes, jobs and other amenities, but there are serious doubts about whether these promises will be met. Take housing, for instance. The Olympic bid document promised that up to 50% of the new housing in the park will be affordable homes for rent and sale. When Boris Johnson became Mayor of London he downgraded this to a target of 35% affordable housing, with a minimum of just 20% across the site. In Chobham Manor, the first of five new developments to be built in the park, the plans promise only 28% affordable housing, of which only 21% will be family homes, with the rest comprising small flats. This will miss the promise in the original bid document by more than half and is barely above the mayor’s minimum target.

Given the current difficulties in the property market, there will be pressure to dilute these targets, because developers can make much more money building small flats than building affordable family homes. However, this must be resisted. We must ensure that we do not end up with another Canary Wharf—an island of affluence in a sea of deprivation. The Mayor of London has responded to criticism by claiming that there will be more affordable homes compared with most developments in London and the host boroughs. However, this is disingenuous. The benchmark is the Olympic legacy promise, not other commercial developments.

Another important legacy promise to local communities concerns employment and training opportunities. If these promises are to be fulfilled, it is essential that more stringent measures are taken to ensure contractors provide jobs and training for local people. LOCOG set targets for 7% to 12% of its employees to be previously unemployed and for 15% to 20% to live in the host boroughs. Although these very unambitious targets were met, and exceeded in some cases, it was impossible to tell how many of the beneficiaries were genuine local residents because there was no system in place to verify residency. It is difficult to see how the original target of getting 70,000 previously unemployed people into employment will ever be met. Future contracts for all park venues should enshrine the sort of high standards already set in the park by John Lewis, which employs 950 local people, 250 of whom were previously long-term unemployed.

Local communities were promised the use of all sports venues in the park after the Games, and the mayor originally set a target of 90% community usage. However, he has not put any systems in place to ensure that this becomes a reality. The London Legacy Development Corporation is keen to encourage community usage but is under huge pressure also to avoid any public subsidy. Unless this issue is addressed, there is a high risk that community usage could be sacrificed for commercial profit. In July 2011, the London Assembly’s Economy, Culture and Sport Committee heard from numerous expert witnesses, all of whom said it would be virtually impossible for sports venues to be financially viable without public subsidy. This is an issue that requires open and public debate. The mayor should make 90% community access a precondition for all sporting venue operators.

The £9 billion spent on the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games was never intended to provide only a few weeks of sport. It was also to be a long-term investment and the financial bedrock of a lasting legacy. The fate of this legacy is at the mercy of the Mayor of London. He is free to take the easiest option, which would mean giving in to private developers without ensuring that local people benefit from homes and jobs. The result would be a very poor return on our £9 billion investment, and the Government have a duty not to let this happen.

The 2012 Games were a brilliant achievement, but we cannot rest on our laurels. We must constantly monitor progress and hold those responsible to account to ensure that the legacy matches the achievement. London promised a real and long-term legacy. When that has been delivered, we will have achieved a legacy as good as the Games. I beg to move.

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, before we move into the general debate, I remind noble Lords that this is a time-limited debate and that Back-Bench speeches are limited to seven minutes. When the Clock hits seven minutes, noble Lords have had their time.

--- Later in debate ---

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

My Lords, first, I take this opportunity to thank my noble friend Lady Doocey for tabling this debate and drawing attention to this most important issue at such a timely moment. This is undeniably a critical phase for the legacy programme, as we seek to capitalise on the momentum of the Games.

We have just enjoyed one of the greatest summers in living memory, a summer in which Britain delivered what it set out to, as succinctly put by the noble Baroness, Lady Ford. This included the greenest Games ever, stunning venues, unquestionable sporting achievement and the UK’s largest ever cultural festival, ably led by the noble Lord, Lord Hall, with 1,000 events taking place across the UK, including in my home town of Stirling—I know the Raploch—where people could see or hear something for free.

The Olympic and Paralympic success was in no small part the result of the hard work of some of other Members of your Lordships’ House, including my noble friend Lord Coe, who, as has been mentioned, was yesterday elected the new chair of the British Olympic Association, succeeding my noble friend Lord Moynihan. I pay particular tribute to the work of my noble friend Lord Deighton, whose maiden speech today was not just most timely and constructive, but gave us a feel of the breadth and depth of the role he fulfilled so brilliantly. I take this opportunity to thank them on behalf of us all. I have certainly noted that many of your Lordships have waxed lyrical today about many individuals and organisations who have contributed. As the noble Lord, Lord Mitchell, mentioned, tribute must also be paid to Dame Tessa Jowell. London 2012 was the first legacy Games, with plans for what happened after the Games considered from the outset. The International Olympic Committee president, Jacques Rogge, said that London provides a legacy blueprint for future Games hosts.

We now have to focus our attention on maintaining the momentum to deliver an enduring legacy. Otherwise the wonderful memories of the Games will be short-lived. My noble friend Lady Doocey emphasised that there is serious work still to do. The Government’s commitment to delivering an enduring legacy is demonstrated by the appointment of my noble friend Lord Coe as the Prime Minister’s legacy adviser. Unfortunately, as has been mentioned, my noble friend cannot be here today. Despite being a former world record holder on the track, even he is not able to get back from Hong Kong in world record time.

The key elements of the legacy programme include: the regeneration of east London; creating a sporting legacy; building our communities; changing the perceptions of disabled people; and securing economic growth.

First, I focus on the regeneration of east London. The benefits of the Games are being felt nowhere more than in east London. London 2012 has been the catalyst for one of the biggest and most ambitious transformation projects in Europe, and one of the most dramatic legacies is the physical footprint left behind in east London. The process of transforming the transport infrastructure in east London began when London won the bid to host the Games back in 2005, and it is now one of the best connected places in the country.

A number of Games-related employment programmes and activities delivered since 2008 have supported at least 35,000 unemployed Londoners into permanent or temporary jobs as a result of the London 2012 Games. Included within that figure are at least 2,000 local people who were previously unemployed and took up employment at the new Westfield Stratford shopping centre, which now, unbelievably, has 10,000 employees overall.

Work has begun to deliver a £296 million transformation of the park into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park—an exciting new destination where iconic venues and attractions will sit alongside new homes, schools and community facilities. Five new neighbourhoods will be developed over the next 20 years, including up to 8,000 new homes, three schools, nine nurseries, three health centres and 29 playgrounds.

Finding a long-term future for the stadium is the critical missing piece in the London jigsaw. The London Legacy Development Corporation is conducting a process to secure the future of the stadium. As your Lordships will know, the stadium will host the 2017 World Athletics Championships.

At this stage, I pick up a number of issues raised by my noble friend Lady Doocey. She first highlighted whether the target of 90% community use of sports facilities can be met. To give an example, the Aquatic Centre and the Copper Box are open seven days a week for 18 hours a day. The 90% community use target was a key criteria for selecting operators for those venues. It remains the Mayor’s target. My noble friend Lady Doocey also mentioned the issue of affordable housing and the jobs target. The commitment to 35% affordable homes across the Olympic park remains within the target of up to 50% in the bid figure. There is a re-emphasis on the provision of three-bedroom family housing in the park. LOCOG has met or exceeded the jobs targets. More than 35,000 unemployed Londoners have already gained employment as a result of the Games, and we expect that to increase further.

Secondly, I turn to sport. From grassroots to elite level, across schools, sports centres and community venues throughout the country, London 2012 has laid the foundations that will inspire a generation and help transform people’s relationship with sport, whatever their age, background or ability.

We cannot underestimate the positive impacts that delivering a sporting legacy will have. I am pleased that the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, raised the subject of obesity. For example in 2010, 30% of boys and girls aged two to 15 were classified as either overweight or obese. Improving the relationship of children with sport through a robust schools sports strategy and embedding a healthy lifestyle within the ethos of every family will be key to reducing those shocking figures.

As a result of London 2012, we are already seeing improvements in access to sporting facilities and strengthened grassroots sport through the School Games programme. In particular, since 2009, the Mayor has invested £15.5 million in new facilities and participation programmes, as well as providing training for coaches, officials and volunteers. He has recently committed a further £7 million investment to continue that work over the coming years, and £135 million has been invested in the Places People Play programme, which has improved facilities at 1,000 local sports venues. The Change4Life sports clubs have been shown to be successful in engaging the least active children and improving attitudes toward sports. Disabled sport has been supported by making it a central part of the School Games programme and broadening access through £10 million lottery funding, to help more disabled people to play sport.

Over the next decade, we need to make sure that the investment and enthusiasm unlocked by the Games translate into more sport being played by more people of all ages and abilities for many years to come. That includes continuing to invest in community sports facilities and improving sport and PE in schools, about which my noble friend Lord Moynihan spoke: £1 billion is to be invested in youth sport over the next five years through the youth sports strategy and the Government have committed to announcing progress on school sport policy before the end of the year.

Furthermore, we must maintain and build on the inspiration that our elite athletes provided to young people. This means securing funding for our athletes and hosting world-class international events. Significant inroads have already been made in this area, including securing funding for our athletes to Rio 2016 and a decade of major sporting events. They include the Champions League Final and Rugby League World Cup in 2013, the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014, the Rugby Union World Cup in 2015, the World Athletics Championships in 2017 and the Cricket World Cup in 2019.

Through community projects which took place across the country and the torch relay, which my noble friend Lady Benjamin mentioned and so inspired children, the Olympic spirit touched the lives of millions in the UK. The Olympic legacy must try to capture this spirit and translate it into positive change at a community level. As my noble friend Lady Scott of Needham Market highlighted, a new spirit of volunteering was created, with the 70,000 Games maker volunteers helping to stage the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Forty per cent of applicants said that the Games had inspired them to volunteer for the first time.

Since then Team London ambassadors have volunteered their time, expertise and enthusiasm to welcome American football fans to London from the US and across Europe. But more still needs to be done to unlock opportunities to volunteer, to build on the success of the Games and join in events over the summer which saw more than 300,000 people volunteer in a wide range of sports across the UK.

My noble friend Lady Scott spoke of the Games makers and how their legacy could be seen to be enduring. The Government are working to secure continued access to the LOCOG database, with details of all of the Games makers and those who applied but were not selected. We must also continue to build on efforts to create a more open and inclusive society As the Prime Minister has said:

“Britain should be a country where success depends on effort and ability, where people are judged not by what they can’t do, but what they can”.

This is an ideal that ran through the Games. For example, London 2012 saw the most extensive Paralympic Games coverage ever in the UK and the highest number of Paralympic ticket sales. In addition, public transport was made significantly more accessible, with a further six Tube stations and all DLR stations becoming step-free. There were 8,500 accessible buses. By 2015 about £400 million will have been spent on the Access for All programme, installing lifts, ramps and bridges at more than 150 train stations. Transport for London is investing another £100 million to extend the programme from 2015 through to 2019.

I would like to acknowledge the important questions raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson, on disability-related issues. First, 40 national governing bodies of sport have submitted plans to Sport England about how they will increase participation among disabled people. Any governing body in receipt of funding will be set clear delivery objectives. Failure to meet these delivery objectives can ultimately lead to funding being withdrawn. If a pupil happens to be sent to the library when there is no reason why they cannot take part in sport, the school is at fault and the pupil and parents have due cause to complain to the head teacher and the governing body. Disability sport features at every level of the School Games programme and the Department for Education is funding Sport England to ensure this.

London 2012 offers an opportunity to deliver a lasting economic legacy that will benefit the whole country. We need to send out the message loud and proud that this is a great place to do business, to invest in and to visit. We need to do everything possible to help British companies internationalise. The Government are committed to securing £11 billion worth of inward investment over four years as a result of the Games and have launched a targeted, business-focused campaign to attract overseas trade and inward investment and to ensure that the whole economy benefits from the increased global profile.

Tourism will also benefit hugely from the Games and we are supporting and promoting domestic tourism and investing to promote the UK globally as a tourist destination. The ambition is to generate an extra £2.3 billion of benefit from international visitors over four years. So the total is £13 billion.

A number of issues have been raised by your Lordships during this interesting debate. I acknowledge the point made by my noble friend Lady Doocey that it is important to improve the training of physical education teachers so that they are capable and trained to be able to manage and develop sport for the disabled. I also take my noble friend’s point that it is important to target resources into primary schools. A number of your Lordships made this point. My noble friend suggested that funding for this should be ring-fenced; I will need to come back to her on that.

I was interested in and fascinated by the speech of the right reverend prelate the Bishop of Norwich. He made the important point that was also raised by the noble Lord, Lord Puttnam, that the Games produced for us a more cohesive nation. I believe that as a nation we can now hold our heads up higher than we have done in the past. I was particularly interested to note the amount of work that was put into producing interfaith advice and multi-faith events, including church services and giving advice to athletes and performers at the Olympics. We must build on this and learn from it.

The noble Lord, Lord Puttnam, focused largely on the report due out from Lord Justice Leveson. I think the noble Lord took part in the recent debate in this House. We all await the conclusions and recommendations of Lord Justice Leveson—I am not able to comment any further.

I pay tribute to my noble friend Lord Bates for the work he has done to promote the Olympic Truce. It is an important aspect of hosting an Olympic and Paralympic Games and sport, as we have heard today, has the power to bring people together from different countries, cultures and backgrounds, without prejudice or discrimination, whether at a global level through the Olympic and Paralympic Games, or at a local level through activities within schools and communities. We must use the spirit, actions and ethos of the Olympic Truce for future Games.

The very important issue of women in sport was raised initially by my noble friend Lord Moynihan, while the noble Baroness, Lady Massey, also focused on this in her speech. We must build on the wonderful performances by women in the Olympics and Paralympics and inspire more women and girls to take part in sport. I know that my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has highlighted the importance of this, and I am certain that there will be greater emphasis in this area although I cannot at the moment say precisely what this will be.

My noble friend Lady Bonham-Carter and the noble Lord, Lord Hall, brought up the inclusion of computer science in the Baccalaureate and the inclusion of the arts in the EBacc. At the moment EBacc has five core academic subjects to ensure that doors are not closed off to students in terms of future progression. There is 20% or 30% of curriculum time remaining to do other subjects that interest them or are useful for future education or employment. The Government said in January 2012 that if the new computer service qualification is of sufficiently high quality we will consider including it in the EBacc. I hope that that answers the question.

To conclude, we should not lose sight of the fact that the London 2012 Games were the first legacy Games, with the plans for what happens after the Games developed from the moment the bid was created. We should be proud of what has already been achieved. That said, the legacy story is far from over. We now have to focus our attention on maintaining momentum to deliver an enduring legacy that lasts beyond one great summer and reaches every citizen in this great country so that these Games are remembered not only as the Games in which Britain delivered and where people could say “I was there” but also the Games that shaped our future. This will not be easy but we have laid the foundations and I am confident that the right structures are in place to deliver an ambitious and sustainable legacy for the UK.

[Baroness Doocey]

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have spoken in this fascinating and wide-ranging debate. I thank the Minister for his considered response to the issues that were raised. I congratulate my noble friend Lord Deighton on his brilliant maiden speech.

Noble Lords talked with great enthusiasm about what has been achieved so far and about their hopes for what will be achieved in legacy. Let us take that hope and turn it into delivery and ensure that we keep this issue under the spotlight so that the promised legacy of the Games is delivered and lives up to what has been delivered for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is a mind-blowing achievement.

Motion agreed.