Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with stakeholders on the potential merits of banning boxing at the Olympic Games.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
It is for the International Olympic Committee to make any decisions on which sports should be included in the Olympic programme.
The British Olympic Association are our National Olympic Committee and as such represent us in the International Olympic Committee’s governance and decision making processes. I have recently had discussions with GB Boxing and UK Sport to understand their position on international competition in the sport.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an estimate of the amount of sports equipment that will be given to sporting groups in the West Midlands following the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Based on discussions between the Birmingham 2022 Organising Committee and Sport England, my department estimates that over 16,000 items of sports equipment will be given to community organisations in the West Midlands following the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. This includes items such as boxing gloves, martial arts mats, netball bibs, basketballs and T20 cricket equipment as well as a number of items of general non-sport specific equipment. A full list of the equipment on offer is available via Sport England’s sports equipment gifting legacy catalogue.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will ensure that unlicensed white collar boxing events in the UK comply with minimum criteria, standards and requirements set for those events by national governing bodies for boxing; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount.
There will always be risks associated with participating in contact sport, but it is important that robust measures are in place to reduce the risk of major injuries and health issues.
It is the responsibility of individual boxing event organisers to ensure that they protect the safety and wellbeing of their participants.
We urge all boxing event organisers to work with the sport’s governing bodies to ensure robust standards are in place to protect the safety of those who take part.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the proposal by the national governing bodies for boxing that all unlicensed white collar boxing events in the UK should fully affiliate and comply with their minimum criteria, standards and requirements for those events; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount.
There will always be risks associated with participating in contact sport, but it is important that robust measures are in place to reduce the risk of major injuries and health issues.
It is the responsibility of individual boxing event organisers to ensure that they protect the safety and wellbeing of their participants.
We urge all boxing event organisers to work with the sport’s governing bodies to ensure robust standards are in place to protect the safety of those who take part.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has plans to take steps to improve the safety of white collar boxing events; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount.
There will always be risks associated with participating in contact sport, but it is important that robust measures are in place to reduce the risk of major injuries and health issues.
It is the responsibility of individual boxing event organisers to ensure that they protect the safety and wellbeing of their participants.
We urge all boxing event organisers to work with the sport’s governing bodies to ensure robust standards are in place to protect the safety of those who take part.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding her Department has provided to the British Boxing Board of Control in each year since 2017.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
My Department has not provided funding to the British Boxing Board of Control, which has been overseeing British professional boxing independently of the government since 1929.
Asked by: James Daly (Conservative - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to (a) evaluate the effect of covid-19 restrictions on grassroots boxing and (b) support England Boxing with guidance for enabling boxing training to resume as covid-19 restrictions are eased.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Sports and physical activity are crucial for our mental and physical health. That’s why we have continued to make sure that people can exercise throughout the national restrictions and why we have ensured that grassroots and children’s sport is front of the queue when easing those restrictions.
On Monday 22 February, the Prime Minister announced a roadmap out of the current lockdown in England. The government has introduced a step approach to the return of outdoor and indoor sport areas across England. Each full step of the roadmap will be informed by the latest available science and data and will be five weeks apart in order to provide time to assess the data and provide one week’s notice to businesses and individuals.
National Governing Bodies, including England Boxing, for contact sports have developed action plans in line with the governments Combat Sport Framework which takes into account the level of risk of their sport and how they can work to mitigate it to minimise COVID-19 transmission risk. This has been reviewed by government to ensure it is consistent with the overarching government guidance.
At step 2 of the Roadmap, contact combat sports can resume at phase 2 of the Contact Combat Sports framework for children and at phase 1 for adults. Outdoors, these sports are exempt from social gathering limits as they are organised sport. Indoors, adults must only only take part in individual activity and children can take part in groups of up to 15.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to take fiscal steps to (a) promote boxing live events in the UK and (b) help ensure that a forthcoming boxing match between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury takes place in the UK.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is supportive of bringing major sports events to the UK and our approach is set out in the Gold Framework publication. Fiscal responsibility sits with Her Majesty's Treasury.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to ensure that a forthcoming boxing match between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury takes place in the UK.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK is a world-leading host for major sporting events, having successfully delivered some of the biggest events in recent years. The location for this match is a matter for the organisers, promoters and athletes themselves to decide.
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the UKCA mark and its application for construction products or other materials applies to rings constructed for wrestling or boxing; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
In order for the UKCA mark to be applied to a construction product, the product must meet the definition of a construction product as set out by the United Kingdom Construction Products Regulations, and be covered by either a United Kingdom designated standard or United Kingdom Technical Assessment.
Wrestling and boxing rings in themselves do not meet this definition of construction products, and are covered by neither a United Kingdom designated standard, nor a United Kingdom Technical Assessment, under the United Kingdom Construction Products Regulations. They therefore do not need to be UKCA-marked in order to be placed on the market of Great Britain.
If the component parts of a wrestling or boxing ring have been marketed as individual products for use in construction, however, they will be subject to the same rules as construction products, which may include the requirement to apply the UKCA mark.