The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture,
Media and Sport ():..Sport also has the power
to bring communities closer together through fostering social
cohesion. It gives young people essential leadership and teamwork
skills and has the power to tackle loneliness, reduce inequality,
increase youth engagement and tackle youth violence. It is an
essential part of a healthy and happy life. Research commissioned
by Sport England shows that for every £1
invested in community sport there is a return of £4 in wider
social economic value. That is why as a Government we are so
committed to ensuring that everyone across the country has access
to high-quality provision...
...We know that there are significant disparities across the
country, from Southall to Sunderland, and we are committed to
tackling them. I make clear that it is my personal priority to do
so. Through our arm’s length body, Sport
England, we invest more than £250 million of public and
lottery funding annually. Over the past 12 months, 19.2% of
Sport England’s local-level investment has been
for projects in indices of multiple deprivation or IMD 1 areas,
providing direct support to organisations and communities in the
areas that need it most...
(Manchester, Withington)
(Lab):...Labour believes that the Lionesses’ victory last year
should represent a turning point for women in sport, inspiring
more girls to play football in particular and sport in general.
According to Sport England, less than two thirds
of all schools currently offer equal access to girls’ football in
PE lessons. Labour will introduce an equal access guarantee for
school sport, instead of the current situation where girls can be
taught “comparable” sporting activities, which reinforces
traditional barriers and stereotypes for girls and women. We have
to let children and young people explore a range of sports from a
young age...
(Stoke-on-Trent North)
(Con):...I just want to make a brief point on community
facilities. My frustration in the experience with Kidsgrove
Sports Centre was that because we wanted to refurbish an existing
building, Sport England was willing only to put
in about £150,000. Had we tried to find a new site, we could have
got £12 million for a brand-new facility; but we managed to build
one for £7 million. Will the Minister engage with the sports
Minister about how Sport England could be
smarter in using taxpayers’ money more wisely to invest in
community facilities and refurbish where we can, rather than
spending more money by building new ones?
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