Birmingham Commonwealth Games Bill [HL]

Debate between Lord Snape and Lord Ashton of Hyde

Tuesday 9th July 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

We are always encouraged to stay at the residence, so that saves hotel tax.

[Lord Snape]

Well, it would be the George V, in that case, for the noble Lord.

Again, for the United Kingdom, this proposal would not be particularly revolutionary. As a result of escaping the dead hand of the Treasury, the Scottish Parliament is now looking at Edinburgh being the first city in the United Kingdom to charge this tax. We wish the Scots well—certainly I do—and I hope that the habit will then spread south of the border.

One of the contributors to this debate talked about the fluctuation in hotel room rates. For the hotel business to pretend that such a tax would deter business people or tourists would be misleading. I looked up the room rates at the Crowne Plaza in Birmingham this week—

Birmingham Commonwealth Games Bill [HL]

Debate between Lord Snape and Lord Ashton of Hyde

Tuesday 25th June 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

My Lords, I am grateful for all the suggestions and points that have been made by an intimidating mix of former Olympians, Brummies and local residents, politicians and former politicians with a lot more local knowledge than I have. I have not matched the noble Lord, Lord Griffiths, in trying to link my home town with Birmingham; Stow-on-the-Wold is not immediately connected with Birmingham but it is only an hour away.

I realise that I mentioned bipartisanship in my opening remarks. We have form on that; we arranged the First World War commemorations, which had a very successful outcome with a lot of support from all quarters, so I do not see why we cannot do that. I also noted that a number of issues were raised by noble Lords about Birmingham City Council. It is a bit of a tough ask for a Conservative Minister to defend a Labour city council, but I will take those issues on board and ensure that the communication referred to by the noble Lord, Lord Addington, improves—particularly now that the main communication will be with the organising committee, which will be responsible for producing these Games and spending the money wisely. I will come on to that in a minute.

The noble Lords, Lord Griffiths and Lord Addington, talked about engagement. There are now plenty of opportunities for that. There is an APPG for the Commonwealth Games, at a meeting of which the organising committee has already been present. We in DCMS are certainly happy to engage with any noble Lords and answer questions—let alone official Questions in Parliament, which I cannot avoid. The Government have already said that the organising committee will report to the Public Accounts Committee and the DCMS Committee. As an arm’s-length body, it will have to fulfil the normal annual reporting requirements on finances, ethnicity and diversity. So, there will be plenty of opportunities. The Minister for Sport is also available for noble Lords. Last and probably least, they can always ask me. We will be able to improve the level of information that all noble Lords receive. I know that the organising committee intends to have within it a parliamentary liaison organisation.

I agree with many noble Lords that a key theme is legacy. As I said in my opening remarks, that legacy is not just in sport; it is an economic legacy, a volunteering legacy and a cultural legacy—I am sure that there are others that I have forgotten. We understand that the legacy is critical. It is easy to talk just about the infrastructure legacy, which will be not insignificant, but we understand that there are more things to it.

Of course, we will have the Commonwealth Games village, a new aquatic centre—which is for diving as well as swimming—and a park that goes with it, all in an area which certainly needs them. There will be a quite a lot of transport upgrade, including upgrades to two railway stations and highway improvements in Perry Barr. I will make sure that those organising the transport bear in mind my noble friend Lady Berridge’s comments about people travelling east to west as well as north to south.

The Games will also require upwards of 45,000 organising committee staff, contractors and volunteers. The organising committee has already engaged with local companies on the economic opportunities, with the Birmingham 2022 portal already established as a one-stop shop to bid for Games contracts. In Glasgow, 76% of organising committee contracts went to local or regional companies and the Games there contributed more than £750 million to the Scottish economy.

Getting people engaged in exercise is important. If sport helps with that, that is great. Sport England is investing up to £100 million in 12 pilots looking at using sport to engage underrepresented and traditionally inactive groups. In February 2019, Birmingham and Solihull received nearly £10 million from Sport England as one of those pilots. The Active Communities project is designed to tackle inequality among older adults, women, young families and BAME people. I agree that that is a key legacy, albeit an extremely tough one to deliver—it has not necessarily been delivered in the past and certainly not in the last two cases.

The noble Lords, Lord Hunt and Lord Rooker, and others talked about briefing on the Bill. I can tell the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, that the organising committee will be able to call him this week and, as I have said, it will continue to do so.

So far as the budget and shortfalls are concerned, the Games partners, including DCMS, have oversight of the organising committee’s spending via the governance structure for the Games, including the organising committee’s own contracts committee and audit and risk committee, which includes DCMS-appointed board members. These provide an opportunity to influence spending decisions and obtain ongoing oversight of expenditure and value for money. The Government will also be able to scrutinise and, if necessary, block calls on contingency budgets. The noble Lords, Lord Hunt and Lord Rooker, also drew attention to difficulties with the financial position of Birmingham City Council. The council has said that its funding for the Games should not impact on day-to-day services and will not be met by increases in council tax. All the Games partners—including the council—are focused on ensuring that the Games deliver value for money. We will continue working very closely with the city council to look at how, with its partners, it can meet its commitment to financing the Games.

Birmingham City Council finally approved the budget in January. Since then, the overall budget has been passed by the major projects review board and the Treasury. The Minister or I will outline more detail about the budget in a Written Ministerial Statement. We may have to have a presentation or meeting with noble Lords to explain this in detail. Not only is the Games budget reasonably complicated but there is other government spending on infrastructure that will be used by the Games but is not part of the Games budget itself. It is not straightforward.

The athletes’ village will be built in Perry Barr with 1,400 homes, part of a larger development of 5,000 homes in due course. The village is being developed by Birmingham City Council, as part of its commitment to the Games. It will be responsible for the strategy for the housing, as one would expect a council to be, including the percentage provided as social housing. In response to the noble Baroness, Lady Burt, and the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, the council has told us that all homes will be built to the relevant building regulations standards for accessibility. There will be a mix of affordable, private rent and market-sale tenures. About 24% will be affordable housing. The noble Baroness asked about construction jobs and apprenticeships. The construction will provide at least 2,000 jobs, including 400 new jobs in construction and 50 apprenticeships during the construction period. As part of the social value commitments confirmed by Lendlease, the main contractor, at least 10,000 students will be supported across Birmingham. This will include mentoring, career advice, curriculum support, employability support and business projects. I will be happy to write to the noble Baroness on her other detailed construction and supply questions when we have talked to the Games partners.

My noble friend Lady Berridge talked about the wider aspects of the Games around the Commonwealth and the chance to promote equality and diversity in the “youngest city in Europe”. The organising committee recognises that diversity and equality must be embedded in its organisational culture. This can be achieved only by ensuring that the best possible people are selected through a fair and transparent recruitment process. The organising committee encourages applications from a diverse range of backgrounds. In particular, work is progressing with the Department for Education and the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that opportunities are targeted at underrepresented groups. As I said, as a non-departmental public body of DCMS, the organising committee is required to report annually on equality and diversity. The noble Baroness also asked me to nudge the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Birmingham on a scheme. I will do my best to nudge the right reverend Prelate, assuming that that is within the rules of the House. He attended the meeting I had, so I will bear it in mind to keep in close touch with him.

The noble Lord, Lord Rooker, warned us that oversight and governance need close attention. I agree. It is a tight schedule and we are aware of the need to get value for the public money being spent. The Games delivery programme is overseen and managed through an integrated governance structure that involves all the Games partners, including DCMS, Birmingham City Council, the organising committee, the Commonwealth Games Federation, Commonwealth Games England, West Midlands Police and the West Midlands Combined Authority. As I say, we will pay close attention to that.

The noble Lord, Lord Snape, mentioned the appointment of Nick Timothy as one of the non-executives. I think he used the expression “jobs for the boys”. All the non-executive director appointments made by the Secretary of State complied with the Governance Code on Public Appointments and were therefore open and transparent. They were assessed by an advisory assessment panel, so it was not just the Secretary of State. They were subject to the same selection process and were assessed against criteria published in the role specification. Nick Timothy, as the noble Lord may know, is a true Brummie and has a great and deep interest in and love of the city. I am sure he will put a lot of work and effort into his role on the organising committee.

[Lord Snape]

I am sure that everything the Minister said about Mr Nick Timothy is correct. Does he agree, though, that although I am not a native Brummie, I have a great love of the city too, yet no one has asked me to be a non-executive director of this organisation? Does he think the fact that Mr Timothy, like the mayor, Mr Andy Street, and the mayor’s principal adviser, Mr Andrew Browning, went to King Edward’s School, which currently charges £13,320 per year, has anything to do with his appointment?

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

It is a bit difficult for me, as an old Etonian, to comment on that. I really do not think it has anything to do with it, but I may be biased. All I can say is that it was a proper and sensible appointment process. I am sorry that the noble Lord was not asked to apply but, of course, he could have applied himself and I am sure his application would have been treated with all the seriousness it deserves.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Snape]

One of the reasons I do not get old Etonians, of course, is that I do not share their sense of humour.

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

Not everyone does, I agree.

My noble friend Lord Moynihan talked about delegated powers and the report from the DPRRC. We look forward to receiving that report fairly shortly, I believe. We have learned from the experience of the London Olympics Act and have sought to ensure that the delegated powers in the Bill are as narrow as possible. We have included things in the Bill not included in the 2006 Act. There are no Henry VIII powers. Those that have been included are limited to matters that cannot be determined until the detailed operational planning for the Games is further advanced, or when further consultation is needed. For example, what it means to be,

“in, or in the vicinity of”,

a Games location will depend on the Games schedule, which will not be known until much closer to Games time. Regulations about time periods and Games locations may need to be quickly amended in the event of a change in a competition venue. I look forward to discussing the detail of the individual clauses with my noble friend and other noble Lords in Committee. I think it will be useful to wait until we get the DPRRC report to see what it advises on that, but I do not foresee any particularly serious problems.

The noble Lord also asked why we are not extending the offence of ticket touting to other major sporting and cultural events. We have had this debate over a number of years, and I have debated it personally with my noble friend Lord Moynihan. At the moment we think there is a role for a responsible secondary ticketing market which allows consumers to make informed choices. That is why we do not want to impose a blanket ban on the resale of tickets for all major sporting or cultural events, but I accept that there is a debate to be had on that. These provisions, however, are designed to protect the integrity of the Commonwealth Games and reflect the uniqueness of a multi-sport event which, unlike most sporting events, is underpinned by significant public investment. That is why we have decided to ban it for this event. That is also why similar provisions were enacted for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. As I say, I am sure that we can discuss that in Committee if necessary.

The noble Lord also mentioned shooting—I believe on behalf of the noble Lord, Lord Bilimoria—and its exclusion from the sports programme. That is not directly connected to the powers in this Bill, but is worth mentioning because it is important to those who are keen on it. The key criteria were set, written submissions invited and presentations made to the assessment panel for each sport. Those included financial considerations, the availability of suitable venues, the potential for additional revenue generation and alignment with the CGF constitution and the objectives of Games partners. Those submissions were evaluated and a report then presented to the Birmingham 2022 organising committee board. The decision it made now goes to the Commonwealth Games Federation’s membership, where the ultimate decision lies. It is worth pointing out that shooting was offered the opportunity to transfer, with a suggestion that some of those events could take place in the West Midlands area, but the offer was declined.

The noble Lord, Lord Grocott, talked about budget governance. As I said, the figure today is a headline figure; I will let your Lordships know more detail when it is available. Overall, the governance is broadly as follows: the police oversee security, with the chief constable of the West Midlands having overall operational control of that—he will liaise and use national security agencies as well, but has overall responsibility; the organising committee is responsible for delivering the Games; and Birmingham City Council is responsible for overseeing the capital projects.

There will be more detail to go through in Committee and later. I repeat my offer: my department is happy to answer specific questions in more detail if anyone wants. I hope that will enable noble Lords to support this operational Bill, which, as we approach three years to go next month, is an essential milestone in the preparation for the Games. I look forward to working closely with all noble Lords as the Bill progresses through this House and I commend the Bill.