Peers quiz local leaders, school sports Chairs and tourism expert on Olympic Legacy
The Lords Olympic and Paralympic Legacy Committee step up its inquiry by holding four evidence sessions next week, on Monday 8 and Wednesday 10 July.
At 3.45pm on Monday, the Committee will hear from Baroness Campbell of Loughborough, Chair of the Youth Sport Trust and Eileen Marchant, former Chair of the Association for Physical Education.
The Committee will question them on a number of areas including:
- who should take responsibility for encouraging and developing sports participation amongst school-age children;
- how organisations are working to tackle the barriers to lifelong sports participation;
- whether hosting the London 2012 Games has had a significant impact on integrating disability sport into school programmes; and
- the effect of the decline of School Sports Partnerships and the introduction of the Primary School Sport Premium.
They will be followed, at 4.45pm, by Andy Reed, Chairman of the Sport and Recreation Alliance.
In the first of two evidence sessions on Wednesday, at 10.45am the Committee will hear from:
- Sir Robin Wales, Mayor of the London Borough of Newham; and
- Councillor Chris Robbins, Leader of Waltham Forest Council.
The witnesses are likely to face questions on issues including their hopes for Olympic and Paralympic legacy in their boroughs and how cuts to local authority budgets have affected them; the housing contained within the Athletes Village; how London 2012 impacted on employment – both past and future – in their boroughs; and the effect the improved transportation networks in east London has had.
Following on, at 11.45am, Patricia Yates, Director of Strategy and Communications at Visit Britain, will then appear before the Committee.
She is likely to be quizzed on issues including the possibility of sustained tourism as a result of the Games, both for London and the wider UK; the strategic threats and opportunities for the growth of the UK's tourism sector in the five years following the Games; and the effect and impact of the GREAT campaign in promoting Britain to overseas visitors.
Monday's evidence sessions will begin at 3.45pm and take place in Committee Room 4. Wednesday's evidence sessions will begin at 10.45am and take place in Committee Room 4A.
The sessions will be webcast at www.parliamentlive.tv and is also open to the public. Journalists wishing to attend should go to Parliament's Cromwell Green Entrance and should allow time for security screening.
