Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what contingency plans are in place for UK competitors and supporters travelling to the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in the light of the threat of instability in that region; and what advice they have issued.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Both the UK Government and the Pyeongchang Organising Committee for the Olympic Games in South Korea have contingency plans for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Games, as we do for all major sporting events. As we prepare for the Games, we are in close touch with the British Olympic and Paralympic Associations. The Government keeps all travel advice under constant review, including for the Republic of Korea.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
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 reductions in local government funding for sporting facilities on the UK's future prospects for achieving international sporting success.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
Local Authorities continue to be the biggest investors in community sport in England, investing £1.1bn in 2015/16, delivering both community and health benefits and opportunities for talented athletes.
Sport England works closely with the Local Government sector, investing £258m in community sports facilities over the last five years, attracting an additional £1.2bn investment from other sources spread across more than 2,800 projects.
Sport England launched a £15m Community Asset Fund in January 2017 to support local sports infrastructure, and will also invest up to £40m to support the development of large scale facilities.
In partnership with UK Sport, Sport England has invested over £8m in elite facilities since 2013 to ensure that world class training environments meet the needs of the World Class Programmes and add value to the local community. In addition, a number of the London 2012 Olympic Venues, such as the Aquatics Centre and the Velodrome, are providing a long-term benefit to both community and elite sport.
UK Sport is investing £345m in Olympic and Paralympic success in the 4-year period leading up to and including the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, including the funding of talent pathways which identify talented young athletes and prepare them for elite competition.
Asked by: Christina Rees (Labour (Co-op) - Neath)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what national funding sources are available to Welsh sporting bodies.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
Sport is a devolved matter, and responsibility for the delivery of grassroots sport in Wales sits with Sport Wales. However, UK Sport, which receives funding from the UK government and the National Lottery and prepares athletes for Olympic and Paralympic Games, works closely with Sport Wales, including on support for leadership in sport, for the 66 World Class Programme athletes who indicate Wales as their home nation, and on securing the rights to host major sports events. Such events in Wales since 2013 have generated an estimated £11m in economic impact.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
Government has published reports on the legacy from London 2012, with the most recent of these in August 2016. This showed that the Games generated over £14.2bn in economic trade and investment benefits, that Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London is thriving and that the country continues to keep the spirit of London 2012 alive through community and arts initiatives established during the Games. The outstanding performances of Team GB and ParalympicsGB at Rio 2016, with both teams finishing second in their respective medal tables, shows that the public investment in elite sport developed in the run-up to 2012 and sustained since has paid dividends. The government's sport strategy, Sporting Future, aims to build on the success of London 2012 and make our country more active, with a sustainable and responsible sport sector, whilst continuing to excel on the world stage.
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, what national funding sources are available to sporting bodies in Wales for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
Sport is a devolved matter, and as such the funding and support of home nation teams for the Commonwealth Games is the responsibility of the relevant Home Nation Sports Councils. For Wales this is Sport Wales, which receives its public funding from the Welsh government. UK Sport, which receives funding from the UK government and the National Lottery and prepares athletes for Olympic and Paralympic Games, estimates that there are currently 66 athletes funded on their current World Class Programme who indicate Wales as their home nation.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Olympic Games in Rio, and the potential adverse impact on funding for elite athletes of Brexit, what steps they will take to ensure proper funding for such athletes to support their successful participation in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Answered by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
The London 2012 Olympic Games were a huge success with sold-out venues and the best British performance for over 100 years in winning 65 medals. The Games left a legacy of increased participation and world-class sporting venues which are now being used by our elite athletes as well as local communities.
The commitment from the Government immediately following the London 2012 Olympic Games to confirm and sustain Exchequer support for the UK Sport World Class Programme was a significant moment in underpinning the success of Rio, providing UK Sport, and the National Governing Bodies of sport, with the necessary financial support to invest in medal success across the Olympic and Paralympic sports.
I am confident that this success will continue at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, and through to Tokyo in 2020 and beyond. Since 2012, UK Sport funded athletes have given back over 18,000 days visiting schools and local projects as part of our commitment to inspire the next generation.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential economic benefit to the UK of hosting the World Athletics Championship and the IPC World Championships in 2017.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
The potential economic benefit of hosting the 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships and the IPC World Championships in London is currently expected to be in excess of £100m. This will build on the significant positive economic impact of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effect of the success of the London 2012 Olympic Games on the success of the competitors at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
The London 2012 Olympic Games were a huge success with sold-out venues and the best British performance for over 100 years in winning 65 medals. The Games left a legacy of increased participation and world-class sporting venues which are now being used by our elite athletes as well as local communities.
The commitment from the Government immediately following the London 2012 Olympic Games to confirm and sustain Exchequer support for the UK Sport World Class Programme was a significant moment in underpinning the success of Rio, providing UK Sport, and the National Governing Bodies of sport, with the necessary financial support to invest in medal success across the Olympic and Paralympic sports.
I am confident that this success will continue at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, and through to Tokyo in 2020 and beyond. Since 2012, UK Sport funded athletes have given back over 18,000 days visiting schools and local projects as part of our commitment to inspire the next generation.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the reasons for the success of Team GB at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
Team GB's historic medal haul in Rio is an amazing achievement and our athletes have made the country incredibly proud.
Our greatest Olympic performance in a century owed much to UK Sport’s ‘no compromise’ approach and an increase in funding. It is crucial that this funding was invested strategically in the right sports, the right athletes and the right support programmes.
We must not forget the crucial role the British public has played in making us one of the leading Olympic and Paralympic nations in the world with the continued support the public has given our top athletes through the National Lottery.
I am confident that this success will continue at the current Paralympics, and through to Tokyo in 2020.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that the athletes who have been chosen to represent Great Britain at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro are fully briefed about the dangers or otherwise of contracting the Zika virus.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The UK Government, the National Travel Health Network and Centre and the British Olympic Association and British Paralympic Association have issued guidance and advice on Zika for those competing and attending the Rio Games. All organisations continue to review and update this guidance and the Government will take into account World Health Organisation guidelines should they be revised following their latest risk assessment.
My department and the Department of Health recently convened an Olympic and Paralympic health advisory group including academic experts and cross-government representatives to support the British Olympic Association (BOA) and British Paralympic Association (BPA) in updating their guidance to athletes and staff travelling to Brazil for the Olympics. The Foreign Office will link this to their wider consular campaign ‘Stay ahead of the Games’.