Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they are making
available for sports affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Question was considered in a Virtual Proceeding via video
call.
(Con)
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on
the Order Paper and draw attention to my interests in the
register.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport () (Con)
My Lords, the Government recognise the impact that Covid-19 is
having on the sports sector. We continue to engage with sporting
organisations to understand how it is affecting them and to
provide support. The Chancellor has already announced a host of
measures to help businesses, with £330 billion of
government-backed guaranteed loans as well as the Coronavirus Job
Retention Scheme. In addition, our national sports council,
Sport England, has announced £210 million of
funding to help sport and physical activity organisations to deal
with the short and long-term effects of the pandemic.
I am grateful to my noble friend for that reply. As she will be
aware, few, if any, sports are embedded within communities quite
like rugby league, particularly here in the north of England. On
behalf of the entire rugby league family, I therefore thank the
Government for recognising the special place that our great sport
has in society through the vital support package that was
announced on 1 May. I commend also the work of the Rugby Football
League. What discussions are now taking place on a road map to
allow the season to resume—it has in fact only just begun—behind
closed doors at first, beginning with allowing players to start
training?
I take this opportunity to thank my noble friend for the work
that he has done in this area. I recognise the role that rugby
league plays in communities, having visited the Castleford Tigers
ladies team training—I think he is a Leeds Rhinos fan, but we can
agree on the impact. In addition to the guidance published on
Monday on how to ease lockdown and resume training for different
sports, officials are convening with medical officers to share
best practice and planning, looking at a safe return to training.
That is obviously a first step to returning to fixtures. We know
that rugby league will work within this and the public health
guidance that goes with it.
(Lab)
My Lords, it is obvious that many sports are affected at a higher
level because of this crisis. However, I want to emphasise the
problems facing many lower football league clubs, many of which
are in danger of extinction. On a positive note, it is pleasing
to know that at the Football Foundation, of which I am president,
has come together with its partners, the FA, the Government and
Sport England, to launch a new pitch preparation
fund consisting of £10 million of financial support for
struggling clubs at the lower level. Can the Minister assure the
House that, although that is a healthy beginning, it will
continue to be a focus for further assistance, recognising that
these clubs are very often the hub of social activities within
the communities in which they reside?
We absolutely recognise that clubs are an integral part of the
country and of communities around them. Officials and Ministers
are regularly engaging to understand and collaborate with clubs
to make sure that we can support them through this
extraordinarily difficult time.
(Non-Afl)
My Lords, under Project Restart, the Premier League is
considering returning by 12 June. However, can the Minister say
what the Government are planning to help less wealthy clubs
outside the Premier League which want to emerge from this fight
as victors, not victims?
I have already explained some of the funding which has been
provided across a range of sport. We very much welcomed the move
by the Premier League to advance £125 million to the English
Football League and the National League. All plans that are being
developed need to be in line with public health guidance, but we
hear the urgency in the noble Lord’s question.
(Con)
My Lords, I welcome the Government’s decision regarding support
for sporting activities. They are vital for the mind as well as
the body. Tracing and tracking will be as important as ever. Can
the Minister consider encouraging people to keep a daily diary on
everyone they meet and everywhere they go so that, should they
fall ill with Covid-19, that would be a simple, cheap, easy way
to trace it?
I completely agree with my noble friend on the importance of
sport and exercise for one’s mental as well as physical health. I
welcome her suggestion and will share it with ministerial
colleagues.
(LD)
My Lords, do the Government agree that to benefit from sport,
people have to be encouraged back in at grass-roots level? Will
the Government give us an assurance that they will make sure that
everybody knows when it is safe for children and those in the
junior ranks to start attending practice sessions and training,
and that this information will be made available through all
normal media channels?
The noble Lord makes an extremely good point about communication
and making sure that children hear about the opportunities
available for them, so I will take that point back. I also draw
his attention to the recent announcement that the Community
Emergency Fund has been increased from £20 million to £35
million; that supports just the sorts of organisations to which
he refers.
(Con)
I welcome Sport England’s excellent set of
initiatives. However, does the Minister agree that waiting until
the forthcoming spending review—potentially this autumn—to learn
about UK Sport funding for teams for Tokyo’s Olympics next year
is too long a period of uncertainty for our Olympic and
Paralympic athletes, and that it casts further doubt and shadows
over selection processes?
I understand my noble friend’s interest in getting clarity as
quickly as possible. I can only reiterate that officials and
Ministers are working very closely with all those involved to
make sure that we have the strongest possible case to put on
their behalf at the spending review.
(CB)
My Lords, in terms of the physical demands and the reliance on
specialist training conditions, professional dancers are
effectively elite athletes engaged in a team sport and, like
athletes, they will need a significant period of training before
they are fully match fit and ready to perform. Can the Minister
tell the House what discussions are taking place about support
for this sector, and about the safe return to training of
professional dancers who, like athletes, contribute so much to
our global reputation and sense of national pride?
I will need to write to the noble Baroness about the specifics of
what engagement there has been with elite dance. Our clear aim is
to set out a series of principles that will allow a return to
safe training for all those engaged in elite and grass-roots
sports.
(Lab)
I should record my interest in the Lords’ register in relation to
Scottish Athletics and the Commonwealth Games (Scotland)
Endowment Fund. I would like to ask the Minister about those
Scottish, Welsh, English and Northern Irish athletes either
training or based in the different nations who are on UK
performance funding. Will full discussions be held with the
devolved Governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to
ensure that all UK high-performance athletes have the same access
to a return to coaching, medical facilities and training,
although obviously in conditions of safe social distancing, over
the coming weeks?
My honourable friend the Minister for Sport is co-ordinating
those conversations but, again, I will raise the importance of
this issue with him.
