Hugh Robertson
Main Page: Hugh Robertson (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)Department Debates - View all Hugh Robertson's debates with the Leader of the House
(13 years ago)
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Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)
3. What assessment he has made of the effect on participation in sport at youth level of the outcome of the comprehensive spending review.
The Minister for Sport and the Olympics (Hugh Robertson)
The comprehensive spending review period started only on 1 April, so no formal assessment has yet been made. However, the increase in lottery funding for sport and the inspirational effect of hosting events such as the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics should encourage more young people to participate in sport.
Dan Jarvis
I am grateful to the Minister for his response. Without the Newham-Barnsley partnership, London 2012 would be having little impact in my constituency. Will the Minister look at ways of using the example of the Newham-Barnsley partnership as a means of increasing youth participation in sport?
Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)
Does the Minister agree that holding the Olympics in London inspires youth participation in sport across the whole country?
Hugh Robertson
Again, the answer is simply yes. Of course, there is not only the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics: in its wake a serious number of major events are coming to this country, including the rugby league world cup, rugby union world cup, cricket world cup and a number of competitions such as the world canoeing championships, which we have just secured. A host of sports events are coming to this country after 2012 that will have exactly that effect.
Tessa Jowell (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)
Will the Minister agree to study carefully the results of the survey that my right hon. Friend the shadow Education Secretary and I have undertaken on the expectations of sports partnership development managers regarding the impact of funding cuts on school sport? Does he share my concern that partnership development managers expect a decrease in the number of competitive events and sports in which children can participate? A significant number of them, some 90%, consider that that there will be a reduction in the number of children taking part in sport. Does he share my concern that if those predictions materialise, it will put at risk the legacy promise of transforming a generation of children through sport?
Hugh Robertson
Yes. As with anything the right hon. Lady says or gives to me, I will consider it extremely carefully. We have to be absolutely clear about the matters to which she refers. They are matters for the Department for Education, not this Department, although clearly we keep a close eye on them. Everybody recognises that we are delivering this against a troubled economic backdrop and that there has to be less money available than there would have been. That would have happened whichever party was in power. Set against that, we have to make the most of the opportunities available to us. I am convinced that by safeguarding the whole sport plan funding and by introducing the schools Olympics, we are doing everything we can against a challenging backdrop to make the most of this fantastic opportunity. However, I will look at what she says carefully.
Sir Alan Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (LD)
4. What recent discussions he has had with the chair of Arts Council England on the provision of live theatre in rural locations.
Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)
5. What proportion of sports funding provided by his Department was allocated to promoting exercise and fitness for women at grass-roots level in the latest period for which figures are available.
The Minister for Sport and the Olympics (Hugh Robertson)
Promoting female participation in sport is a key priority for the whole sport plans. In addition, a number of projects have exercise and fitness elements to help create a stepping stone into sport. Examples include British Cycling’s breeze and sky ride programmes, England Athletics’ informal running networks and the Lawn Tennis Association’s cardio tennis.
Jo Swinson
Despite record investment in governing bodies, women’s participation in sport continues to fall. There are welcome initiatives such as the £10 million active women fund, but they still represent a tiny proportion of sports funding. Should we not switch funding more towards grass-roots initiatives and learn from mass-participation events such as race for life, which this year will see 1 million women walking, jogging and running 5 k?
Hugh Robertson
Yes. I absolutely understand the hon. Lady’s point. About two years ago, the previous Government, supported by the Conservative party, set in place the whole sport plans, which are allowing sport governing bodies to drive up participation. They have now been running for two years, and I think we are starting to see the benefits, although it is like trying to turn a juggernaut around. When the half-time analysis is done, we will ensure that we concentrate on areas in which the plans have not succeeded as well as in others, and that will be one of them.
Ian Austin (Dudley North) (Lab)
No one doubts the Minister’s personal commitment to sport, but what assessment has he made of the extent to which opportunities for women, and indeed everybody else, to take part in grass-roots sport will be hugely reduced because sports staff are being made redundant and fees to hire facilities and entry charges to pools, sports halls and leisure centres are being increased? That is a result of cuts to local council budgets that are going too far and too fast, for which both he and the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson) voted.
Hugh Robertson
The first point about that is the obvious political one. It is pointless to pretend that cuts have been made because the coalition Government are in power and would not have been made had the Labour party been in power. There would have been cuts whoever was in power. We have put in place a series of programmes to ensure that the effect of the cuts is mitigated, including the Places People Play programme and the work that we are doing with the Select Committee on Communities and Local Government on the Localism Bill. That will allow sports clubs to place all sports facilities on which they play on a local community asset register, so that the facilities are offered to them directly before being put on the open market.
Stephen Phillips (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)
6. What steps he is taking to ensure scrutiny of expenditure by the BBC.
Tracey Crouch (Chatham and Aylesford) (Con)
7. What steps he is taking to promote women’s football.
The Minister for Sport and the Olympics (Hugh Robertson)
I spoke at the launch of the new FA women’s super league at Wembley on 11 April to show my support for the new league. My Department also remains committed to investing in all levels of the women’s game. Of the £25.5 million funding allocated to the Football Association to grow the grass roots, £2.4 million is exclusively for the development of girls and women’s football over the four-year period 2009-13.
Tracey Crouch
Given the successful launch of the FA women’s super league and the positive impact it is already having on the women’s game, does the Minister share my frustration that, as it stands, there will be no mainstream broadcast coverage of this year’s women’s world cup in Germany? Will he do all he can to secure an agreement between those involved in broadcast negotiations, so that that situation can be rectified as soon as possible?
Hugh Robertson
The simple answer to that is yes, of course I will. There are two very important elements to that: first, the establishment of the women’s super league; and, secondly, ensuring it receives the necessary profile. Now that the league is established, I hope that the profile, and very soon in its wake a broadcaster, will follow.
Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) (Lab)
8. What plans he has for the future of the statutory duty on local authorities to make adequate provision for public libraries.
Graham Stringer (Blackley and Broughton) (Lab)
9. What recent assessment he has made of the economic effects of the London 2012 Olympics on the regions of England other than London and the south-east.
The Minister for Sport and the Olympics (Hugh Robertson)
The whole of the UK stands to gain from the wide range of opportunities created by the London 2012 Olympics. The Olympic Delivery Authority has 53 suppliers in the north-west alone, including Broughton Controls Ltd just outside the hon. Gentleman’s constituency, which supplies CCTV systems in the park. Many more form part of an extensive supply chain. However, opportunities extend beyond that. So far, six national Olympic and Paralympic committees have signed contracts to train in the north-west, including the Australian swimming team and the USA basketball team, so the north-west is making a massive and important contribution to London 2012.
Graham Stringer
I am sure that the Minister is right on those specifics, but the previous Administration commissioned a report by Dr Adam Blake of Nottingham university that showed that overall there would be a net negative impact on the English regions of £4 billion—the look on the Minister’s face tells me that he has never heard of the report.
The report was produced at a time of prosperity. Is it not time that the Minister had it updated so that the Government can take action to right that undoubted economic wrong?
Hugh Robertson
I have been rumbled—I was looking at the right hon. Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Tessa Jowell) in the hope that she might help me out, but she is looking pretty blank. The best thing I can say to the hon. Gentleman is that I will dig the report out. It was not part of the handover brief that I received. Anybody who suggests that Manchester and the area around it is anything other than a vital part of the sporting infrastructure of this country is talking nonsense. The north-west, and particularly Manchester, will be at the centre of this great national sporting celebration.
Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)
10. What mechanisms his Department has used to identify efficiency savings since May 2010.
David Mowat (Warrington South) (Con)
12. What financial support the Government plan to provide for the 2013 rugby league world cup; and if he will make a statement.
The Minister for Sport and the Olympics (Hugh Robertson)
I met with the executive chairman and chief executive of the rugby football league on 7 April to discuss the 2013 world cup. I am keeping the funding situation under review pending the decision by the Northwest Regional Development Agency, which is due by the end of May.
David Mowat
The Minister will be aware that funding from the Northwest Regional Development Agency is in jeopardy. If that funding does not materialise, can the Minister assure the House that he will stand behind the coalition agreement and continue to support the world cup from his Department?
Hugh Robertson
Broadly speaking, the answer is yes. At the meeting we discussed the various options that would be available. At the moment, I want to concentrate on getting the funding that was promised, and committed to, by the Northwest Regional Development Agency for the rugby league world cup—[Interruption.] No, it has the funding to cover the world cup, if it chooses to do so, and I hope that it will because of the benefit to that region.
Helen Jones (Warrington North) (Lab)
When I raised this matter in October, the Minister, as I recall, promised me that he would treat both codes equally when allocating funding for the two world cups. Will he pledge to stick to that promise, and will he ensure that towns such as Warrington benefit from the world cup by hosting some of the matches?
Hugh Robertson
Absolutely. I made the commitment to the hon. Lady, and I have stuck by it. I followed it up with a letter to the rugby football league. It has been down to see me, and there is no question of our treating the two codes differently. The issue here arises from a tranche of funding that was promised by the Northwest Regional Development Agency, but which it has now threatened to withdraw. Clearly I want to get that money out of it, and we will do everything possible to bring this home.
Hugh Bayley (York Central) (Lab)
14. What steps his Department is taking to support youth development in professional football clubs.
The Minister for Sport and the Olympics (Hugh Robertson)
Why is it me who has to follow that answer from my hon. Friend? I am not on top of anything!
My Department’s priority is to continue to invest significant sums in grass-roots football—very important as it is—and between 2009 and 2013 we will invest £25.5 million via the Football Association’s whole sport plan and £47 million in the Football Foundation. This funding will help to strengthen youth development programmes.
Hugh Bayley
I am pleased that Sport England is spending £25 million on football youth development, but all the money goes to richer clubs in the Football League. None of it goes to the seven non-league clubs that have professional youth development programmes. In November the Minister advised me and colleagues from all parties representing the other, smaller clubs to raise the matter with Sport England and the Football Association. We have done so, but we are no further forward. Would the Minister be willing to meet a cross-party delegation of MPs representing constituencies covering those clubs to discuss the matter further?
Hugh Robertson
In theory, yes, of course I would. However, the important thing is that these funding decisions are made, very properly, by the sport’s national governing bodies. That was the central point of the whole sport plan: they are given a sum of money that is measured against a set of direct objectives, and it is up to those bodies to decide how to spend it. So in theory, yes, I am prepared to meet the hon. Gentleman, but I would need extraordinarily good evidence to try to contradict a professional judgment made by a sport about where best to spend its money to drive up participation.
Dr Julian Huppert (Cambridge) (LD)
T2. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)
T6. What is the Secretary of State’s initial assessment of the success or otherwise of the ticket application process for the London Olympics?
The Minister for Sport and the Olympics (Hugh Robertson)
The ticket application process has been an outstanding success. More than 20 million Olympic tickets have been applied for, with more than 1.8 million people applying.
Mrs Linda Riordan (Halifax) (Lab/Co-op)
T3. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that more people have broadband access at home? Thousands of my constituents still do not have access, despite the Government’s warm words.
John Robertson (Glasgow North West) (Lab)
T4. The Secretary of State mentioned that the Olympics were going to help the whole country. May I ask what is going to happen to the surplus tickets for Olympic events and suggest that he look towards the state secondary schools, so that children who might not normally have access to such events can have a chance to go to them? This could help with the legacy that he hopes to create.
Hugh Robertson
Providing tickets for children is a key priority of the ticketing process. There is a pay-your-age scheme, and I tried it myself on Sunday night. I have a three-and-a-half-year-old who will shortly be four, so I paid £4 for his ticket. There is provision within the process. A ballot will take place, and anyone who is unsuccessful will get preferential treatment in the next round.
Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)
Will the Secretary of State join me and my hon. Friend the Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Mr Field)—and, no doubt, the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Bury South (Mr Lewis)—in congratulating Bury FC on its promotion at the weekend, and in wishing it well in division one?
Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (PC)
There is significant support among players and supporters in Wales for the creation of a Welsh national cricket team to compete in the one-day world cup and the Twenty20 world cup. A Welsh national team competed in the 1979 International Cricket Council trophy, so there is a precedent for this. Will the Minister raise this matter with the England and Wales Cricket Board to see whether this ambition can be achieved without endangering Glamorgan’s first-class status or the SWALEC stadium’s status as a test venue?
Hugh Robertson
The answer to that lay in the question. We have an England and Wales Cricket Board, and it would also be extraordinarily difficult to do that without endangering Glamorgan’s first-class status or the ability of the ground to compete for test matches. Traditionally, for many years, Welsh players have competed for England, although there are none at the moment. I imagine that Robert Croft was the last one to do so, and I hope that there will be many more in the future. Hugh Morris, the director of cricket at the ECB, was a Glamorgan player.
Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)
The Minister will be aware that the London Mozart Players, one of the finest chamber orchestras in the country, is facing closure. Will he agree to meet Hilary Davan Wetton, the associate conductor, whom I know through his connection with the equally fine Milton Keynes City Orchestra, to see whether a short-term solution can be found to allow the orchestra to survive while we work out a long-term solution?