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The changes would ensure that existing advertising and trading, ticket touting and traffic management measures introduced by the 2006 Act are able to be properly implemented.

Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, said:

“The London Olympic and Paralympic Games Act put legislative measures in place to ensure a smooth and effective running of the Games. This bill makes a small number of technical changes to the existing measures to enable us to deliver the Government’s commitments to London 2012.”

The bill’s provisions would:

• require the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) to hold goods seized during the Games for breaches of the advertising and trading regulations;
• change the procedures for making advertising and trading regulations to allow amendments to be made quickly if required (e.g. an emergency change of venue);
• increase the maximum penalty for illegal selling of Games tickets from £5,000 to £20,000;
• enable the ODA and traffic authorities to make temporary traffic regulation orders at short notice, and traffic authorities to make temporary notices for immediate changes to traffic,  specifically for Games traffic management purposes;
• enable traffic authorities to make special event traffic orders involving road closures and other types of traffic restrictions for Games events;
• provide local traffic authorities with powers to enforce moving traffic contraventions on the Olympic Route Network and other affected roads; and 
• enable the ODA to set the penalty charge levels for moving traffic contraventions of Games–related traffic orders, subject to the Secretary of State’s approval. 

Notes to Editors

1. London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (Amendment) Bill.
2. Subject to Parliamentary approval the new and amended powers would come into force by early 2012 to allow sufficient time for the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), the police and local authorities to complete their planning and preparations for the Games.
3. The Government is currently consulting on draft advertising and trading regulations.
4. The Home Secretary announced on 10th March that the Government intended to increase the maximum fine for illegal touting of Olympics tickets to £20,000.
5. Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) are the legal instrument by which traffic authorities implement most traffic management controls on their roads. Local authorities can TROs, designed to regulate, restrict or prohibit the use of a road or any part of the width of a road by vehicular traffic or pedestrians.
6. Examples of moving traffic contraventions of Games related traffic orders could be: unauthorised vehicle entering a Games Lane on the Olympic Route Network during the lane’s operational hours, a vehicle going the wrong way up a one way street, car making a turn where there is a “no right turn except buses” restriction.

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