Clause 34 - Regional development agencies
London Olympics Bill
5:30 pm
Jo Swinson (Shadow Minister, Culture, Media & Sport; East Dunbartonshire, Liberal Democrat)
I beg to move amendment No. 9, in clause 34, page 24, line 2, leave out ‘at the request of’ and insert ‘after consultation with’.
When we consider the role of the regional development agencies, we can all agree that one of the most inspiring things about the Olympic bid, and the process by which London won the games, has been the support that the bid enjoyed across the country. The coverage in the press gives a taster of how welcome has been the news that the Olympics is coming to the UK. In an article headed “Olympics Joy: A Real Boost For Brum”, the Birmingham Evening Mail of 7 July 2005 quoted Birmingham city council leader Mike Whitby as saying:
“This is great news, not just for London but for the whole country ... This is a huge regeneration opportunity, which we will seize with both hands to ensure that all our communities benefit ... It will also enable us to market Birmingham and the region to a world-wide tourist audience.”
Closer to my home territory, The Herald (Glasgow) reported on the same date that
“Scotland can expect a huge tourist boom, as spectators extend their stays to take in the sights”,
while the Belfast Telegraph said:
“The Olympic games in 2012 will trigger a huge sporting bonanza for Northern Ireland”.
In Liverpool, which is already looking forward to 2008, a Liverpool culture company spokesperson was quoted in the Liverpool Daily Post as saying:
“2008 will be the starting gun for 2012, as the cultural Olympiad helps pave the way for the sporting Olympics four years later.”
There is clearly a huge amount of support up and down the country. That is why it seems very strange that clause 34(2) states:
“But a regional development agency shall not do anything by virtue only of subsection (1) except at the request of the Olympic Delivery Authority.”
After all, the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998 requires regional development agencies not to be passive, but actively to promote their regions. In celebrating the bid team’s having thought the unthinkable and put London into the position in which it was able to win the bid, we have been celebrating its spirit of taking the initiative and being ambitious. It does not make sense, therefore, to expect regional development agencies to sit back and do something only when they are asked to do so by the ODA. The amendment seeks to give some authority to RDAs to take the initiative, to come up with ideas about what might be appropriate in their regions, and then to consult with the ODA before implementing them. It makes sense to allow the regions to do that, and I hope that the Minister will take that point on board.