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London Olympics Bill

Government amendments Nos. 25 and 26 are not contentious, and Government amendment No. 16 has the support of hon. Members on both sides of the House. I should like publicly to thank the Minister for fulfilling the promise that he made in Committee to introduce such amendments on Report and, indeed, to join in the general congratulations to the hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Foster) on proposing them in the first place. As I said in Committee, I should like to add my strong support to the proposals in amendment No. 16. Paralympic sport has been moving up the sporting agenda considerably in recent years. As hon. Members on both sides of the House will be aware, at the 2004 Athens Paralympic games, the Great British team finished second in the medals table, with 94 medals, including a staggering total of 35 golds. The team achieved medals in 11 sports, and in doing so, met the target set by Phil Lane of the British Paralympic Association. It is only right, therefore, that Paralympic sport is recorded as part of the Bill. Once again, I reiterate my full support.