(Solihull)
(Con)
6. What steps her Department is taking to ensure that the 2022
Commonwealth games deliver benefits throughout the west midlands.
[900205]
(Dudley North) (Con)
13. What steps her Department is taking to ensure that the 2022
Commonwealth games deliver benefits throughout the west midlands.
[900212]
The Minister for Sport, Media and Creative Industries ()
Birmingham ’22 will be the biggest sporting event ever held in
the west midlands, with the region set to benefit from £778
million of public investment, and with venues spanning the whole
region, from Cannock Chase in the north to Coventry and
Leamington Spa in the south. With a cultural programme running
alongside the games, there will be an opportunity for everyone in
the west midlands to get involved.
The Minister has proven a doughty champion for the Birmingham
Commonwealth games. Will he take up his not inconsiderable
cudgels once again and ask the Chancellor to provide the money
requested by our regional Mayor, , to fund the trade, tourism
and investment programme to herald the start of these magnificent
games?
I certainly will, and may I say that no one has done more than my
hon. Friend to ensure that women’s T20 cricket is included in the
roster of sports for the games, which is very important?
Birmingham 2022 offers fantastic opportunities beyond sport, and
the Government are particularly keen to maximise those
opportunities. The evidence from previous games demonstrates the
positive economic impact that such events can have. The Glasgow
2014 games, for example, contributed more than £740 million to
the Scottish economy.
Birmingham 2022 provides a great opportunity not only to attract
additional visitors to the west midlands, but to increase jobs
and skills in the region, so what steps is my hon. Friend taking
to achieve that for the people of Dudley—and beyond, of course—in
conjunction with our great Mayor, ?
May I first welcome my hon. Friend to his place? I know that he
has done an awful lot of work for his local area as a councillor,
and that he will be a fantastic voice for Dudley North. We are
working closely with and Birmingham City Council,
with which we engage regularly. We want to make the most of the
opportunities that my hon. Friend has rightly highlighted. The
organising committee is expected to recruit 45,000 staff,
contractors and volunteers. There will be 400 new jobs in the
athletes’ village alone, including 50 new apprenticeships.
(Hornsey
and Wood Green) (Lab)
May I, on the occasion of my first outing as shadow Sports
Minister, congratulate the outgoing shadow Minister, my hon.
Friend the Member for Tooting (Dr Allin-Khan), on her work on
fairness in sport? May I also mention—this is between you and me,
Mr Speaker—today’s important announcement about rugby league,
with a royal flourish? I hope that rugby league will receive the
coverage that it deserves.
May I ask the Minister what steps the Department is taking to
ensure that the 2022 Commonwealth games are carbon neutral,
and—importantly—what actions can be taken now to improve the air
quality at the venue so that in two years’ time, the health of
athletes, residents and visitors can be paramount?
The hon. Lady has made a good point I regularly meet the
organising committee and I chair the strategic board, and I know
that Birmingham City Council is keen to see the outcomes to which
she has referred. At our next strategic board meeting, next
month, I will certainly raise those issues on her behalf.
