Oral Answers to Questions

Hugh Robertson Excerpts

Thursday 3rd March 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Sport and the Olympics (Hugh Robertson)]

The Olympic Park Legacy Company is responsible for determining the legacy of the Olympic stadium. We have now approved the OPLC board’s recommendation for the preferred bidder, the consortium comprising West Ham United and the London borough of Newham, and contractual negotiations will now proceed to agree acceptable terms of lease.

[Mr Lammy]

Now that the decision has been determined, will the Minister meet me, Haringey council and Daniel Levy from Tottenham Hotspur club to ensure that Tottenham Hotspur is able to move forward with its plans for the Northumberland Park development? The Minister will appreciate that there remain real economic concerns in what is the poorest area of London to ensure that the club can maintain its presence in Tottenham as it wants.

[Hugh Robertson]

The short answer is yes, of course I will. I have met the right hon. Gentleman a number of times during the bidding process and I have also made an offer through the Tottenham board to see whether I can do anything to help. I suspect that my powers in this area will be limited, because I think that the arguments and issues are to do with planning, but if there is anything I can do to help, I will do it.

[Mr Lee Scott (Ilford North) (Con)]

Will the Minister also take into account the concerns of Barry Hearn, the chairman of Leyton Orient—the finest football club in the country, may I add—about how the redevelopment of the Olympic stadium after the Olympics will affect Leyton Orient football club?

[Hugh Robertson]

Yes. I should say at the outset that I am absolutely confident that the process carried through by the Olympic Park Legacy Company, in accordance with the criteria laid out, was absolutely fair and transparent and that it was done in absolutely the correct way. I reject any insinuation that the process was in any way corrupt or badly handled. That said, if there is anything I can do to help Leyton Orient, I will do it, in the same way that if there is anything I can do to help Tottenham Hotspur, I will do it.

[Tessa Jowell (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

I welcome the Minister’s announcement and congratulate the Olympic Park Legacy Company on the manner in which this difficult process was handled. May I ask him to ensure that the key elements of the promise on which we won the Olympics in Singapore—a multi-purpose stadium, with a legacy for the community and athletics at its core—are honoured throughout the negotiations about the detailed implementation of the Newham-West Ham bid?

[Hugh Robertson]

In a word, the answer is yes. The West Ham-Newham offer was clear and backed by UK Athletics. The negotiations about the detailed terms of the lease are now being held, and I will absolutely ensure—as, I am sure, will the OPLC—that the offer that West Ham and Newham made is honoured in that lease.

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[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

14. What steps he is taking to encourage young people to participate in competitive sport.

[The Minister for Sport and the Olympics (Hugh Robertson)]

It feels a little like the aftermath of the lord mayor’s show, Mr Speaker.

The Government are committed to encouraging young people to participate in competitive sport, principally through the introduction of the new school games tournament. The school games will roll out this September and give pupils of all abilities the chance to compete regularly against each other in a wide range of sports at local, county and national level. The first national finals will take place in the Olympic park in 2012.

[Graham Evans]

I thank the Minister for that reply and welcome plans for the school games, which should help to provide a lasting sporting legacy for London 2012. Such a lasting legacy was under threat from the previous Government’s constant diversion of national lottery funding away from sport to other pet projects. What have this Government done to prevent that from happening in future?

[Hugh Robertson]

The simple answer is that we have increased the amount of money that sport gets though the lottery back up to the 20% originally envisaged in the mid-1990s.

[Ian Austin (Dudley North) (Lab)]

Is it not the case that opportunities for competitive sport will be cut, because the Government are slashing funding for school sport by 80%, forcing local councils to go too far and too fast with public spending cuts, closing facilities, sacking sports coaches and increasing fees and charges for local community and amateur sports clubs?

[Hugh Robertson]

That question seems to ignore the economic backdrop that we have inherited. This decision is necessary precisely because the previous Government, of whom the hon. Gentleman was a part, left a financial crisis that sees us paying £120 million in interest charges each and every day. It is against that backdrop that we have increased the amount of money going into sport and made the changes that I outlined in response to my hon. Friend the Member for Weaver Vale (Graham Evans). We will continue to do everything we can to drive up participation in sport.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

15. What plans he has for the future of community radio; and if he will make a statement.