§ 16. Mr. CanavanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent discussions he has had about the future organisation of the London marathon.
§ Mr. MoynihanNeither my right hon. Friend nor I have had recent discussions on the future organisation of the London marathon.
§ Mr. CanavanMay I take this opportunity of congratulating the organisers, spectators and over 23,000 runners who made last Sunday's marathon the biggest and best in the world? So that it continues to be so, will the Minister use his influence with the London Residuary 832 Body to try to ensure that the organisers are given the use of county hall for just one weekend every year, in accordance with the parliamentary petition presented last week by my hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline, West (Mr. Douglas), with more than a quarter of a million signatures?
§ Mr. MoynihanI join the hon. Gentleman in offering my congratulations to all who participated and assisted in the organisation of the London marathon. It was a showpiece festival of national and international sport, and it was excellent to see the involvement at élite and participatory level of so many disabled athletes.
I recognise the present uncertainty about the future of county hall. While the London Residuary Body is unable to give guarantees about the availability for the race next year, because county hall is being sold, I can confirm that the LRB, with any support that I can give, will do everything possible to impress on new owners the importance attached to county hall by the organisers of the marathon.