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Lord Moynihan: My Lords, it has taken a long time during this Bill to reach one of those magic moments in parliamentary procedure when one hears the Minister respond to an opposition amendment by saying, "This is a series of modest amendments", and then almost immediately to follow it up with the phrase that he is "very sympathetic". For the first time in I do not know how many hours of deliberation on this Bill, I thought that the Government were going to make a concession and accept my amendment.
The magic moment passed and, like Ernie Els, my optimism was dashed. I move forward to fight another day, in particular with the next amendment standing in my name, which I very much hope will find a consensus in the House and lead to agreement by the Government.
I am grateful to the noble Lord for his comments. Above all, I am grateful to him for pointing out one persuasive argument. That is, should we not win the London 2012 bid—which all of us are united in hoping that we shall, when it is determined in Singapore—it is possible, and indeed likely, that any future bid from another city in the United Kingdom would be tailored in a different way from that in which this one was originally construed, and which this legislation seeks to enact. In those circumstances, it is probably wise to have that flexibility. It would then be appropriate for the government of the day to bring new primary legislation to back the different circumstances, to support the British Olympic Association and the bidding city.
In those circumstances, and given the lucid explanation by the Minister on that specific point, while I am disappointed and I think that we owe it to future Ministers for Sport to make sure that this legislation is not lost—and that is what these amendments were designed to achieve—nevertheless, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
[Amendments Nos. 23 to 27 not moved.]
Clause 26 [Payments out of Fund]:
Lord Moynihan moved Amendment No. 29:
"( ) to the British Paralympic Association;"
The noble Lord said: My Lords, I very much hope the Government will accept this amendment, which I am particularly pleased to introduce. It is designed to include the British Paralympic Association within the list of bodies that can receive funding direct from the Olympic Lottery Distribution Fund rather than through the Olympic lottery distributor.
As the Bill is currently drafted, the British Olympic Association, the Greater London Authority, the National lottery distributor, and even the Secretary of
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State can receive money directly from the Olympic Lottery Distribution Fund. It seems to me that if the Secretary of State can receive such money, then there is a very compelling and strong case for including the British Paralympic Association, which looks after our disabled athletes, in the list which includes the British Olympic Association.
There is a great deal of support for the excellent work of the British Paralympic Association and there is a general feeling that the Bill before us today could, and should, do more to recognise that work. The Government have made a start with the very welcome indication that they intend to support my amendment to Clause 31 in favour of the British Paralympic Association. However, this amendment provides the Government with the opportunity to back up their fine words with the necessary finances.
We must never forget that the London bid for the 2012 Olympics is also a bid for the 2012 Paralympic Games. It is the intention of these Benches that the London Olympic bid and the proposed Olympic lottery should give sufficient emphasis to the Paralympics.
I am very aware of the comments of the Minister for Sport in another place that the reason for the inclusion of the British Olympic Association within the list of beneficiaries in Clause 26 is because they are required to transfer their commercial rights—including their ability to market the Olympic symbol of the five rings—to the London organising committee. This will result in a loss of income to the BOA, and Clause 26 is designed to compensate for that loss.
I must admit, however, to being unclear why the BOA, and indeed the Greater London Authority, cannot just receive this compensation from the Olympic lottery distributor. If the Minister is able to clarify this point, it would be appreciated.
The reason for bringing back this amendment is that there have been a number of developments since it was debated in another place. First, UK Sport announced on 13 July that it is providing some £800,000 to the British Olympic Association to help pay for Team GB's pre-Games preparation camps in Cyprus and Barcelona. That changes the historic independence of the BOA from any source of government or government-influenced funding.
Secondly, the British Paralympic Association has announced that it needs to find some £200,000 in order to stave off financial problems and impending bankruptcy after the Paralympics in Athens this September.
I know that this House contains many friends of disability sport in general and the British Paralympic Association in particular. Noble Lords will be aware that our Paralympic athletes were outstandingly successful at the Sydney 2000 Paralympics, landing an impressive medal haul of 41 gold medals, 43 silvers and 47 bronzes. That was enough to secure Britain second place in the overall medal table: a performance only bettered by the host nation, Australia.
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While I welcome the Government's commitment to ensuring that the British Paralympic Association and the British Olympic Association are treated similarly, I am afraid that there is still some way to go. As a nation our sports policy must ensure that we reward winners and this should start as much with the British Olympic Association as with the British Paralympic Association and their athletes to enable them to go one better in the medal table in Athens in September. I beg to move.
Lord Addington: My Lords, this amendment is absolutely right. The British Paralympic Association has added considerable lustre to the British colours for quite a while. Apart from that, if we are serious about equality for the disabled, we must try to start thinking outside the box of, "Let's help him across the road". We need full participation in all aspects of life. If that means that an Olympic athlete with a disability is funded differently from one without a disability, I suggest that he or she should receive support on those grounds alone, irrespective of any medal haul. This measure constitutes a sensible step towards that. I appreciate that the Government have not yet got round to dealing with this. I hope that that is the case. If they do not think that this body is big enough, they are wrong. If they do not think that the issue is important enough, they are wrong. I hope that the Minister will give a favourable response or at least tell us why the amendment is not needed. That would be enough. If he cannot do either of those two things, I certainly would support the amendment.
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: My Lords, I endorse everything that both the noble Lords, Lord Moynihan and Lord Addington, have said about the importance of the Paralympic Games. Clearly, not only are they important for this country but they are also important worldwide. They are symbolic of an attitude that ought to apply throughout our lives. I have no doubt that the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan, through this amendment intends to give equal treatment to the British Paralympic Association and to the British Olympic Association. If I may trespass on the next group of amendments, our willingness to support Amendments Nos. 37 and 39, which the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan, has already indicated, shows that we are entirely in agreement with him about that. I am sorry to say that I have a boring technical reason why Amendment No. 29 does not achieve what it sets out to achieve and would introduce unnecessary discrimination.
There is a specific reason why the British Olympic Association appears in the legislation as a potential recipient of Olympic funds, and why the British Paralympic Association does not. I believe that once I have explained the reason it will be clear why there is no need for this amendment.
If London is successful in its bid, the International Olympic Committee requires the British Olympic Association to enter into a joint marketing programme with the London Organising Committee for the
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Olympic Games. Under this arrangement the British Olympic Association must give the London Organising Committee,
Effectively, the British Olympic Association transfers commercial rights, including the ability to market the Olympic emblems, to the London Organising Committee.
That arrangement greatly reduces the British Olympic Association's ability to generate sponsorship income, which is its main source of funding. The IOC joint marketing programme must include financial provision to the British Olympic Association in consideration for the rights granted to the London Organising Committee.
The British Olympic Association will have a key role to play during this period, both in helping to stage the Games and in supporting Team GB. It will be vital for the British Olympic Association to receive revenues, in spite of its decreased ability to generate income. The inclusion of the British Olympic Association as a possible recipient of Olympic Lottery Distribution Funds was designed in case it was necessary to compensate the British Olympic Association for the transfer of its rights to the London Organising Committee, as required by the IOC, from the Olympic Lottery Distribution Fund. I told noble Lords that this was a boring explanation but I am afraid that it is logical.
It is possible that the funding for the British Olympic Association will come directly from the London Organising Committee marketing and sponsorship programmes. That would mean that the power to transfer funds from the Olympic Lottery Distribution Fund to the British Olympic Association would not be used. However, the power was included in the Bill to ensure that the BOA could receive essential revenue from the Olympic Lottery Fund if necessary.
The British Paralympic Association is in a different position. There is currently no requirement from the International Olympic Committee or the International Paralympic Committee for the British Paralympic Association to surrender its rights. Additionally, the British Paralympic Association does not rely so heavily on marketing and sponsorship income as the British Olympic Association. The BPA receives Exchequer funding for its running costs, unlike the BOA.
The possible requirement to compensate the BOA for loss of income is the only reason why the BOA appears as a possible recipient of Olympic Lottery Distribution Fund payments. There is no need for a similar arrangement for the British Paralympic Association. However, I shall support Amendments Nos. 37 and 39.
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