Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to support (a) grassroots football and (b) other sports in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) Gateshead and (iiii) the North East.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Government, through Sport England, is investing over a billion pounds over the next four years to support grassroots sport. The Football Foundation is an organisation investing £60m each year into improving the country's grassroots football and sports infrastructure with money provided by its funding partners: the Premier League, The FA and the Government (via Sport England).
Total grassroots football investment (Sport England and Football Foundation) for the North East is over £23m since 2010.
A full breakdown of figures for other grassroots sports funded by Sport England are available on their website: www.sportengland.org.
UK Sport, which receives funding from the UK government and the National Lottery, prepares athletes for Olympic and Paralympic Games across the UK, and is investing up to £345m to fund at least 38 sports across the current 4-year Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic funding cycle. UK Sport has also invested over £32m into Winter Olympic and Paralympic sports in the current PyeongChang 2018 funding cycle.
Asked by: Tom Pursglove (Conservative - Corby)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government has made an assessment of the relative merits of the possible training facilities for Team GB urban sports athletes ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
The National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of Olympic sports are responsible for the training of their athletes during the period leading up to the Olympic Games, and with it the facilities they choose. UK Sport is working closely with NGBs to determine the appropriate level of facilities needed to sustain Olympic success ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games, which are set to run from 24 July to 9 August 2020. The British Olympic Association (BOA), as the National Olympic Committee (NOC) for Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is responsible for Team GB’s participation at the Olympic Games.
UK Sport’s high-performance system and investment approach is admired the world over, and Great Britain is now recognised as one of the world’s most successful sporting nations. Decisions over which sports to fund in each Olympic and Paralympic cycle are made independently of Government by UK Sport. This helps ensure that funding decisions are made free from political influence with a view to the best overall outcomes for our elite athletes.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
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 is taking to help promote the sport of women's rugby.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
The government’s sport strategy “Sporting Future” highlighted the importance of welfare and wellbeing for everyone participating in elite sport, regardless of age.
In March 2018 I published a mental health and elite sport action plan, based on discussions I held with sportspeople and key stakeholders from across the sport and mental health sectors. The plan sets out a range of actions to improve the support available to athletes, the sharing of best practice across the sport sector, and mental health education and training in sport.
As highlighted in the plan, UK Sport has worked with key agencies to develop a Mental Health Strategy, being implemented during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games cycle (2017-2021). The aim of the strategy is to deliver positive mental health for all people operating in the high performance system, for athletes as well as senior leaders, coaches, practitioners and administrators.
The government’s sport strategy “Sporting Future” highlighted the importance of focusing on groups that are particularly unlikely to take part in sport and physical activity, such as women and girls. It is vital we build on successes like the performance of England at the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2017 to inspire more girls and women to get involved in sport. Sport England, government’s arm’s length body for community sport, is funding both the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Rugby Football League (RFL) to build capacity and encourage participation. Both of these national governing bodies have also partnered with Sport England’s “This Girl Can” campaign, to encourage more women and girls to get involved with their sports. Government is also supporting the staging and legacy of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, which will be hosted by England and will bring together the women’s, men’s and wheelchair tournaments for the first time.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
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 is taking to promote the discussion of mental health concerns among young athletes.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
The government’s sport strategy “Sporting Future” highlighted the importance of welfare and wellbeing for everyone participating in elite sport, regardless of age.
In March 2018 I published a mental health and elite sport action plan, based on discussions I held with sportspeople and key stakeholders from across the sport and mental health sectors. The plan sets out a range of actions to improve the support available to athletes, the sharing of best practice across the sport sector, and mental health education and training in sport.
As highlighted in the plan, UK Sport has worked with key agencies to develop a Mental Health Strategy, being implemented during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games cycle (2017-2021). The aim of the strategy is to deliver positive mental health for all people operating in the high performance system, for athletes as well as senior leaders, coaches, practitioners and administrators.
Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase (1) the number of opportunities for children to be active outdoors during the school day, and (2) the range of activities available to them when outdoors; and whether such plans include the introduction of active mile schemes.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Through the primary PE and sport premium, over £600 million of ring-fenced funding has been invested in primary schools to improve PE and sport since 2013. The government doubled the premium to £320 million per year from September 2017, using revenue from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy. The premium should be used to develop or add to the PE and sport activities that a school already offers to provide more opportunities for their pupils to be active throughout the school day.
We know that schools across the country have signed up to an active mile programme. The Daily Mile’s website reports that over 900 schools in England are signed up to The Daily Mile. Active Miles can help pupils to achieve the 60 active minutes each day recommended by the UK chief medical officers. They are simple, inclusive and can successfully engage the least active children in physical activity. In December 2017, the department brought together active mile providers to discuss opportunities to engage more schools to take part in active mile initiatives
Sport England supports children and young people in England by ensuring there is a good sports and activity offer before and after the school day. This includes investing £28 million into Satellite Clubs between 2017-2021. Satellite Clubs provide opportunities to take part regularly in sport and activity through the creation of enjoyable, appealing and convenient opportunities for young people that are based around their needs.
The government also continues to invest around £17.5 million per annum in the School Games, an Olympic/Paralympic style competition, so that all children and young people, particularly those who are currently least active or from under-represented groups, have the best opportunities to engage in sport and physical activity. Inclusive sports formats are included to provide opportunities for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs to participate.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will set out the amount spent by UK Sport per active participant in (a) equestrian events, (b) sailing, (c) shooting and (d) bobsleigh.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
UK Sport investment into Summer and Winter Olympic and Paralympic sports for the current funding cycle can be found on UK Sport’s website here: http://www.uksport.gov.uk/our-work/investing-in-sport/current-funding-figures
UK Sport do not allocate any funding that is dependent on participation levels. The primary role of UK Sport is to strategically invest National Lottery and Exchequer income to maximise the performance of UK athletes in the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the global events which precede them. UK Sport's investments in sports are made on a four year basis, with all investment decisions and levels reviewed annually. UK Sport investment is on an eight-year pathway, enabling athletes who are up to eight years away from the Olympic podium to benefit from world class support to help realise their potential
Sport England is the arms length body of government responsible for supporting and investing in participation in grassroot sport. Sport England's Active Lives Survey captures data on physical activity levels in England, together with data on the numbers of people aged 16+ participating in sports. Details of the most recent Active Lives Survey data release covering the period May 2016-May 2017 can be found here: https://www.sportengland.org/media/12458/active-lives-adult-may-16-17-report.pdf.
Details of the data tables on participation rates of sports can be found here: http://www.sportengland.org/media/12452/tables-5-9_twice-in-the-last-28-days.xlsx
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to support (a) grassroots football and (b) other sports in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) the UK.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
Sport England, government's arms length body, is spending over a billion pounds over the next four years to support grassroots sport. The Football Foundation is an organisation investing £60m each year into improving the country's grassroots football and sports infrastructure with money provided by its funding partners: the Premier League, The FA and the Government (via Sport England)
Total grassroots football investment (Sport England and Football Foundation) for the North East is over £22m since 2010 and a full breakdown of figures for other grassroots sports funded by Sport England are available on their website, www.sportengland.org.
Responsibility for grassroots sport is devolved and each country has a Home Nation Sports Council, sportscotland, Sport Wales and Sport Northern Ireland in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland respectively.
UK Sport, which receives funding from the UK government and the National Lottery, prepares athletes for Olympic and Paralympic Games across the UK, and is investing up to £345m to fund at least 38 sports across the current 4-year Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic funding cycle. UK Sport has also invested over £32m into Winter Olympic and Paralympic sports in the current PyeongChang 2018 funding cycle.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reasons the Deaflympics is not recognised as an official Olympic sporting event by the Government.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
Recognition as an official Olympic partner is a matter for the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The Government does not therefore set such criteria. Decisions on which sports are on the programmes for the Olympic and Paralympic Games are matters for the IOC and International Paralympic Committee (IPC) respectively. The Deaflympics (previously called World Games for the Deaf and International Games for the Deaf) are an International Olympic Committee (IOC) sanctioned event at which deaf athletes compete at an elite level.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what criteria a sports governing body must fulfil in order to be recognised as an official Olympic partner by the UK Government.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
Recognition as an official Olympic partner is a matter for the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The Government does not therefore set such criteria. Decisions on which sports are on the programmes for the Olympic and Paralympic Games are matters for the IOC and International Paralympic Committee (IPC) respectively. The Deaflympics (previously called World Games for the Deaf and International Games for the Deaf) are an International Olympic Committee (IOC) sanctioned event at which deaf athletes compete at an elite level.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the decision of the government of France that its Winter Olympics team will not travel to the 2018 Games in PyeongChang if that team's security cannot be guaranteed, whether they intend to apply an equivalent policy to the British Winter Olympic team.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our current travel advice to South Korea is unrestricted for all British Nationals travelling to or residing in South Korea, including the British Winter Olympic and Paralympic Teams. We advise travellers to remain vigilant about heightened tensions on the peninsula and urge them to register for travel advice updates from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) as well as our Twitter and Facebook updates. FCO travel advice is under continuous review. The FCO regularly liaises with the British Olympic and Paralympic Associations in preparation for the games.