Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of China hosting the Winter Olympic Games on the reputation of that event.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is wholly responsible for the election process of the host nation of future Olympic and Paralympic Games. The host city is elected by a majority of the votes cast by secret ballot, with each active member of the IOC having one vote.
Asked by: Lord Risby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Team GB about reconsidering participation in the 2022 Winter Olympic games in Beijing.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Although the Government does not support sporting boycotts, athlete participation in the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games is a decision for the British Olympic and British Paralympic Associations, who operate independently of the Government.
Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether officials from the diplomatic service, including ambassadors and civil servants, were present at the diplomatic briefing on the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games held on 26 November 2021.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Officials from British Embassy Beijing attended the briefing on 26 November, alongside diplomats from a range of countries.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2021 to Question 66188, on China: Olympic Games, when the Government plans to decide on the (a) political and (b) diplomatic representation of the UK at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The participation of the national team at the Olympics and Paralympics is a matter for the British Olympic Association and British Paralympic Association, which are required to operate independently of the Government under International Olympic Committee regulations.
The Prime Minister has been clear that he is not in favour of sporting boycotts. As the Government has previously made clear, no decisions have yet been made about Government attendance at the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics in 2022.
We regularly engage across government departments and with international partners on a range of issues related to China and human rights.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to have discussions with the British Olympic Association on its participation in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The participation of the national team at the Olympics and Paralympics is a matter for the British Olympic Association and British Paralympic Association, which are required to operate independently of the Government under International Olympic Committee regulations.
The Prime Minister has been clear that he is not in favour of sporting boycotts. As the Government has previously made clear, no decisions have yet been made about Government attendance at the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics in 2022.
We regularly engage across government departments and with international partners on a range of issues related to China and human rights.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Prime Minister's speech at the National Lottery Paralympics GB Homecoming event on 12 September 2021, how the additional funding for disability sports will be allocated.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
On 15th August, the Government publicly committed to providing £232 million to support Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The £232 million Grant In Aid funding will be invested into aspiring Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes as well as their coaches and support staff, in addition to funding from the National Lottery.
UK Sport, the strategic lead body for high performance sport in the UK, will be responsible for allocating the funding to athletes for the Paris cycle. Athletes will benefit through their World Class Programme and Progression Funding, which will provide vital support towards reaching the pinnacle of their sports as preparations begin for Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Prime Minister's speech at the National Lottery Paralympics GB Homecoming event on 12 September 2021, what the source is of the extra funding for disability sports.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
On 15th August, the Government publicly committed to providing £232 million to support Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The £232 million Grant In Aid funding will be invested into aspiring Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes as well as their coaches and support staff, in addition to funding from the National Lottery.
UK Sport, the strategic lead body for high performance sport in the UK, will be responsible for allocating the funding to athletes for the Paris cycle. Athletes will benefit through their World Class Programme and Progression Funding, which will provide vital support towards reaching the pinnacle of their sports as preparations begin for Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of state funding for grassroots sports across the UK; and what plans the Government has to increase that funding in response to achievements at the Tokyo Olympics and the European Championships.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Sports and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health and all generations and communities should be able to enjoy the health, wellbeing, social and other benefits of being active. Because of this, we made sure that people could exercise at least once a day even during the height of the first period of enhanced national restrictions and we opened up grassroots sport and leisure facilities as soon as it was safe to do so.
National pride in our Olympic and Paralympic heroes has provided a source of genuine inspiration and motivation for the public. On 15th August, the Government announced that it will provide £232 million to support Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The £232 million will be invested into aspiring Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes as well as their coaches and support staff, in addition to funding from the National Lottery.
In recognition of how the sector has been impacted by the pandemic working closely with Sport England, UK Sport and the National Lottery, the Government have provided an unprecedented £1 billion to ensure the survival of the grassroots, elite and leisure sectors.
This includes the £220m Sport England has provided directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres through this pandemic, including their £35 million Community Emergency Fund in supporting people to be more active, including a specific focus on those people who are inactive and engaging people from underrepresented groups.
On 26 January, Sport England also published their strategy ‘Uniting the Movement’ and as part of this have committed an extra £50million to help grassroots sports clubs and organisations affected by the coronavirus pandemic. This is on top of the £18m a year it spends on grassroots facilities through the Football Foundation.
The Government also announced an additional £25m for grassroots sports facilities earlier this year with the Prime Minister committing a further £50m in his Levelling Up speech on 15 July. These contributions are part of the government’s ambition to deliver the pitches that every community in the UK needs by 2030.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make it his policy to ensure that all sports played by UK national teams are available live for free on non-subscription services.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government recognises that sporting events of national significance have the ability to bring the nation together through shared moments and therefore it is important that they are made available to as wide an audience as possible.
Under the current listed events regime national sporting events including matches for the FIFA Football World Cup finals tournament, the Rugby World Cup finals and events in the Olympics are made available to free to air broadcasters. In January 2020 the Government added the Paralympic Games to the list, recognising that it is an event of national significance on par with the Olympic Games.
The listed events regime works well to strike an appropriate balance between retaining free-to-air sports events for the public while allowing rights holders to negotiate agreements in the best interests of their sport. Therefore, the Government does not have plans to review the listed events regime at this time.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to offer COVID-19 vaccines for (1) professional sportspeople, and (2) members of the British Olympic and Paralympic Teams for the Games in Tokyo 2021.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine/s the United Kingdom should use, including prioritisation at a population level. The JCVI has stated that phase one of a COVID-19 vaccine programme will have the prevention of mortality at the forefront of its objectives, as well as the support of the National Health Service and social care system.
For the first phase, the JVCI has advised that the vaccine should be given to care home residents and staff, as well as frontline health and social care workers and the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors. Included are those with underlying health conditions, which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality.