Sporting Infrastructure: Cornwall
1. If he will take steps to increase funding for
sporting infrastructure in Cornwall. [908121]
The Government’s investment in sport is delivered
through Sport England, which has invested £9
million in sport and physical activity in Cornwall since
2013, including £3 million for sports facilities.
Dare I say, Mr Speaker, that your tie today is a fine one?
The Minister will be aware that I have been working with
stakeholders in Cornwall for 10 years now to deliver a
stadium for Cornwall. A stadium is not only about sport,
although we should celebrate Cornish sport, it is also
about the health and wellbeing of children and adults right
across the county of Cornwall. We have been working hard
and we are nearly there with the money; what more can the
Treasury do to deliver on this fantastic opportunity?
I know that my hon. Friend has campaigned for a new stadium
for Cornwall since even before he was elected. At his
instigation, I met the Cornwall Council officer responsible
for the project last week. With the Department for Digital,
Culture, Media and Sport, we will continue to work closely
with partners in Cornwall and Sport England to seek a means to
bring this exciting project to a successful conclusion. We
appreciate that, as the most remote team on the mainland,
the Cornish Pirates deserve a fitting home for the future.
Any supplementary question does need to be about Cornwall,
not about Devon.
Plymouth Argyle has lots of supporters in Plymouth, but is
also the premier choice for many Cornish supporters, too.
There is concern about the lack of grassroots sports
pitches in Devon, Plymouth and Cornwall. Will the Minister
set out how the Treasury is going to fund local
government—especially in the absence of a local government
settlement—to support the development of grassroots
football, especially through the provision of changing
rooms for not only boys and men but women and girls?
That was very tenuous. Once a new stadium has been built in
Truro, perhaps people will not need to go to Plymouth to
support Argyle. We are supporting grassroots sports in
several ways—for example, the soft drinks industry levy has
ensured that more than £500 million of additional funding
has gone into school sport and into the health and
wellbeing schemes that are delivered, along with breakfast
clubs, in our primary schools.
