Grassroots Club Rugby:
Recovery after Covid-19
(Ilford South) (Lab)
6. What recent steps her Department has taken with the Rugby
Football Union to help support the recovery of grassroots club
rugby following the covid-19 outbreak.(903257)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture,
Media and Sport ()
Supporting grassroots sports is a key Government priority. It
brings communities together and makes people happier and
healthier. Through the sport survival package, rugby union
received £160 million to ensure the survival of clubs at all
levels during the pandemic. That was specifically designed to
help those grassroots clubs. In addition, Sport
England offered £23 million to support rugby union
during the pandemic.
Local rugby clubs play a vital role in encouraging a healthy
lifestyle, bring communities together and provide young people
with an opportunity to develop friendships and skills for life.
As the Minister knows, the pandemic has proved ruinous for many
clubs, with clubs local to me in Ilford, Dagenham, Barking,
Romford, Chingford and Wanstead all facing either closure or
significant difficulties. The president of my local club, Ilford
Wanderers, told me:
“We aren’t just losing players; we losing wholesale teams.”
That has been compounded this week by the controversial changes
to the amateur games rules for rugby union regarding safe tackle
height, announced without consultation. I seek the Minister’s
assurance that funding will be ongoing and he will work with the
Rugby Football Union on financial support to save those community
clubs and ensure that this fantastic game, in all its forms,
continues for many generations to come.
The hon. Gentleman is right to highlight the significant
contribution that rugby union makes in many of our communities. I
pay tribute to the many thousands of volunteers who give up their
time to ensure that these clubs survive. We work constantly with
the RFU and Sport
England to ensure that the best assessment is made
of support that is needed for the sector. I will continue to do
that and raise the points that he highlighted.
(North West Leicestershire)
(Ind)
I welcome the news that more than 200 grassroots rugby, football
and boxing organisations across England and Wales are to be
awarded £5 million to put on local schemes. Does the Minister
agree that, apart from the obvious health and wellbeing benefits,
these schemes help to keep vulnerable young people out of
antisocial behaviour and crime?
My hon. Friend is right. The power of sport is significant and
far-reaching: it helps with health and wellbeing and, as he
rightly points out, can be a great avenue for helping people not
to be tempted into areas of crime. That is why grassroots sports
will be a key focus of our sports strategy.
(Gower) (Lab)
We all love the game of rugby football union. In Wales this week,
the Welsh Rugby Union was accused of sexism and misogyny. It is
shocking and, unfortunately, reaches throughout the culture of
Welsh rugby. Will the Minister and the Secretary of State reach
out to the Welsh Government to provide their support and give the
right guidance on setting up an independent regulator?
Sexism, misogyny or any prejudice has no place whatever in any of
our sports. As the hon. Member knows, sport is devolved, but I
will reach out to colleagues in the Welsh Government and have a
discussion about that. I am absolutely clear that our sports
strategy will have inclusion at its heart.
(Preseli Pembrokeshire)
(Con)
First, may I congratulate you, Mr Speaker, on last month becoming
the new president of the Rugby Football League? I suspect that
your form of the game will see a big influx of new players as the
English Rugby Football Union seeks to rewrite the rules of the
union game.
Does the Minister agree that, given 75,000 players, coaches and
supporters of the union game have already signed a petition
rejecting the new rules, the RFU should think again, work more
collaboratively with the grassroots across all the home nations
and ensure that all steps taken to improve player safety are
consistent and workable and do not lead to a player exodus?
My right hon. Friend raises an important point that a number of
colleagues have already raised with me. As he will be aware,
national governing bodies such as the Rugby Football Union are
responsible for the regulation of their sport and ensuring that
appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from
harm and serious injuries. I can assure him that we continue to
work with sports bodies, including the RFU, to ensure that player
safety is prioritised, and I will certainly raise the points he
has raised in my next meeting with it.
