Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Anti-Doping Rule Violations hearings have taken place since 17 March.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The National Anti-Doping Panel has heard three cases of Anti-Doping Rule Violations via videoconference since 17 March 2020, which is in line with what the Panel usually hears.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the total sales of National Lottery tickets for the months of (1) January, (2) February, (3) March and (4) April 2020.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Camelot is the current operator of the National Lottery. They release sales information under a timetable and format agreed with its regulator, the Gambling Commission. Data on sales is published on the Camelot website three months in arrears and this can be found at; http://www.camelotgroup.co.uk/about-us/reporting
Sales for the months of January and February were as follows:
Month | Sales (£m) |
January | 614.8 |
February | 594.3 |
The March 2020 sales data will be published alongside Camelot's 2019/20 year-end sales announcement in early June and the April 2020 sales data will be published later in June.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Baroness Barran on 28 April (HL Deb, col 176) that the forthcoming spending review will address the budget needs for the Olympic programmes, what information they will give to potential Olympic and Paralympic athletes as to whether existing their training and racing programmes will be extended until the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, in the event that the spending review is delayed until the autumn.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
We know this is a challenging period for all sports and we continue to work closely with the whole sector to understand the issues they face and how we can best support them through this difficult time.
The Comprehensive Spending Review has been delayed from July to later this year to ensure that HM Treasury and departments can remain focused on responding to the immediate public health and economic emergency.
Further details about the next spending review will be set out in due course. It will follow significant investment the government announced through both Budget 2020 and Spending Round 2019, and will take into account the government’s response to COVID-19.
We remain committed to supporting our elite athletes and the current UK Sport settlement goes through till April 2021. My department is working to ensure that we have a strong evidence-base with which to support the Chancellor ahead of the Spending Review.
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 provide testing and tracing opportunities at an early opportunity for those either selected or shortlisted to compete for Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2021.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The government is holding weekly meetings with senior medical officials and sport representatives to discuss key issues around COVID-19, and is communicating regularly with stakeholders across the sporting sector to share the latest advice. We will maintain these discussions as plans to restart training and competition within elite sport are developed.
Olympic and Paralympic sport is not immune from the impact of Covid-19 and we will continue to work with UK Sport in ensuring that our athletes are well supported in this difficult period.
We have now published step one guidance on the return to training for elite sport which sets out the minimum operating expectations of an elite training environment, and has been developed in close consultation with the Deputy Chief Medical Officers of England, Public Health England and medical representatives across Olympic, Paralympic and professional sports governing bodies.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to providing financial support to the national governing bodies of sports whose income has been detrimentally affected by the coronavirus epidemic.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
We recognise the impact that covid-19 is having on the sport sector, and we are continuing to engage with sporting organisations to understand how it is affecting them and provide support. Sport England, the arms-length body of government who invest in and provide a range of services to national governing bodies have been involved in these discussions.
The Chancellor has already announced a host of measures to help businesses, with £330 billion worth of government backed and guaranteed loans to support businesses across the UK. In addition, our national sports council, Sport England, has also announced £195 million of funding to help sport and physical activity organisations deal with the short and long term effects of the pandemic.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they support the proposal from the National Rifle Association of India to host a Commonwealth Games shooting medal event before the Commonwealth Games, due to be hosted in Birmingham 2022, and to count towards the medal tally; and what assessment they have made of the cost implications for the UK Government and the Organising Committee of such a proposal.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The proposal from the National Rifle Association of India is with the Commonwealth Games Federation for consideration, and any decision on the proposal or the format of the competition will be subject to their governance process. The Government welcomes the proposal, and hopes that a solution can be found to enable shooters from the UK and around the Commonwealth to compete at the highest level.
Whilst discussions are still at an early stage, and subject to further consideration, the Government understands that the costs of hosting an event would be borne by India as the host nation.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether UK Athletics has, at any time, sought advice from either UK Sport or UK Anti-Doping about the ban imposed on Alberto Salazar by the United States Anti-Doping Agency leading to the closure of the Nike Oregon Project; and if so, whether either of those bodies provided any formal response or guidance.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Subsequent to USADA’s ban of Alberto Salazar being issued, UK Sport’s discussions with UK Athletics on this issue have focused on ensuring there is an effective independent review as to whether UK Athletics took the appropriate decisions in respect of its relationship with Mr Salazar and the Nike Oregon Project.
UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) has offered support to the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) during its investigations. However, UKAD has not received any request for information from UK Athletics in relation to Mr Salazar’s ban.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) methodology, and (2) baseline level of physical activity, they are using in their capacity as the Physical Activity and Wellbeing lead on the Legacy and Benefits Steering Group for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games "to provide everyone with both the inspiration and information to make different and better choices" in order to improve levels of physical activity.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Across the Games partnership we are developing an evaluation methodology for Games legacy, and this will be published in due course. This legacy work will be informed by lessons from previous Games, including London 2012 and Glasgow 2014. It will also draw on the evidence from Sport England’s £10m Local Delivery Pilot investment to promote physical activity in hard to reach groups in Birmingham and Solihull.
Improving health and wellbeing, including tackling physical inactivity, is a legacy ambition for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. This will include how we maximise the impact of the new sporting facilities being delivered for the Games, such as the redevelopment of athletics facilities at Alexander Stadium, creation of a brand new aquatics centre in Sandwell and the addition of new cycle lanes across the city. A number of partners are involved in this work including Sport England, Sport Birmingham, local and regional authorities and the Birmingham 2022 Organising Committee.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have contributed to the independent review currently being undertaken by UK Athletics over the handling of the Alberto Salazar scandal; and what assessment they have made of the methods associated with the Nike Oregon Project which were employed by UK Athletics' performance staff, officials or British athletes in receipt of Government or lottery funding support.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
UK Sport supported UK Athletics in commissioning an independent review into its decision-making in respect of its relationship with Mr Salazar and the Nike Oregon Project. Both UK Sport and DCMS will await the outcomes of that review before drawing any further conclusions.
It is absolutely right that all athletes should be able to compete on a level playing field.
Clean sport is a shared responsibility; one in which sport and government should work together.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to implement the principles of the United Nations Sports for Climate Action Declaration and Framework; and what measures they intend to take in conjunction with UK Sport, Sport England and the UK governing bodies of sport to deliver the objectives set out in that Declaration.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The United Nations Sports for Climate Action Framework and Declaration is a welcome voluntary initiative which encourages sports organisations to make their own contribution to the Paris Agreement goal of achieving a low carbon future. It is a matter for individual sports organisations themselves whether they wish to participate in the Framework and sign up to the Declaration. We welcome that both the All England Lawn Tennis Club and The Rugby League World Cup 2021 have done so. The Government is fully committed to the Paris Agreement, and since the year 2000 we have decarbonised our economy more quickly than any other country in the G20.