Legacy is one of the central reasons why we bid for the 2012 Olympics. Last week, to coincide with the visit of the international Olympic evaluation commission, I published our legacy promises document, which is not of itself new policy, but brings together existing policy in relation to sport, regeneration, young people, the environment, and the wider benefits to the United Kingdom of hosting the Olympic games.
As soon as I leave the House today, I will be going to the west midlands. There tonight, with Seb Coe, in the first of a series of public meetings around the country, we will be setting out our vision for an enduring legacy from 2012 from which the whole country will benefit.
I thank the Secretary of State for that. There are five rings in the Olympic flag, representing the five continents. Only two and a half continents have yet had an Olympics. If by 2024 or 2028 the games have not gone to Africa, south America, India or the middle east, what is the point of them? I wonder whether she could widen the remit of the legacy to include what legacy we will give back to the IOC for the games.
I thank my hon. Friend for that question. It is important. It is crucial that major global sporting events, such as the Olympics, should not be affordable only by rich cities in the developed countries. As part of our commitment to the IOC, in what has been called the Singapore manifesto, we will initially work in five countries, taking the benefits of sport to young people in different circumstances. The five countries are Zambia, Azerbaijan, Palau, Brazil and India.
I personally have had the privilege of working as a volunteer on two programmes in connection with the development of the Singapore manifesto. It is clear about not just the global reach of football into communities and the developing world, but the power of sport to address many of the poverty and deprivation issues that children in the developing world face.
Given the capacity constraints and doubtful legacy effects of holding the equestrian games in Greenwich park, will the Secretary of State agree to meet me and a small delegation to discuss their relocation to Boughton house in Kettering?
I understand the hon. Gentleman’s wish to pursue the interests of his constituency, but I am afraid—for him, although not for Greenwich and the Olympics in London—that the IOC is very content with the location of the equestrian events in the magnificent setting of Greenwich park.
Can my right hon. Friend assure the House that she will do all that she can to ensure that the legacy plans for the 2012 Olympics will not include the unnecessary and untimely deaths of exploited migrant construction workers?
Yes, I certainly accept the intention behind my hon. Friend’s important point. He will know of the principles of good practice that the construction contracts to be let by the Olympic Delivery Authority contain. A project on the scale of the Olympics has the opportunity to set good examples for good practice in a variety of areas, not least construction.
Only yesterday the chairman of the Central Council for Physical Recreation wrote to The Independent on Sunday, which made it its letter of the week, to say:
“For all the fine words and photo opportunities of Tony Blair, sport—schools aside—has been firmly at the periphery of this government’s sights…Community sports clubs have enjoyed precious little investment over the past decade.”
How on earth will all the legacy commitments be financed?
Well, the chairman of CPRE will continue to lobby—[Interruption.] I am sorry, I meant CCPR—an easy mistake to make. The chairman of CCPR will continue to lobby, not always on the basis of the best facts. Whether it be school sports, participation, improved facilities or elite sport, this Government’s record is unprecedented in terms of additional investment in sport. We are already seeing the results in schools, in more people taking part in sport and in the success of our elite athletes. That is because this Government see sport as being at the heart of the life of our nation, and that is why the Olympics are so important.
Can my right hon. Friend explain what the legacy will be for one of our most successful sports—shooting—with a venue that will cost £20 million to put at Woolwich and some £10 million to bring it down afterwards, when the sporting bodies want it at Bisley? What is the legacy for shooting? Why is it not common sense to put it somewhere people want it?
My hon. Friend will be aware that legacy plans for all the venues are carefully scrutinised by the IOC. In some cases, the legacy plans will continue to be developed in the five years between now and the Olympics. I am confident that the legacy from the shooting facilities will be as good as any legacy for any of the other Olympic venues.
My right hon. Friend will realise that the greatest legacy that the Olympics could give this country is greater participation in sport by all our citizens, especially young people. What is her Department doing to ensure that local authorities are spending the money that the Government send down to them to engender and develop more sporting facilities, especially in places such as Tamworth in Staffordshire?
I have visited some of the facilities in my hon. Friend’s constituency. With the work of Sport England, supported by a review of local authority facilities by the Audit Commission, there is now a fresh impetus and a programme of development of sports facilities, upgrading and refurbishment. Local authorities are working with Sport England to ensure that facilities are fit for purpose, because too many sports facilities in this country, particularly those run by local authorities, simply are not up to the job that we want them to do.