My Lords, I hope this Bill will be welcomed across the House. I am excited to be moving the Second Reading of it, not for the operational details outlined but because of the beneficial effect the Games will have on Birmingham and the West Midlands, and because of the enthusiasm that has already been shown by many in the region.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham will be the biggest sporting and cultural event ever held in the city and the region, featuring thousands of world-class athletes and over 1 million spectators. With an estimated TV audience of 1.5 billion watching 11 days of action-packed competition, the Games will showcase Birmingham, the West Midlands and the entire country to the rest of the world as a destination for sport, business, leisure and education.
Of course, the Games are about more than just two weeks of sport. They will unlock opportunities for people across the region and the UK, delivering benefits and leaving a lasting physical legacy in the form of three major capital projects as well as transport infrastructure upgrades. They will bring wider opportunities, including cultural engagement, trade and business, tourism, volunteering, physical activity, jobs and skills and education. That is why the bid for the Games was underpinned by cross-party support at national and regional level.
I remind the House of the circumstances under which Birmingham was awarded the Games. In March 2017, following its inability to meet a number of hosting requirements, the Commonwealth Games Federation removed hosting rights from Durban. In December 2017, following a bidding process, Birmingham was awarded the right to host. This means delivering the Games in a truncated timeline of four and a half years rather than the more typical seven. I am delighted that the recent co-ordination commission, which met to review progress on Games preparations, expressed its confidence that partners would deliver a fantastic Games.
Delivering the Games at speed relies on effective and collaborative relationships with Games partners. It was in this spirit that partners worked closely together to identify the small number of temporary legislative measures included in the Bill. Noble Lords may recall that similar measures were provided for the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. I take this opportunity to remember the work of Baroness Jowell in preparing London for the Olympics. Of course, this is not the Olympics; the requirements for hosting the Commonwealth Games are different, and the narrow scope of the Bill reflects that.
I shall outline the main contents of the Bill. It provides a technical measure to ensure that financial assistance given to the organising committee continues to comply with spending rules set out by Her Majesty’s Treasury. The organising committee has been established as a non-departmental public body. It is subject to standard public sector controls, including a full management agreement. The Government have also committed to provide regular budgetary and financial updates to Parliament over the life cycle of the Games.
My Lords, I welcome the Bill and the Minister’s opening statement. In view of the remarks I will make on health and well-being, I declare an interest as a member of the advisory board of Sweatcoin, a healthy walking app.
It was a great day when the Commonwealth Games Federation selected Birmingham as the host city in 2022. Congratulations are due to Ian Ward, the leader of the city council, to Birmingham as a whole, and to partners such as Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, the West Midlands Combined Authority, the department the Minister speaks for and Commonwealth Games England. This is a fantastic opportunity for Birmingham and the West Midlands, which we need to grasp enthusiastically and with both hands, as the Minister said. The sports that will feature are in themselves very interesting, and the Commonwealth Games’ track record of ensuring that the Paralympic Games have equity with the other Games is to be commended and will be continued in Birmingham. Living half a mile from Edgbaston cricket ground, I also know that women’s cricket is being considered for a place in the final list of games. I hope that the Minister will use his best offices to encourage such a decision.
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:
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.
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.
My Lords, I do not as a rule speak on DCMS matters, but when I learned that there was to be a Second Reading of the Commonwealth Games Bill and the Games were being held in the young, vibrant and diverse city of Birmingham, where I just happen to have been born and brought up, I wanted to speak and express my delight. That delight is not just at the fact that the amazing city of Birmingham is to be the focus of attention for an estimated 1.5 billion viewers; it is not just because we anticipate that the Games will attract more than £1 billion of revenue to the area; it is not just because we will show the world just how to organise a successful set of Games—she said with confidence—despite having had only four and a half years to do so, instead of the normal seven; and it is not just because of the income that they will bring to the local area. It is also because the Games should leave a legacy that will remain long after the athletes have departed and the visitors have gone home.
It is on the legacy aspect that I want to focus. I look today for some assurances from the Minister, as far as he is able to give them, on what that legacy will look like. I understand that the village to be built will house 6,500 athletes and officials. This accommodation in Perry Barr has been described as “homes away from home”. What is rather more exciting for me is how many homes will be available after the Games for local residents to live in. I understand that the 1,400 new homes for the athletes’ village will constitute the first phase of a regeneration project to provide some 5,000 homes in the longer term. However, in his letter to noble Lords of 24 June, the Minister said that “a proportion” of properties across the site will be built to “lifetime homes” standards. That begs the question of what standards the rest will be built to. Will the Minister please elucidate? I also echo the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, about the proportion of affordable homes, which are desperately needed. Can the Minister give the House any further details on that?
3:40 pm
Lord Coe (Con)
My Lords, I guess it is quintessentially the human condition to permanently ponder the passage of time, probably more so as the years roll by. It seems barely credible that it is now 14 years since London snuck across the line in Singapore and secured the right to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games of 2012. Only eight days after that momentous decision I witnessed First Reading of the Olympic Bill in the other place. Rather like today’s Commonwealth Games Bill, it created the crucial framework, foundations, provisions and protections that provided for their seamless delivery. A modern multisports event or Games demands project management of inordinate complexity. No city or its agencies is ever so tested under normal circumstances. So today’s Bill is not a “nice to have” or à la carte menu: it enshrines the essential safeguards needed to underpin the success of the event. If it is not successful, be under no illusion that it will severely dent local, national and international reputations in the aftermath. If I may digress momentarily, we seem to be doing that quite well enough of late without further fragilities.
A successful Games is the prerequisite platform for securing a lasting economic, social and cultural legacy once the athletes have left town. If the Games are a damp squib, there will be little or no appetite to leverage from the sporting celebration. As the Minister observed, the Commonwealth Games were not originally destined for Britain’s second city: Durban was the original host. Two and a half years after winning that right, it concluded that it could not deliver the project, so Birmingham has the additional challenge of a curtailed timeline, which makes the need for bipartisan support across Parliament even more critical. This approach served us well in London and is a crucial ingredient: I am delighted that there are so many noble Lords in the Chamber today who contributed to that bipartisan approach.
The provisions of the Bill, as in that for London, bring forward a small number of temporary measures to ensure the successful delivery of Birmingham 2022. They are necessary and proportionate. For instance, no sporting event of such scale can be delivered without commercial partners. Those businesses that commit sizeable discretionary spend and risk their brand reputation need to know that neither will be put at risk by rogue advertising, rogue trading or ambush marketing. The Bill will also ensure that spectators are not ripped off by ticket touts and that there are adequate transport arrangements to fulfil the needs of the athletes—the most important client group in the delivery of any Games—and of course the fans, many of whom will have come from overseas. This particular provision allows for the Secretary of State to prepare a transport plan that can be delivered locally and with relevant consultation before implementation Games time.
My Lords, I agree—and no doubt I will with future speakers—with every contribution that we have heard so far. I will not repeat them, but the sage advice we have just listened to from someone who has been at the coalface should be taken on board really seriously.
This will be a big event in the West Midlands—one of the biggest we have ever had—but 2022 will be a busy year: it is a general election year; there is a nine-month festival of Britain proposed for 2022, which the Government plan will transform the whole year; and so this is not just a one-off. Therefore, it is really important that we keep our eye on the ball so that we do not get deviation on to other issues.
The Games will be a good showcase of the West Midlands for millions. Although the Games will be centred on the city of Birmingham, it is a West Midlands enterprise—the great region of the country that has never really pulled its weight in the way that other regions have. In this case, more than one local authority is involved, and there has been a coming together, which is good news. However, time is short, as has been said, simply because of Durban pulling out.
The city council’s finances are not good. For several years now, there has been an oversight committee on the governance of Birmingham City Council, put in by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. I understand from reading the press that it has just finished but that it has recommended that there be another oversight committee, simply because of the issues that have arisen in the past. As such, the delivery of this exercise needs watching very carefully indeed from the centre, because it is the Government who will get it in the neck.
Without going into detail, I reinforce the points my noble friend Lord Hunt of Kings Heath made. Trying to get some information has proven to be incredibly difficult. My bits have come from a couple of items in the Birmingham Post a few weeks ago. I do not live in Birmingham any more, but I have close connections there, including family. There is complete ignorance in the city council about your Lordships’ House. At least 20 Members of your Lordships’ House have detailed connections with Birmingham; the cream of them are here today, but not all are present. But the fact is that there has been no connection—no phone calls or emails over the last few days. Even the speakers list, which is publicly available—you can check who is putting their name down—seemed to be unknown. We want to help, as we told the Minister, but we need a good flow of information. That is my only negative point. It is meant to be positive, because things have to improve from now on if we are going to help. Members of the Commons would not put up with this, because they represent people, but we represent ourselves. Some of them will have much more detailed questions than we would put.
My Lords, I declare my interest as an executive member of CPA UK and thank my noble friend the Minister for his meeting with interested Peers, which was really useful.
Although the hosting of the Commonwealth Games by Birmingham in 2022 is undoubtedly great news for the West Midlands region, or what is now called the midlands engine—I am from the East Midlands, so I prefer that phrase—I am sure that noble Lords will share my regret that that is because Durban in South Africa was unable to do so. In its modern format since 1978, the Commonwealth Games has been held outside the ABC and Z countries of the Commonwealth only twice: in 1998 in Kuala Lumpur and in 2010 in Delhi, India. This is regrettable, as this is the Games of 53 nations, 94% of whose people live in Asia or Africa. I hope that the Games federation will look at how the Games, which are the part of the Commonwealth most known to many people, can go to every corner of the Commonwealth.
I hope that the Bill’s framework for the protection of commercial rights, creating civil offences for a limited period to protect intellectual property rights, will be a template for other nations to use. This could then limit the legislative work for the creation of essential safeguards needed by the next host of the Games. I hope that Her Majesty’s Government are already looking for the legacy of these Games to be an operational structure that is streamlined and will assist the Games moving to countries and continents of the Commonwealth which have yet to host them.
I lived in Manchester during the time of the Commonwealth Games there and I worked for three years at the University of Birmingham on a Commonwealth project. Part of the reason we chose the university for such a project was the fact that, like the Commonwealth, where 60% of the population of 2.4 billion is under the age of 30, Birmingham is the youngest city in Europe, with 40% of the population aged under 25.
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I am also pleased to be able to set out the agreed 2022 budget. Birmingham and the West Midlands will receive a £778 million investment to stage the Games. The public funding will be split approximately 75:25 between investment from central government and from Birmingham City Council and partners, setting a significant investment in Birmingham and the region that will deliver benefits for years to come.
The Bill also introduces measures, similar to those for London and Glasgow, to protect against unauthorised association with the Games. Securing commercial sponsorship is critical to staging a world-class event and managing public investment in the Games. This can be achieved only when the rights of sponsors are protected. By way of comparison, the Glasgow Games raised over £100 million in commercial revenue.
The Bill introduces a new civil offence which will ensure that only those authorised to associate with the Games, such as those who have contributed to the costs, may do so. This offence will apply only to those acting in the course of business. Association will be permitted only where an organisation has made the financial or other commitments required of an authorised business.
Importantly, enforcement must be sensible and proportionate. We recognise that residents, schools, faith and community groups want to show their support, so the organising committee is developing a “community brand” for use by not-for-profit organisations that share the Games’ vision and mission and want to proudly celebrate their community association. Information is key, which is why the Bill places a duty on the organising committee to produce guidance to ensure that people are clear about activity that may be an infringement.
We are determined to ensure that those who want to be a part of the Games can be, so the organising committee will put in place an accessible and affordable ticketing strategy. The Bill introduces a criminal offence for the unauthorised sale of Games tickets, ensuring that buying tickets will be clear, simple and affordable. This offence will apply to any unauthorised attempt to sell tickets, whether carried out in a public place, in the course of business, or for profit.
The Bill also creates offences for unauthorised advertising and trading. The restrictions on unauthorised trading will improve the spectator experience by ensuring that trading does not obstruct easy movement in the vicinity of Games locations, and the restrictions on unauthorised advertising will ensure that Games locations and their surrounding areas offer a consistent celebratory look and feel. These measures are proportionate and temporary. These restrictions can be in place for no more than 38 days; we will ensure that they take effect for the shortest possible time.
Regulations will be brought forward specifying when and where the advertising and trading provisions apply. This may differ by Games location to ensure that the restrictions are proportionate and apply only where necessary. We will also consult on whether further exceptions to the offences should apply.
There is a duty on the organising committee to produce guidance to support understanding of the provisions. Local authorities will be required to share this guidance with traders known to them who may be affected by the offence. Affected traders could also seek authorisation, free of charge, from the organising committee to continue trading or apply to the local authority for consent to trade on a street not specified in the regulations. Similarly, should an advertiser wish to carry out Games location advertising at a restricted time, it will be able to make an application, without cost, to the organising committee.
We provide a suite of powers to enable effective enforcement of these offences. These powers build on those already available to enforcement officers under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, ensuring that, where needed, swift and robust action can be taken. Work is already under way with the organising committee, police and local trading standards to ensure that any enforcement activity is proportionate. Experience demonstrates that the effect of these powers is mainly one of deterrence: we are not aware of any court cases for similar offences at Glasgow 2014 and only a small number of court cases in London for the ticketing offence.
Finally, key to a successful Games is ensuring that transport works efficiently for those living and working around Games locations, and those involved in the Games. The transport provisions in the Bill enable this. They set a statutory basis for the Games transport plan, which will be subject to public consultation later this year.
The measures also provide bespoke traffic regulatory powers, allowing short-term changes of road use—where needed—to ensure minimal disruption. Also included are powers for the Secretary of State to provide for concurrent regulation of road use by the person directed to prepare the transport plan, where they are not already a traffic authority, and provided there is agreement from the relevant local traffic authority. We believe that these powers facilitate co-ordination of Games transport planning. The Bill further provides a power of direction for the Secretary of State to safeguard the delivery of essential Games traffic-regulation measures. This would be used only if absolutely necessary.
I must make it clear that the organisers intend that any road regulation measures are kept to a minimum. Local residents and businesses will be kept closely informed of the proposals. Also, work is under way to deliver a clean and green Games supported by the delivery of new and accelerated infrastructure, additional services and effective use of the transport network.
I look forward to the comments and advice on improvements from noble Lords. I beg to move.
“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.
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.
Building homes is only part of the legacy that the Games will bring. On wider infrastructure improvements, we are having a remodelled Alexander Stadium, a world-class swimming pool—sorry, aquatics centre—two upgraded stations, local access improvements, an interchange and a Sprint rapid bus service along the A34. All are very welcome in areas that really need some regeneration. The council has secured a commitment from the lead contractor to sign up to the Birmingham Business Charter for Social Responsibility. This charter aims to help the community by supporting local businesses, creating jobs and making sure that workers are paid a fair wage. Four hundred new jobs will be created, including 50 apprenticeships, although at the peak of construction around 3,000 people will be working on the project. Those workers will be paid at least the voluntary living wage of £8.75, as opposed to the national living wage of £7.50. The charter covers training, including pre-employment training, apprenticeships and on-site training. Local people from marginalised communities in the area will get a look-in, and talent and skills will not just be shipped in from outside. Afterwards, construction trainees will have the qualifications to continue to other work. This should come in handy in tackling the huge construction skill shortage we have now—and will have even more as HS2 continues its development.
This is all great, but will the Minister press the organising committee to ensure that the supply chain is paid properly too? The Carillion affair has left a very bad taste in the mouths of subcontractors, many of which went to the wall because Carillion and others used their suppliers to fund their own cash flow. This can be avoided by using project bank accounts where the funding is held in one central account, untouchable by the lead contractor. Suppliers will be paid on time and in accordance with contract terms. Does the Minister think project bank accounts would be a good thing, and will he recommend their use to the organising committee? The Birmingham Business Charter for Social Responsibility expresses the sentiments and behaviour that all companies should express. All companies should have an implicit contract with the area—and its people—in which they operate.
In Birmingham we have talent of all kinds and diversity in spades. The Minister has today announced an investment of £778 million and a 75:25 split between the Government and Birmingham. I hope and trust that Birmingham City Council can meet its 25%, despite its cash-strapped situation, which has led it to sell off some of its key assets. The noble Lord, Lord Hunt, has already expressed his concerns about the vulnerability of funding. Will the Minister bear this in mind and ensure that the Government will review that percentage if Birmingham struggles to meet it? No one wants to be left with the bitter taste of these Games being won only at the expense of the vulnerable.
It is incumbent on us to make every penny that we receive, from whatever source, work to create a legacy of infrastructure and skills for the future and to showcase some of the best talent in the world—not least our own.
Measures such as these are essential in themselves, but not a prerequisite for a successful Games. You need to support and produce a conducive atmosphere for their delivery. My experience in London is clear. The most demanding stakeholder any organising committee has is not the Secretary of State or the mayor, the federation president or the member federations and associations. No, its most demanding stakeholder is, as it should be, the people for whom these Games are being delivered and in whose neighbourhoods they are being located. They will ask demanding questions, often far more penetrating and perceptive than those of the media and with far greater proprietorial interest: an emotional connection, if you like. That needs to be tapped into.
My humble advice to the Birmingham Organising Committee, again from the London years, is that it should be as assiduous about articulating why these Games will be such a powerful vehicle for change as it is on how they will come together. If they are seen by local people as only a discussion about ducting, tunnelling and construction timelines, they will at best zero out and at worst chip away from the sidelines. They need to see vision, purpose and shared values. They need to know how, through sport, the Games can change the lives of their children and grandchildren. This needs to be communicated liberally and often.
They themselves can become life changers by offering to volunteer. As we know from London, our Games makers, as they were known, made the difference between a good and a great Games. Their sheer competence and friendliness set the tone and style in London and other cities throughout the UK. Many of them continue to this day to volunteer for myriad events and good causes. I am sure that many will want to offer Birmingham that generosity of spirit.
For the organising committee—here I speak from seared experience—the herculean hard work of getting the Games across the line can sometimes feel a little life-shortening. Not long after London won the bid, I invited Sandy Hollway, the former chief executive of the Sydney Games, to share his insights with our newly formed organising committee when we took our first tentative steps. Hollway captured the challenge in five immutable phases. The first was the euphoria of winning a tough global battle. The second was blind panic at the realisation of the scale of the undertaking—and that is just the organising committee. Then came the “persecution of the innocent” phase; every calamity that befalls the nation will be blamed on the Games. Then you head into the Games before yours—in our case, Beijing—and, if the athletes underperform, the media concludes not only that they are costing too much but that you do not have any athletes capable of stealing the show at your own party in four years’ time. That tends to be the low point in the delivery cycle. Then the volunteers and sponsors come on board, and the plans for the torch relay—or baton relay for the Commonwealth Games—and Cultural Olympiad that touch cities and hamlets alike are unveiled. Slowly but surely, the public begin to get behind the Games. The Games are then successful, as they will be in Birmingham.
After his scene setter, I thanked him. He then said, “No, there’s a final phase. It’s the one that always comes once the Games have left town”. I asked him to expand. “The final phase”, he explained, was the “glorification of the uninvolved”. I am sure that in Birmingham, in a little over three years’ time, the people of that great sporting city will want to do more than sit out the dance. I know they will want to be truly involved. That is why today’s Bill is so important.
I agree with what is in the Bill; the commercial rights have to be protected. There will be enough spivs and crooks in the West Midlands trying to exploit this, and therefore it is important that there are legal barriers to protect the sponsors. Sponsors, big and small, need protecting. The transport improvements, some of which might be controversial, are nevertheless much needed. The Bill also brings government funding. Like my noble friend Lord Hunt, I was not clear about what the legacy is, simply because we have not been told. What is the supreme legacy of this exercise that the city council and its partners want for their 25% share? That is not a small amount of money, and we are talking about a legacy that is to last for decades.
It has not been mentioned so far, but there will have to be a large and tightly run security envelope for this exercise. I trust that the resources will be made available to the brilliant West Midlands Police—I declare an interest as I have a close family member who is a serving officer there. That is important; it was a key element in the Olympic Games in London. I know that things were different then, but the fact is that there are nutcases galore out there, and therefore the security needs to be considered and tightly run.
The stadium—this is my local bit—is located in Perry Park, in my former constituency. In fact, it was my local park when I was growing up as a kid. Last Friday, I attended a meeting at the stadium, where the changes to the stadium, both permanent and temporary, were to be outlined. I went there purely to listen. The proposals for the stadium are awesome—there is no question about that; it will leave a fantastic sporting legacy, and the stadium can be used for things other than sport. That is the point about it—the upgrading of the stadium makes it really flexible. However, as I listened, I was a little disappointed to discover that the Friends of Perry Park had been utterly ignored over the past few months as they were trying to be helpful by finding out what was happening. From my point of view, it was no good to sit there, listening to the dozen bosses from Arup say, “Oh well, the consultation starts today”. To be honest, if you are on the ball, trying to bring local people and opinion-formers along with you, you do not wait until the last minute to bring them on board, even in an informal fashion. I hope that that has been taken on board after the meeting. It makes good sense to do that, as the noble Lord, Lord Coe, said.
It is an urban environment, but it is very outer city. It is about a mile and a half from the city boundary, most of it built in the 1920s and 1930s. Until then, it was farmland. It has mainly semi-detached houses and a very few tower blocks. A lot of industries disappeared from the area, but there is a community.
I was very pleased when the home of Birchfield Harriers moved from its previous stadium into the park, but not everybody was pleased. When I went for a tree-digging ceremony, I was lobbied by constituents—I will not name the road they were from, because that is not fair, but it is on the other side of the canal— complaining against it. People who live around a park think it is their back garden. Well, it is not. That was a difficulty. I was really upset.
In the old stadium, I remember in the 1950s seeing E McDonald Bailey, the famous sprinter. I am that old that I can remember that. It was an important part of growing up in that northern part of Birmingham.
As I said, the city will get a maximum flexi-venue of very high grade, and I think it should be exploited. I know that people who live around stadiums, such as the football grounds in the city, get pressure on parking and noise, but this is a high-grade, futuristic enterprise which I think we should benefit from. My noble friend Lord Snape will probably talk about Sandwell, which should benefit similarly from the aquatic provision and diving centre.
The Bill is important. I support it. My noble friend Lord Hunt made the point about the legacy in housing. When I grew up, the site to be used was a small school, Birchfield school. In recent years, it was part of the University of Central England—a Birmingham Polytechnic site—which has been virtually flattened. It is a good location. It is right next to a suburban railway station as well as a main feeder road into the city and a motorway, so it will be premium-priced housing, but it should be a mixed community. You cannot enable that unless you ensure that there is enough social and affordable housing as part of the exercise. I wish the exercise and the Bill all the best.
Also, much of the migration to the West Midlands is from the Commonwealth. The 2011 census stated that 13.5% of migrants in Birmingham were of Pakistani origin, 6% were Indian and 4.4% were Caribbean. Birmingham is more ethnically diverse than London. It is important to see such an international event outside London. Although I accept that it is not under the direct control of Her Majesty’s Government, much of the budget will come from central government. I therefore hope that the employment opportunities that come with these Games will reflect the diverse nature of the West Midlands population; that is one area where the London Olympics and Paralympics struggled. Ensuring that local people are employed to deliver their Games is really important; it would be disappointing if people were predominantly relocating temporarily from London or elsewhere to take up jobs.
He cannot be here today but it was good to learn from the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Birmingham at the Minister’s meeting of the support of faith communities for the Games. In the Manchester Commonwealth Games, one of the key services offered by faith communities was the opportunity to host athletes’ families in the homes of local residents, rather than them having to spend money on hotels. Many athletes struggle financially; if their family can afford the flight to the UK to watch them, the accommodation costs can often be one step too far. I hope that my noble friend the Minister will do what he can to nudge the right reverend Prelate to see whether this scheme could be of use in the Birmingham Games.
Often with these large events, what happens in the margins is also valuable. CPA UK is looking at whether to hold an event on the importance of regional governance across the Commonwealth. The Birmingham Games will, I hope, be a great model of both that and of different authorities controlled by different political parties working together. Often in Commonwealth nations, regional governance structures can also deliver changes, such as the state governors in Nigeria. I am grateful to my noble friend the Minister to hear about the transport plan in the Bill. As someone who lives in the West Midlands, I repeat my request: remember that people do not always travel north-south on trains—the east-west routes can often be problematic—and ensure that this is taken into account in the delivery of the Games.
I hope that looking outside London for such events will remain a focus for Her Majesty’s Government. It was really encouraging that when we last hosted the NATO summit in 2014, it was in Newport, Wales. The year 2022 will be a time of great national celebration, with the 70th, platinum anniversary of Her Majesty’s reign. What more fitting tribute to the Head of the Commonwealth than having the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham?