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I would like to mention three things. The first is that we all share the view that the legacy is important and we want to see that supported. We probably do not all agree on what would be a successful outcome, but we are close enough to be able to anticipate the results that would be good for us. We have the least concern about the physical side of the legacy, the Olympic park. It was extremely good of my noble friend Lady Ford to come to the debate in the middle of ongoing discussions about this issue and update us so that we are fully up to speed. We were all grateful to hear the principal concerns, which are that there should be an effective stadium working in that part of London that is available for sport in the long run. That might be the best solution to the problems that we had.

We are less happy about the Cultural Olympiad, only in the sense that we do not yet know what it is. We can hear the plans, but until it has been delivered, we

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are not able to judge them. I certainly know from other discussions that it is reaching out well and maybe we can be optimistic. I am afraid that discussions about the sports side were less convincing: the eye has been taken off the ball there. Despite the interesting and good-sounding results from the noble Lord, Lord Coe, and the impact that his work has been having through sponsorship, the general dimensions of the idea that more people would be doing more sport and would become healthier as a result of being inspired by sport, are not yet in place, although they may come in due course.

My third and final point is that the purpose of my amendment was to make sure that Parliament in the round received a holistic view about what the legacy was and how it should go through-not just for its own sake, but for the points made by the noble Lord, Lord Addington, about the benefits if we were able to pass on our learning to other potential host cities and cities within the United Kingdom that might be doing similar things, including Glasgow. It would also be a value-for-money consideration and it would reflect the need for us as a society to pass on our enjoyment of sport and the impact that it can have.

If that is done in the usual way, it will be too scattered and not effective enough. Simply going through departmental reports, getting the occasional NAO blast and having other standardised forms of reporting is not what the amendment is trying to do. Therefore, while I will withdraw it on this occasion, we might consider bringing it back at Report for further discussion because it is so important. With that, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment 12 withdrawn.

Amendment 13

Moved by Lord Addington

13: After Clause 9, insert the following new Clause-

"Disabled spectator access

After section 36 of the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006-

"36A Disabled spectator access

The London Organising Committee must undertake to provide for a significant attendance of disabled spectators at Olympic and Paralympic events.""

Lord Addington: My Lords, when it comes to the last amendment of this short Committee stage, I assure you that I will not delay you very long. This amendment is primarily the result of a conversation with some people from wheelchair basketball, who are concerned that they would not be able to go and see their own sport. This problem was raised with me, and because we can table probing amendments to ask for clarification, I thought that a bit of reassurance might help.

One of the great successes-and I could have said this in the previous amendment-is that disability sport has risen to a higher pitch in the build-up to these Olympics than ever before and has reached a level of consciousness greater than ever before. Wheelchair

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basketball has an iconic place within the Paralympic Games, probably akin to ice hockey in the Winter Olympics. It is that great team event within the Paralympics. No sport captures that fully in the able-bodied Olympics. The people I met were worried that they might not be able to see it live because there might not be enough seats for them. I hope that they are worrying about nothing. I beg to move.

Lord Coe: I thank the noble Lord, Lord Addington, for his observations and couple that with my thanks to the noble Baroness, Lady Doocey, for her work in this area.

On a broader point, one of the legacies that we seek from the Paralympic Games is our ability to challenge public attitudes in this country to disability. From broader conversations within the Paralympic movement and with the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson, I think that we are fast approaching that point in disability sport where we may have to start redefining it. When you go into a school with Paralympians and have them explain to the so-called able-bodied children that somebody with one leg is scaling the door frame in their classroom and then explaining that probably 99.9 per cent of the population is not able to get within a country mile of that feat, we have a broader issue to discuss. Transforming public attitudes to disability through the Paralympic Games was clearly one of our key legacies.

I want to address specifically some of the practical issues that have been raised. Of course, we all want those people living with disability to have an extraordinary Games experience. We already have 9,000 wheelchair spaces available. They have been sold and those include 9,000 flip-down companion seats. We have an initiative that is partly funded through the private sector, because we place a levy on prestige tickets that allows us to create tickets for key groups such as school children. One of those groups comes under the broader title of Ticket Care, which allows us to provide a free ticket for somebody who is in need of intensive support during that Games experience.

So far, we have 300 Ticket Care tickets funded through the organising committee. As I said, they are aimed at people with high dependencies, so there are 300 carers going to the Games. Some 23,000 tickets have been sold with additional access requirements-seats with the fewest steps and those placed at the end of gangways and rows for fuller accessibility.

To put that into perspective, you can compare that with premiership football grounds. I have two examples. Arsenal's ground has a capacity of 60,000 seats and there are 275 wheelchair spaces. Manchester United has a stadium that holds 70,000 with 200 wheelchair spaces. Both those clubs have detailed policies and are very aware of accessibility and related issues, so if you look at accessibility for a sell-out session in track and field or any of the venues that you have talked about, I think we are doing pretty well.

We of course have all the other related support systems such as blue badging, extra accessible toilets for disabled spectators and changing places at all our 36 venues, including hoists so that those with special needs can change with dignity.



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One of the issues that has been raised with me when I have been wearing any number of hats as a competitor and somebody who is now vice-president of an international federation is that all too often people with visual impairments rely on the rather one-dimensional commentary on the PA. We are working on technology to allow a more informative commentary and a more descriptive process.

Of course, those with hearing impairment seats will be directly in the line of play and nearer the field of play. So there are a number of things that we are doing, and we take this very seriously. It is absolutely enshrined in our commitment to deliver a Paralympic Games.

I make this point time and again: I am chair of both organising committees. We see no distinction. My chief executive is chief executive of the Olympic Games and of the Paralympic Games. It is absolutely vital that we deliver this in a seamless, integrated way. They are different-they have a different spirit-but in terms of service levels and commitment to delivery, we are absolutely at one on this. We are the first Games to have appointed a director of Paralympic integration, Chris Holmes, who is blind and, with the exception of the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson, probably our most bemedalled Paralympian in the history of Paralympic sport in this country. So I assure the noble Lord, Lord Addington, that this is something that we take extraordinarily seriously, and thank the noble Lord and the noble Baroness, Lady Doocey, for keeping us always on our toes on this issue.

Baroness Grey-Thompson: My Lords, I would like to support the words of the amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Addington. I apologise to him, as I took his amendment to mean non-competing athletes as opposed to athletes who will have access to their own venues at Games time. I thank him because it is really important to remember disabled people when we talk about events such as this. At previous Games I do not think that there has been an awful lot of understanding about the needs of disabled spectators. For example, when I went to the Barcelona Olympics to watch my fellow Welsh compatriot Colin Jackson compete in the 110 metres final, I had a superb seat, right on the finish line-the ticket was free and I thought that all my dreams had come together. But what they did not take into account was that as soon as the gun went off everybody stood up and I saw absolutely nothing, not even the replay on the screens. It was about three weeks later, when I got home from the Paralympics, that I got to watch it on VHS.

I was involved in the bid and I have declared my work on a number of sub-committees of LOCOG. I really thought at the start that my job would be to sit there and constantly say, "What about the Paralympics?". I am very pleased that I have never had to do that. One committee that I sit on is the diversity and inclusion committee. It is perhaps unfortunate that some of the work that it does is unseen by the wider public in terms of the number of disabled people now employed at LOCOG and who are Games makers and will be volunteers at Games time. It is important that we see disabled people in the park act as volunteers, and that everyone else can come in and see.



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The noble Lord, Lord Coe, has covered most of what I wanted to say, but I wanted to say that the Changing Places toilets are incredibly important to a number of disabled people who have higher or complex needs. They have beds and hoists. There is a superb example in Lower Waiting, if any the noble Lord would like to go and have a look at it. I will not talk any more about toilets at this point, but it is something that is changing the face of how disabled people are treated in venues-and I hope that that will carry on to other sporting events, Olympics and Paralympic Games.

Finally, again as a spectator, the fact that at the Games the seating is scattered around venues in different price points is fantastic, because there is nothing worse for wheelchair users all to be stuck in one box in a really bad space where you cannot see anything-but that is where "you lot" go. I am really pleased to say that that definitely has not happened with London 2012.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: My Lords, I am most grateful to my noble friend Lord Addington for tabling this amendment, because I warmly welcome the opportunity that we have had to debate this important matter. It is particularly heartening to hear the contribution from the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson, who is an inspiring role model for disability sport and has done so much to raise the profile of the Paralympic Games.

When we bid for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we promised to make them everyone's Games. Accessibility and inclusion has been an integral part of the planning for the Games from the very outset, and it continues to be at the heart of everything that LOCOG and the rest of the London 2012 family does, as we have heard so eloquently from my noble friend Lord Coe.

London 2012 is the first Games that has brought the organisation of the Olympics and Paralympics fully together. We are aiming to go further than any previous host city to hold the most accessible Olympic Games and Paralympic Games ever. Most of what I was going to say has already been outlined by my noble friend Lord Coe and the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson. It is significant that LOCOG appointed an accessibility manager specifically to ensure that the needs of disabled people are addressed, and it has spoken to a broad range of disability groups. LOCOG has not adopted a one-size-fits-all model, but is tailoring services and products, including tickets, to the differing needs of different disabled spectators. Right from the beginning, LOCOG has integrated accessibility into the ticketing website, which has allowed visually impaired people to buy tickets using a screen reader or other assistive technology without having to call a separate phone number.

6.45 pm

The noble Lord, Lord Coe, and the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson, have described the facilities available for wheelchair users and the fact that the accessible seating is scattered around the new venues. There are facilities available for those with hearing impairment. I understand that there is even an assistance dog and guide dog facility, a "spending area".



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In addition, there will be spectator information in a range of accessible formats, including audio and visual announcements and tactile warning surfaces. Also LOCOG will set up and provide a Games mobility service, which will include the loan of a wheelchair or powered scooter and a guiding service with volunteers assisting spectator movement through public areas and within venues.

Throughout, LOCOG have interpreted disability as being much broader than the traditional mobility and deaf or blind categories. The ODA has also taken steps to ensure that the Olympic park and venues are accessible to disabled people. Its inclusive design strategy was published in 2008, and includes wider pathways with smooth surfaces and seating and resting places at regular intervals; a new UK benchmark for wheelchair spaces and amenity seating; gentle gradients giving all users greater freedom of movement; clear and easily understood signage; and a range of accessible toilet facilities. Inclusive and accessible design principles have been embedded into the ODA's procurement, design and construction processes.

On transport, the Government and Games organisers are committed to an inclusive approach in helping everyone with their travel to the Games, making the best use of existing accessible elements of public transport and complementary modes such as blue badge parking and taxis, and the provision of a spectator journey planner and so on. By 2012, we hope that more than 60 London Underground stations will provide step-free access between the street and the platform, including Southfields for the Wimbledon tennis venue, and Green Park, which is a vital accessibility hub for the West End and connections to Olympic venues.

All these measures set a new benchmark for major sporting events and I am sure that noble Lords will agree that a phenomenal amount of thought and planning has gone into making the Olympic and Paralympic Games a truly inclusive experience. It is the Government's view, which is shared by many, that LOCOG and the ODA have been exemplary in this regard in the facilities and the opportunities they have made available for people with any form of disability.

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I suggest to my noble friend that the amendment does not achieve anything which has not already been thought of or implemented. I am most grateful to him and to other noble Lords who have spoken in this debate for the opportunity to set out our vision for disability sport and for the Paralympics part of the Olympics and Paralympics Games. I hope that my noble friend will withdraw his amendment.

Lord Addington: My Lords, I thank the Minister for her reply and other noble Lords who have spoken in this debate. I felt the amendment had to be tabled once the concern was raised. When considering the initial Bill, I remember the noble Lord, Lord Davies of Oldham, standing where my noble friend is now and at the end of the third or fourth day in Committee, he said, in an exasperated way, "This is a Bill about the Olympics, not just about disability", or something along those lines, and sat down. I think we did a good job then. Some people might feel that they are entitled to be at the Games and they might want more than they have had before.

The Olympics, and everything else we have done before, were supposed to be an exemplar of what can be done to include everybody, and to make the lives of people using the facilities easier. Also, let us remember that every time disability access is put in, access is improved for dozens of other people. The classic example is the mother with the baby buggy, and anybody that is moving stuff. It has been proven time and time again that the people that most benefit from it are probably non-disabled people-it has made their lives a lot easier. I thank all those noble Lords who have spoken on this amendment. I shall take away all the good things they have said. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment 13 withdrawn.

Clause 10 agreed.

Bill reported with amendments.

Committee adjourned at 6.51 pm.


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