London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (Amendment) Bill: Committee stage report

The London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (Amendment) Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 16 March 2011. This Government Bill had its Second Reading on 28 April 2011 and is scheduled to have its Report and Third Reading on 8 September 2011.

The Bill amends the London Olympic and Paralympic Games Act 2006 (the 2006 Act) which makes various provisions relating to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In particular, the Act enables Ministers to make regulations about advertising and trading in the vicinity of Olympic venues, about ticket touting in connection with Olympic events, and the management of traffic. The Bill makes a small number of technical amendments to ensure these provisions are given full effect, covering:

• the seizure of articles which contravene advertising and trading regulations

• the parliamentary procedure and notice periods required when new advertising and trading regulations are introduced

• the penalty for unauthorised sales of Games tickets and

• traffic regulation and enforcement during the Games

The Bill Committee met twice on 17 May 2011 when it took oral evidence. During a third sitting on 19 May 2011 amendments were tabled in respect of just three clauses: clause 2, 3 and 5.

Clause 2 was agreed to as amended. This was purely a technical amendment, moved by Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, to take account of changes to the procedure for making Scottish statutory instruments. The amendment was necessary because part 2 of the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 came into force on 6 April 2011.

A probing amendment to clause 3 of the Bill was tabled by the Opposition Spokesperson Tessa Jowell. This amendment, which would have raised the maximum fine for ticket touting from £20,000 to £50,000, was withdrawn.

A number of amendments, all to clause 5 of the Bill, were also put down by Tessa Jowell. Clause 5 deals with enforcement of traffic regulation orders (TROs) and notices. One group of linked amendments would have made the Mayor of London responsible for setting penalty charges (rather than the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government). Hugh Robertson indicated that the Government would give some thought to this proposal and would return to the issue on Report. Another amendment sought to place a statutory duty on the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) to consult with ‘relevant’ authorities outside London in relation to the Olympic route network. The Minister indicated that the Secretary of State could give the ODA a binding direction under the existing provisions of the 2006 Act to consult with authorities outside London on various matters. All amendments to clause 5 were subsequently withdrawn.

The Bill was ordered to be reported.