Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of
report by the Youth Sport Trust PE
and School Sport in England: the Annual Report 2022, published on
26 May, which showed declining participation rates for young
people in sports; and what discussions they are having with Sport
England and other sports bodies to address this issue.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport () (Con)
Sport and physical activity are incredibly important to our
physical and mental health. This Government are committed to
ensuring that everyone, regardless of background and origin, has
access to and benefits from quality sport and physical activity
opportunities. There is no doubt that the pandemic has had an
impact on participation rates for young people and we will
outline the Government’s plans to address this in the coming
months. We continue to work across government, Sport England and
the Youth Sport Trust to
tackle this important issue.
(Lab)
My Lords, words are fine and yesterday the Minister spoke in
glowing terms of the legacy from both the Olympics in 2012 and
the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. But the report paints a very
different picture. What exactly does the noble Lord think has
gone wrong? It is brilliant that elite sports produce role models
but where is the effective follow-through in our schools to
enable the simple pleasure of sport for all and the next
generation of sporting legends?
(Con)
In my early discussions with officials from the department and
talking about it not only within DCMS but across government, we
have been looking at a number of the blockages, as it were. One
of the schemes we are looking at is making sure that schools can
open up for longer—the schools opening scheme. We are also making
sure that the DfE and schools are in partnership so that they
feel comfortable opening up and are able to staff those
facilities. We are looking at other partnerships within
communities—with private clubs et cetera—to make sure that we
make as much use as possible of assets that are already there as
well as upgrading existing ones.
(Con)
Have the Government noted that there are now more than 2,350
sports partnership schemes which bring together state and
independent schools to their mutual benefit? Will the Government
encourage a further expansion of these partnership arrangements,
which are so valuable, to enable as many pupils as possible to
achieve their sporting potential?
(Con)
My noble friend raises a very important point about the
partnerships. We want to learn from what has worked in the
previous partnerships and make sure that we continue to expand
them, not only with this scheme but looking at how we address
those who have trouble getting kit, for example. We are working
with charities such as Sport for Change to make sure that we do
it across government. We are also working with the voluntary
sector as much as possible and using existing infrastructure.
(LD)
My Lords, it is well known that people drop out of sport at the
various stages of education—at 16, 18 and 21—and that people who
take their sport predominantly through small clubs, because they
have better linkage to them, remain active. What are the
Government doing to actively support the small club sector for
the amateur sports that we are talking about, particularly
considering how hard they have been hit by the pandemic?
(Con)
During the pandemic a lot of local community sports clubs relied
heavily on volunteering. We are looking at some of the challenges
that they face, for example, with increased energy bills, and how
we can support them. We are also looking at how we can encourage
the incubation of far more projects and make far better use of
existing facilities. It must not be just about elite sport, and
not just about sport but about physical activity. Sometimes,
children who are not so good at sport may feel a barrier to
taking part, so we must find some physical activity such as
cycling or walking.
(Lab)
My Lords, is the Minister aware that during the Covid pandemic,
it is estimated that over 200 swimming pools were closed, never
to reopen? Given the impact on young people’s ability to swim,
can he assure me that in the latest round of cuts that the
Treasury is insisting that Whitehall embark upon to enable the
ludicrous mini-Budget to develop he will protect children’s
sports facilities?
(Con)
My department is having a number of conversations, particularly
on the issue that the noble Lord raises, but also on
understanding the challenges of rising energy prices and those
that the sector faces. In September, the Government announced an
energy bill relief scheme offering support, and during the
pandemic the Government prioritised physical activity, providing
£1 billion of financial support to sport and leisure. We will
continue to review that to make sure that we are targeting that
support as effectively as possible.
(CB)
My Lords, for girls, sports inequality starts in schools, because
they are not given access to sports that they enjoy, such as
football. The situation is likely to be worse in deprived areas.
The Lionesses have inspired girls across all communities. What
more can be done to ensure that all girls, regardless of their
background, have equal access to football and other sports that
they want to play? Girls also want to enjoy the beautiful
game.
(Con)
I think that we are all very proud of the record-breaking success
of England’s Lionesses this summer. The Prime Minister and the
Secretary of State were delighted to meet some of the Lionesses
yesterday, who are extraordinary ambassadors for sport. However,
we must not mandate which sport is played in schools or pick one
over the other. We have to make sure that there is a wide variety
of sports and physical activity. Some children are put off sport
at an early age because they do not feel that they are good
enough and there is elite sport even within school, so we have to
make sure that we increase walking, cycling and other types of
physical activity.
(Con)
My Lords, primary schools have very few sports activities and the
younger you start in sports, the better, particularly for
integration. A lot of children find it difficult when they first
go to primary school to integrate with their peers. Yet sport
often brings them together and teaches them how to integrate and
make friends. Will the Minister work with the Department for
Education to make sure that something is done about sports in
primary schools, because as far as I can see very little sport is
played?
(Con)
My department is working with the Department for Education to
make sure that there is school sport and activity. On the wider
point, it is important to recognise that, sometimes, sport is not
just about activity and getting fit but about bringing
communities together where there are divisions. There are a
number of projects involving people who have been excluded from
school where sport is brought into the classroom to encourage
them to get better results at school. A few years ago, I went to
see a project where sport was used to stop young kids being
radicalised. Sport is a powerful force for bringing people
together and addressing some of the problems we see in our
society.
(Non-Afl)
My Lords, I am delighted to echo some of the questions from the
noble Baroness, Lady Gohir, regarding girls’ sport. What are the
Government doing about the fact that one in three children leave
school without learning to swim, and what will the Minister do to
ensure that all sports bodies reflect this country’s
diversity?
(Con)
The noble Baroness makes a very important point. We have to make
sure that sports bodies represent the whole range of our
communities and are not focused on elite sports or one particular
community. I was contacted last week by a project that wanted to
help more Afro-Caribbean people to swim— I think it is called
Black People Can Swim. It is a fantastic project. I have asked my
department to look at how we can have discussions with them to
help make sure that we encourage more people from different
communities to get involved in physical activity and sport.
(LD)
My Lords, I pay tribute to the authors of the report,
the Youth Sport Trust and
its chief executive, Alison Oliver. They certainly know what they
are talking about. Since there is to be a new regime at the
National Lottery, would this be a proper moment to suggest that
the focus of grants should be on young people in general and
youth sport and activities—as the Minister rightly said—in
particular?
(Con)
The Government are refreshing the sport strategy at the moment.
Noble Lords who took part in debates on the Health and Care Bill
will remember that we talked about the cross-government approach
to sport and physical activity. We are looking at a number of
initiatives for improving it. We welcome reports such as this, as
they highlight the areas that we need to focus our efforts on as
we work out what has worked in the past and what we need to
improve. We hope to fill those gaps where they exist.
of Hudnall (Lab)
The Minister referred earlier to part of the Government’s
strategy being to engage schools to try to get them to open for
longer. This is a noble aspiration. However, he will be aware
that school budgets were under pressure long before the energy
crisis hit. They are now under much greater pressure from that
and from other initiatives that the Government are requiring them
to undertake. Can he give us an assurance that, if this thinking
is taken forward, it is not simply added to the other burdens on
schools without any additional resource to support it?
(Con)
We are working across government on this. With DfE, we are
looking at opening up existing sports and leisure facilities,
including schools. We have to work with schools to work out what
works for them and how we share the cost, to make sure they do
not have an unfair burden on them. We are now working on the
third phase of the opening school facilities programme to meet
those needs. This phase will look at consistency in the school
system and how to connect schools to national and local sporting
activities and providers, as well as making sure that children
get access to extra-curricular activities, whether at school or
local sports clubs.
(GP)
The Minister referred to the importance of making use of existing
systems and spaces. He may be aware that 80% of public space in
London is made up of streets, a figure that is reflected in many
other cities around the country. He may be aware of the play
streets scheme, whereby neighbours get together and close streets
to allow children to play out in them—and adults to get together
and mix. There is also the school streets scheme. As part of
Learn with the Lords, I recently visited Challney boys’ school in
Luton. It is desperate to get a school street outside it so that
pupils can walk and cycle to school more often. Should we not
ensure that those streets are far more often spaces where
children can take physical exercise and play informal sports?
(Con)
The noble Baroness makes a very important point about the use of
streets. A number of countries do this across the world. I
remember going to Guyana as a young boy in 1976 and playing
cricket in the street. That was the culture of sport in those
days. There are also a number of existing playing fields and
facilities that we want to take advantage of, but I would be far
more interested in play streets. If the noble Baroness could
write to me or meet me to give me more details, I would be very
interested in learning more.
