Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to develop specific sport and activity action plans for disabled people as part of their work on tackling loneliness.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government is committed to supporting people at risk of loneliness and social isolation, including people with disabilities. Having strong social relationships play an important role in our physical and mental wellbeing, and sport has an incredible ability to reach into the places we live, reduce loneliness, and build a sense of pride and belonging.
HM Government’s Tackling Loneliness Strategy set out a number of measures we will take to support those at risk of loneliness and social isolation. This includes publishing our new sport strategy, which will make sport and physical activity a core part of everyone’s daily life with a focus on supporting under-represented groups, including people with disabilities, to be more active and to participate in sport. We will also consult on and publish a new Disability Action Plan in 2023, which will include participation in social and physical activities for people with disabilities as a priority.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the International Olympic Committee’s position that (1) no international sports events should be organised or supported by an International Federation of Sport or National Olympic Committee in Russia or Belarus, (2) no flag, anthem, colours or any other identifications whatsoever of these countries can be displayed at any sports event or meeting, including the entire venue, and (3) no Russian and Belarussian Government or State official should be invited to or accredited for any international sports event or meeting.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
Vladimir Putin should not be able to use sport to legitimise Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine. The UK has built and led the international response in this area, including convening three collective statements signed by more than 35 countries. Amongst other principles, our statements also set out that Russia and Belarus should not be permitted to host, bid for, or be awarded any international sporting events; the use of official state Russian and Belarusian flags, emblems and anthems should be prohibited; and no athletes or officials representing the Russian and Belarusian states should be allowed to participate in international sport.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the British Olympic Association about the possibility of British athletes boycotting the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
We are currently engaged with other countries in our ‘like-minded’ coalition regarding the International Olympic Committee’s recommendations to International Federations, published on 28 March, on neutrality conditions for Russian and Belarusian athletes.
Athlete participation in the Olympic and Paralympic Games is a matter for the British Olympic and British Paralympic Associations, which operate independently of the Government. The Government’s long-standing position is that a boycott would wrongly deny British athletes the chance to reach the pinnacle of their careers.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UN General Assembly resolution A/77/L.28 that major sports events “should be organised in the spirit of peace” and that “the unifying and conciliative nature of such events should be respected”.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
The UK attaches great importance to the principles of the UN Charter, including not to use force against the territorial integrity of other states. These principles must be defended. We agree on the importance of sports events for improving international relations, and have set out our position about when events are used to try to legitimise conflicts.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on the possible participation of Russian and Belarussian players at the grass-court Wimbledon Championships this year; and what assessment has been made of the inclusion of those players at that event.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
Individual, self-funded Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete in the UK, subject to following our guidance on neutrality. We therefore support the approach of the All England Lawn Tennis Club and Lawn Tennis Association on the basis of following that guidance.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure maximum use of (1) government, and (2) school, sports facilities to provide access for (a) local clubs, and (b) the general public, during evenings, weekends and the school holidays.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
We have announced £30 million for PE teacher training and to open up school facilities to provide access to the wider community. At the recent Spending Review, we announced £205 million to build or transform up to 8,000 state-of-the-art community football pitches and multi-use sports facilities across the UK. This was in addition to a £30 million package to renovate park tennis courts across the country.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many civil servants are employed full time in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on sport and recreation policy.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Please the staff figures below for DCMS teams that work on sport and recreation policy. Data based on staff in post on the 26/07/2021.
Team | Headcount |
Commonwealth Games | 42 |
Major Sporting Events | 8 |
Sport Policy | 25 |
Grand Total | 75 |
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish the evidence on which they based their policy to only allow two-ball golf matches to be played during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Sports and physical activity including golf are incredibly important for our physical and mental health, and are a vital weapon against coronavirus.
On Monday 4 January the Prime Minister announced a national lockdown and instructed people to stay at home to control the virus, protect the NHS and save lives. The National Restrictions are designed to get the R rate under control through limiting social contact and reducing transmissions. All decisions made by the Government relating to the pandemic and sport have been based on advice and guidance from health and scientific experts. We have no plans to publish the evidence for individual decisions relating to specific sports.
You can continue to exercise alone, with one other person or with your household or support bubble. This should be limited to once per day, in a public outdoor place and you should not travel outside your local area. You should maintain social distancing. Indoor and outdoor sports facilities, including golf courses, must close.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to partner with the sport and entertainment sectors to underwrite contingency insurance for live events.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The Government is aware of the concerns which have been raised about the potential challenge of securing insurance for live events, including those in the sporting and entertainment sectors. We have been working closely with the affected sectors over the last few months to understand the challenges and to keep the situation under review.
Understandably, the bar for considering Government intervention is set extremely high, especially in light of the furlough scheme and local business support, so the evidence of market failure specific to DCMS sectors must be clearly demonstrated and robust.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UK Anti-Doping Agency's capability to test for (1) gene editing, and (2) synthetic messenger RNA, to meet the ban on the non-therapeutic use of genes, genetic elements and cells as set out in the World Anti-Doping Agency Code, that have the capacity to enhance athletic performance; and whether they are collecting and storing samples for such testing in the future.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
It is the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) role to approve new testing processes. WADA has not yet developed a test for gene editing due to the complexities in identifying gene doping. To mitigate the threat of gene doping, WADA has a Gene and Cell Doping Expert Group which provides direction to its Health, Medical and Research Committee. The Committee develops strategies to prevent and detect non-therapeutic manipulation of gene/protein in sport.
WADA has approved tests for RNA, but these are only being used in experimental environments for research, and not yet by anti-doping organisations (including UK Anti-Doping).
UK Anti-Doping split the samples they collect from each athlete into “A” samples which are analysed, and “B” samples which are stored securely for potential future tests. Samples can be stored for up to 10 years.