Birmingham Commonwealth Games Bill [HL]

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem Excerpts

Wednesday 24th July 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

I ought to correct the noble Lord for the record. Glasgow certainly hosted the Commonwealth Games, but London had the Olympic Games. I am not trying to show him up; it is important because they are very different. One of the interesting things about this proposal, and one of the reasons why we are dealing with it in a shortened timescale, is that the costs of putting on the Commonwealth Games are considerable, as has been mentioned. The Commonwealth Games Federation had to look at how to make it possible for them to be put on around the world, not just in the richest nations of the Commonwealth.

On lessons from previous Games, we have looked at financing and the other issues we discussed earlier. We can learn lessons from Glasgow and Edinburgh, and I hope the noble Lord enjoys watching the Games in Birmingham—I assume he is not participating—as much as he did those in Edinburgh.

[Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (LD)]

To add briefly to what the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, said, Edinburgh has hosted the Commonwealth Games twice: once in 1970, which was a complete success, and again in 1986, which was, frankly, a total failure in many respects. The organising committee ran out of money and the Government of the day—Lady Thatcher was Prime Minister at the time—declined to offer any additional assistance. It is a measure of the comparative costs of 1986 and now that the total deficit from the 1986 Games was £4 million. That is but a drop in the ocean of the cost of the Games with which we are concerned.

To some extent, I am retreading remarks I have made before, but Birmingham has made an enormous contribution to the Commonwealth Games movement through its willingness to undertake the responsibility for these Games at relatively short notice. I am not sure how often that is acknowledged. I suspect we are about to end Report and it is worth reminding people that, without that willingness, there is every possibility that the Commonwealth Games movement might have found itself in very deep embarrassment. On other occasions, people have referred to the fact that the cost of these Games is now such that the number of cities—remember, the Games are awarded to cities, not countries—able to undertake that responsibility is declining. I think we are all conscious that it would be a great pity if the Games became something for what is sometimes called the white Commonwealth—I use the term with some delicacy—rather than being part of the whole Commonwealth story. On that basis, with respect, it seems Report has improved this legislation greatly. For that, all those who have participated, among whom I cannot number myself for various reasons, deserve great credit.

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

I am very grateful to the noble Lord, and I agree with everything he said. It is important that we get this right for Birmingham and the West Midlands. It is also important for the Commonwealth, for the reasons he suggested. The Games have been expensive in the past, but Birmingham will cost considerably less than the last Commonwealth Games. We are introducing the partnership model in addition to the host city, as he rightly says, to enable us to do that. It is more complicated in some ways and there is risk involved in doing it at short notice. However, I am sure that if we show the constructive, helpful attitude that has been the hallmark of Report, it will be a great success.

Birmingham Commonwealth Games Bill [HL]

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem Excerpts

Tuesday 9th July 2019 Lords Chamber

In closing, I thank my colleagues in the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Sport, Modern Slavery and Human Rights.

[Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (LD)]

I am grateful to the noble Lord. I have been listening to him with great interest; he has a very specialist knowledge of these matters. The one thing that concerns me is the obligation contained in the elements he has quite properly outlined. These Games are taking place in rather a concertinaed fashion, because of the history, which we need not dwell on. What he suggests, ideal though it may be, will be a considerable burden on an organisation that might be quite stretched. I do not know what he has in mind regarding who should be directly responsible or, indeed, the resources necessary to ensure that these obligations are implemented, but perhaps, before he sits down, he might illuminate the matter.

[Lord Moynihan]

I will, with great pleasure. The noble Lord—a greater expert on sport than I will ever be, both on and off the track—makes an important point. I tabled this amendment because the organising committee in Birmingham is already doing this. The work is significantly advanced and would need to be co-ordinated into a charter, but no more than that because every step I have outlined is actively being considered or has already been implemented by the organising committee.

In answer to his first question, it would be for the Secretary of State to require the organising committee to bring all of these points together in the form of a charter. That is the process that I have advocated. I do not think it would be onerous, or that additional people would need to be employed. I have been more than impressed by the very significant work that Birmingham has already committed to this, and it would well reflect the work that the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Sport, Modern Slavery and Human Rights has done in co-ordination with the organising committee and, indeed, all other relevant parties.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Coe (Con)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, for tabling Amendment 5, which elevates the crucial importance of legacy. I am sure that no noble Lord, on either side of the House, would argue with that concept. We share the sentiment that no Games should ever leave a city or community without leaving an indelible footprint on its infrastructure, society, education or economy. I will make one observation to counsel caution, which buttresses the remarks I made at Second Reading. The primary responsibility of the organising committee is to deliver a fabulous Games. The prerequisite for a legacy platform has to be the successful delivery—operationally and otherwise —of those Games. On that occasion I also remarked that if the Games themselves were a damp squib there would be little or no appetite to further the legacy ambitions.

The noble Lord has a proper menu of legacy issues which needs to be addressed. I speak on behalf of the trade union of current and former organising committee chairs who tend to become a slightly persecuted minority over this process. I want to make sure that we are not placing too onerous or burdensome a set of responsibilities on the organising committee itself. The noble Lord pointed out, quite rightly, that there needs to be a proper balance of those legacy responsibilities between local authorities, and their agencies, and the Commonwealth Games Federation. To further the prospect of other bids, it is not in the interest of any federation to walk out of a city without having been quite demanding about what is left behind. I approve of the framework, but the organising committee has the herculean responsibility of getting the operational integration across the line to create an inordinately complex sporting construct in the space of 10 or 12 days. I therefore caution against asking it to focus too heavily on the legacy burden. That has to be shared properly with the local authorities and housing agencies that have that responsibility. Yes, an organising committee can and should, in the way it constructs a Games, always be concerned to maximise legacy and to do things in a way that allows that post-Games legacy consideration to be delivered optimally. Within my general support for the amendment, I want to make sure that we are entirely clear about the very specific responsibility of the organising committee.

[Lord Campbell of Pittenweem]

My Lords, I may be hypersensitive, but I inferred from something that the noble Baroness said that she might have understood me to suggest that I was in some way opposed to the principles that the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan, set out. I am of course not opposed to those: there is no more enthusiastic supporter of the obligation of human rights in the Chamber than myself, I venture to suggest. All I was at pains to do was to point out, as I think has already been agreed, that these are rather demanding obligations and I am anxious to ensure that there are the necessary resources to ensure that they will be met.

[Lord Griffiths of Burry Port (Lab)]

My Lords, this has been a most instructive debate right at the outset of our consideration of the Bill. It might well be worth while for all of us to read in Hansard the many detailed, specific and informed remarks that have been made from varying angles. I thank all who have taken part thus far and I invoke the name of my noble friend Lord Hunt, simply because his absence today really was unavoidable and he will certainly want to take part in the future evolution of this debate. I thought if I mentioned that right now, noble Lords could take that into account. Much of the thinking, as my noble friend Lord Rooker said, was initiated by him.

These amendments, in their totality, ask us to look at a number of things. It is true, as has been said, that the wish list on the legacy amendment is long and, as the noble Lord, Lord Addington, said, could be longer. I will concentrate on two things my noble friend highlighted: the question of housing and the alchemy—if that is what it is—that turns houses into communities. A proper legacy would not only build a certain number of houses and have a certain percentage of them for this, that or the other category of use, but would leave us with schools that children could go to and places where they could play. Some of the very desirable things mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan—activity, sport and so on—could be done within the community thus created. It seems to make a lot of sense. Various percentages are mentioned in the amendments: 50% for social housing, for example. The right reverend Prelate suggested that from the Birmingham end it is 35%; well, there is room for debate there. The facts have been laid before us, the options are there and I am sure we will have some keen and passionate debates in due course.

The noble Lord, Lord Addington, talked about the importance of the flow of information, and he was echoed by others. The noble Lord, Lord Coe, or perhaps it was the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan—I tend to get them mixed up; since I first met them both on television, I cannot tell them apart in the flesh—emphasised information flow and the prime need for transparency. It does us well as we debate this issue to remember that we are not the only stakeholders, or prime actors in this drama. In terms of local government, it is not just the City of Birmingham but other local authorities which differentiate this initiative from Glasgow and London and make it a bit more complex and needful of a good deal more thought. There is local government; DCMS and our own Government; our own organising committee, which has been amply referred to, with the owners’ responsibilities weighing upon it; the Commonwealth Games Federation itself, of course; and all those beholden to all of them. Very complex organisation of bureaucracy is involved here, and the need for a flow of information is paramount.

Such awareness as I have of the work being done in other places in this process leaves me really rather heartened. In Birmingham, the strands of community cohesion, civic pride, culture, tourism, trade, investment, jobs and skills, education, infrastructure, sustainability, accessibility, physical activity and well-being are being looked at already. Areas of collaboration between the private and public sectors, and local and national government, are already being identified, and schemes and projects are already being worked on. In a sense, we are behind the curve compared with what is happening elsewhere. We must take heart from that. The flow of information seems very important.

Birmingham Commonwealth Games Bill [HL]

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem Excerpts

Tuesday 25th June 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

My Lords, the Minister’s powers of persuasion are remarkable.

My one item of concern is that noble Lords have found it very difficult to get any briefing from the city council, the mayor or the West Midlands Combined Authority. I suspect that they have been told by the Minister’s department not to provide briefing. This is a great pity. We should ask for the leader of the city council and Andy Street to brief Members before we reach Committee. I have never known a Bill affecting a sector on which we have not had formal briefing from the people concerned. Frankly, it is very disappointing that we had to beg the organising committee for the paucity of information that we have received. If this is going to be the approach in the future, it worries me—because, goodness knows, we are here to help the Games be as successful as possible.

There are only two issues I wish to raise. The first is funding and the second is the question of legacy. In relation to funding, today the Minister announced what I understand to be the final budget figures for the Games, and confirmed the split as 75:25. Can the Minister explain where financial liability lies for ensuring that that resource is spent wisely, and who is responsible if there is a cost overrun? Since the organising committee is, as I think he said, a non-departmental public body, I assume that its responsibilities are covered by the department. But what happens to the money that is to be provided through the city council? I would be grateful if the Minister could provide some information.

It will strike those of us in particular who have observed Olympic Games that clearly, because Birmingham was a late entry after the failure of the original bid on financial grounds, the financial liabilities are pretty huge. Even a city the size of Birmingham is particularly vulnerable in relation to its current financial situation. It is a fact that only a few months ago it faced warnings that hosting the Commonwealth Games could bankrupt the city; an audit report by Grant Thornton revealed an £84 million hole in its budget, at a time when vast sums of its emergency reserves had been spent. We know from newspaper cuttings that the West Midlands Combined Authority has said that the lack of a secure funding plan is:

“The most significant risk regarding the Commonwealth Games”.


I realise that that is partly in relation to the budgetary figure that the Minister has announced today, but it is in part based on the vulnerability of Birmingham City Council’s finances. It is reasonable for us to ask the Minister to spell out what he considers to be the impact on Birmingham City Council’s finances before your Lordships give the Bill their approval.

I turn to the legacy. Clearly, the Games are to be enjoyed in the moment—that is what they are all about—but legacy is important, too. It is not just the use of the stadia after the events but the environmental regeneration and, I hope to persuade the House, the health and well-being of the people of Birmingham and the West Midlands. We know that legacy was very important in relation to the London Olympics. They were a fantastic and very successful Games, and a lot of their legacy has been successfully undertaken. But, in relation to participation in sports and well-being, I do not think that the organisers have achieved what they set out to achieve. I really hope that we learn those lessons and translate them into a plan for Birmingham that will help us to make a real impact on people’s health and well-being.

[Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (LD)]

I am most grateful to the noble Lord for giving way. Unfortunately, I have a prior engagement so I could not fulfil all the obligations necessary were I to make a speech. But I most certainly wish to support not only the fact of the Games and the legislation but the point that the noble Lord has just made about participation. Using the exploits of those who are successful, there is every opportunity to encourage people to take up the myriad sports that will be encompassed. I would like to hear from the organising committee just how much effort will be put into participation, along with infrastructure and the other things mentioned by the noble Lord.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

My Lords, I do not think that the noble Lord was really allowed to do that—but it was a very helpful intervention none the less. I will come to that point in a moment. This is why it is a great pity that we were not offered a briefing with people from the city to see, from their eyes and faces, whether they really are committed to the kind of legacy that the noble Lord has just put forward.

In relation to legacy, I will ask the Minister questions on three areas. The first is in relation to housing. I understand that there are ambitious plans to redevelop the athletes’ village in Perry Barr into 1,400 homes for local people, which will in turn encourage other housebuilding in the area as well. That is very welcome and much needed. However, the allegation has been made that only a very small percentage of those homes will be either affordable or for social housing. Given that this is a major infrastructure project, we are entitled to know exactly what the figures are. I would want to amend the Bill to make sure that the percentage of social and affordable housing was a decent proportion. That needs to be an important legacy.

I come to the noble Lord’s question. Much though I love Birmingham, we are not the healthiest community in the country. The improvement in overall health has levelled off. There is a big gap between the richest and poorest in the city, and we have one of the highest levels of obesity in the country as a whole. NHS Digital figures show that more than one in four children who finished primary school in Birmingham in 2017-18 were obese—25%, a massive number—of whom 6.5% were severely obese. In addition, 15% of year 6 children were overweight. That means that 41% of Birmingham children are unhealthily overweight when they finish primary school, which is a frankly shocking figure. As someone concerned about health in the city, I know how difficult it will be to deal with the impact of that in 20 or 30 years’ time.

If anything lasting is to come out of the Commonwealth Games, we must surely have a concerted programme to encourage healthier lifestyles, including participation not only in sport because of the relationship between what kids will see in the Commonwealth Games and what they can enjoy, but in activity more generally. I understand that work streams within the organising committee are looking at this, but it is not unreasonable to ask the Minister to ensure that, before we reach the end of the Bill in this House, we see a concerted plan for how we can use the Games to improve the health and well-being of young people, alongside a budget to make it happen.

These Games will be wonderful. It is a great opportunity for my city and the West Midlands. I know that we are going to really enjoy it, but I hope that, at the end of the day, we also see a lasting legacy for the people of Birmingham.

Huawei

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem Excerpts

Thursday 25th April 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

My Lords, I completely agree with the noble Lord that any leak from the National Security Council is a disgrace. Obviously it should not happen. On what is happening about that, I am not able to comment—and he would not expect me to—on any particular inquiry or investigation, but I can say that the Prime Minister takes leaks from the Government very seriously, particularly when they are to do with security. I will leave it at that.

As far as Huawei in particular is concerned, I absolutely agree with the noble Lord. We must mitigate the risks where we can. We have an extensive oversight programme for Huawei—more extensive than for any other company. We have to face up to the fact that the risks come from not just the hardware but the software, and 5G in particular will mean that upgrades to software will be going through the networks the whole time. That is one of the areas we have to concentrate on and it does not come from a particular supplier of hardware.

[Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (LD)]

My Lords, I commend to the Minister the report of the Intelligence and Security Committee published in 2013, which sets out considerable reservations about the role of Huawei in the United Kingdom. I also support the point made by my noble friend Lord Paddick: it would be hardly in the national interest were we and the other members of the Five Eyes to be at odds on Huawei’s role. Finally, suppose the roles were reversed: can the Minister envisage circumstances in which the Chinese Government would give a similar contract to BT?

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

I cannot answer for the Chinese Government, but I am sure there are many examples where they have given contracts to UK industry. We must remember that potential IT and cybersecurity problems can come from not just IT manufacturers but industry as well. This is a problem for all Governments. I take the noble Lord’s point about the report he referred to. The review we are doing will take into account all those factors, but a lot has happened in the six years since it was published.

It is a much more nuanced picture across the Five Eyes. I think that Australia has the only de facto ban. The US has restricted Huawei from its federal agencies; it is not barred from US public networks. In this country as well, Huawei is already excluded from defence and security networks.

Sport: Performance-Enhancing Drugs

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem Excerpts

Monday 23rd July 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

UK Anti-Doping is a subsidiary body of the World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA, and talks internationally. I do not know the specifics—I am not sure I necessarily want to comment—but it is an international effort to remove the scourge of doping at all international and national sporting events.

[Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (LD)]

My Lords, is the Minister aware of the work of the Youth Sport Trust, which is particularly valuable in this area? As we know, nowadays sportsmen and women frequently appear in the honours lists which are released twice a year. It would be impossible to impose a condition, but might one suggest an expectation that those who are honoured in this way should offer themselves as role models, particularly in the field of discouraging performance-enhancing drugs.

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

My Lords, I cannot think of a better example than that of the noble Lord, as a 1964 Olympic sprinter: he proves the point that role models are very important. It is important that those who receive honours are suitably checked so that they behave correctly—that is, not only legally but also in an ethical and moral sense.