James Daly (Bury North) (Con) May I begin by declaring an interest
as the proud joint chair of the all-party parliamentary group on
boxing? I believe that amateur boxing is a force for social good in
this country. The point and purpose of this debate is to highlight
not only the fabulous work that is going on in amateur boxing clubs
throughout the country, but the real social value that those clubs
add. Given the historic events that we have just been talking
about, it is...Request free trial
(Bury North) (Con)
May I begin by declaring an interest as the proud joint chair of
the all-party parliamentary group on boxing? I believe that
amateur boxing is a force for social good in this country. The
point and purpose of this debate is to highlight not only the
fabulous work that is going on in amateur boxing clubs throughout
the country, but the real social value that those clubs add.
Given the historic events that we have just been talking about,
it is somewhat appropriate that my journey in boxing began—even
though I was not yet born—on the cold night of 1 March 1948 at
the King’s hall in Belfast, where my great-uncle Gerald “Paddy”
Slavin became the heavyweight champion of Ireland. He held the
title for a number of years and was No. 8 in Europe. That
inspired my late dad, Barry: boxing was his main preoccupation,
interest and passion, apart from his family and his children. It
is for him that I stand here today.
Let me put the issue into a national context. It is right to
acknowledge the great work of England Boxing, which has helped me
to prepare for the debate. For those who do not know, it is the
national governing body for amateur boxing in England—one of the
only sporting governing bodies whose sole focus is separate from
the sport’s professional and unlicensed elements. England Boxing
has a new strategy in place that goes up to 2027. It has gone
through rapid change, but with the support of Sport England and
others, it now has an opportunity to grow and build in both
competitive and community delivery. It has a membership of more
than 1,000 clubs and 25,000 competitive boxers, coaches and
officials, with about 150,000 recreational boxers using the clubs
each week.
Alongside success in delivering medals at international
championships, the sport has a significant record of delivering
community programmes and activities in inner cities and local
communities. Boxing promotes social mobility and inclusion,
positive mental health and wellbeing, and economic growth, all of
which are key objectives as the country emerges from the pandemic
and tackles the cost of living crisis. The Government are
developing their new strategy for the sport, which we expect
later this year from the excellent Minister.
(Strangford) (DUP)
I commend the hon. Gentleman for securing the debate. He has a
very active local boxing club, and so do we in Newtownards. The
boxing club in my constituency has been helping young people to
train effectively and learn to channel their energy in an
appropriate and helpful manner. Does the hon. Gentleman agree
that clubs need to be funded to survive, in these days when their
financial outgoings are far outstripping their income? With the
health benefits that they provide, they deserve investment.
I thank the hon. Gentleman very much for that point, which is
salient to the matters that I will discuss. Funding is crucial to
the work that boxing clubs do in communities throughout every
single part of our United Kingdom. These are clubs run by
volunteers; they need financial support to do their work. I am
sure that if the hon. Gentleman had more time, he would talk in
detail about the work that his local club is doing to change
individual lives. There are not many sporting organisations,
professional or amateur, that can do what amateur boxing clubs
do.
Across Northern Ireland, boxing has done other things, too. It
has united the two communities —my hon. Friend the Member for
South Antrim () is an example. It is
interesting that in Northern Ireland the two things at which we
excel are boxing and shooting.
I thank the hon. Gentleman very much for those comments.
Grassroots and community boxing clubs offer so much more than a
space to train. Not only do they provide pastoral and educational
support to young people and adults in need, but they are a vital
promoter and generator of social mobility and inclusion. They
help to tackle criminal activity and antisocial behaviour and to
deliver improvements in physical and mental wellbeing. Research
published in 2020 by the sport industry research centre at
Sheffield Hallam University demonstrates the crucial point that
grassroots and community boxing clubs are well placed to support
such ambitions. Compared with other sports, boxing can reach deep
into diverse communities and appeal to men and women, young
people and adults.
(South Antrim) (DUP)
In a previous life, I became involved in boxing—although not
actually in the ring, so I thoroughly enjoyed it. In my
community, I have found that becoming involved in boxing steers
young people away from drugs and even alcohol, and in many cases
that discipline continues into adulthood. It is fantastic to see
what it can achieve.
Evidence in every town in the country points to exactly that,
which is why this is such an important issue. Boxing and social
mobility might not normally feature together in a debate, but
empirical evidence points to the value added and the way in which
people’s lives can be changed. Every conversation that we have in
this place should be about how individual policies and groups can
change individual lives. It is difficult to think of anything
that can change the lives of millions of people in one go, but
boxing is doing it for thousands throughout the country.
The sport itself is in a unique position in comparison with
others, in that 40% of clubs and members are located in the 20
most deprived parts of the country and 75% in the 50 most
deprived. Amateur boxing clubs are in the heart of the least
physically active communities in England. Sport England’s active
life survey found that people from lower socioeconomic
groups—LSEGs—were the most likely to be inactive, at 33%. I am
not commenting on how people live their lives; I am simply
identifying the places where amateur boxing clubs can make the
biggest difference. Given that the overwhelming majority of LSEG
communities are located in the most deprived areas, it is clear
how vital English boxing clubs are in supporting young people,
inclusion and social mobility.
(Warwick and Leamington)
(Lab)
I thank my hon. Friend—if I may call him that—for giving way, and
congratulate him on securing the debate. May I take up his point
about inclusion and social mobility? He may be interested to know
that the famous Turpin brothers, of whom he may have heard, came
from my constituency. It was Dick Turpin who broke what was then
called the colour bar, and his brother Randolph who won the first
world title for a black boxer. As a result of the breakthrough
achieved by those brothers, Asian and black sportspeople now
perform in national colours for our country.
What a wonderful thing to say! The hon. Gentleman and I probably
share this experience: my father told me all about Randolph
Turpin, and we would have conversations about Don Cockell, Brian
London and lots of other boxers. The hon. Gentleman has just
drawn attention to the wonderful story—the ultimate tale of
social mobility—of two brothers and what they achieved through
their passion and determination. I suggest that everyone should
read about them, because their achievements were immense.
It is due to the B2022 legacy fund that England Boxing has been
able to recruit a cohort of community apprentices from LSEG
communities, providing them with employment, education and the
opportunity to leave a legacy of their own through the projects
and events that they are actively delivering to support others in
their local areas. That work is also having a lasting impact on
clubs by enabling them to recruit volunteers, deliver engagement
events and provide social mobility to support those in the
greatest need.
We have already heard of some wonderful examples, but it is only
right for me to draw attention to further examples in my
constituency. The ultimate example is a man who, in my area, is
called legendary—and he truly is, given what he has achieved and
the impact that he has had on lives. Bury amateur boxing club was
established in 1936 by a man called “Pop” Jelley. His son Mick,
who has been given the freedom of the Metropolitan Borough of
Bury, was handed the reins about 60 years ago. Mick Jelley has
been at the centre of sporting activity in Bury for all those
years, finding ways of helping people who have come to him in the
most disadvantaging and challenging circumstances. Mr Jelley is a
true hero, and more heroes like him need to be identified and
celebrated in this place. Mick is the ultimate example of what
boxing can do. In 2017, he talked about his experiences,
saying:
“The satisfaction does not just come from watching the boys win.
It is about helping them grow as people. I have seen lads become
men, grow in confidence and find their place in the world. Some
have come to me as school drop-outs and gone on to become
millionaire businessmen.”
Stories such as these are reported throughout the country.
That very amateur boxing club has now merged with the Bury
Defence Academy. Since that partnership commenced, the sport in
my area and the boxing club have grown. The Bury Defence Academy
offers seven combat sports to its 400 weekly service users, and
the facility is a registered charity. The sport of boxing has
grown sharply in Bury, and at least 100 more people are involved
in it as a result of that partnership. It has opened up boxing to
all abilities and levels among boys, girls, men and women. The
BDA receives funding via violence reduction units. This is a
boxing club getting Home Office funding and funding from the
Ministry of Justice youth sport fund. These funds are being used
to combine sport with mentoring, volunteering, training
opportunities, anti-gang speeches and various other things.
(Watford) (Con)
In Watford, we have Anthony Joshua. I have not been fortunate
enough to meet him, but I know he has done an incredible level of
charity work to help the community. When I visited the NRG gym
recently, I talked to a person who works there in MMA—mixed
martial arts—fighting. He made the point that when young people
learn that they can make money from fighting, they no longer want
to fight for free on the streets. That was a really important
point about antisocial behaviour. I hope my hon. Friend will
agree that this is not only about tackling challenges in society
and helping with mental health, but about giving people a career
and an opportunity to have a ladder up.
I could not agree more. What has been proved to me in the three
and a bit years my hon. Friend and I have been here is that if we
are passionate advocates for our areas and if we live and breathe
and want to support positive outcomes for our local communities,
there are certain outlets for doing that. The boxing club that we
have been talking about is achieving that, and as an MP my hon.
Friend is certainly doing exactly the same thing. I congratulate
him on that.
I just want to make two further comments about Mick Jelley,
because this gets to the heart of what we are talking about. In a
2022 newspaper article, Mick said:
“I’ve been running a club for 60 years. There are lots of lads
who came to me and said, ‘But for you, I would be in Strangeways
hotel.’”
I think we know that that means a prison.
“What we do is try to keep lads on the straight and narrow and
teach them right from wrong. Some of them do go wrong, but then
we try to put them back on the straight path.”
What a philosophy for an organisation to have! It operates seven
days a week, 365 days a year.
The chair of the Bury Defence Academy is a man called Ifti Ahmed,
another wonderful human being. He says:
“A lot of lads come here. It is a kind of refuge for them. This
is a diversion that keeps them from a life of crime. We have got
to think at the earliest possible stage, how do we give these
guys a better life, better opportunities and something positive
to aspire to? A lot of the lads have no money in their pocket and
they struggle with employment, so they get involved in drugs and
gangs. If you nurture them, help them and get them fulfilling
their potential through something like combat sport, it’s
protecting them from everything else out there.”
That is what this is all about. If we fund these organisations
and these people who are doing it for nothing at the moment, just
think what we could do with a philosophy and a record of delivery
such as that.
There are many other clubs throughout the country, and I have to
mention one in particular. I was born and bred in Huddersfield,
and my father was born about 10 minutes away from the Rawthorpe
amateur boxing club there. It has developed critical hubs in the
local community by providing knife crime prevention workshops,
mother and toddler classes and boxercise sessions for OAPs,
alongside the traditional boxing outlets that it offers. There is
also the Vulcan amateur boxing club in Hull, which became a food
bank to feed those of its members in greatest need during
lockdown, thanks to funding from the Maverick Stars Trust. For
many young people, the boxing club is a sanctuary from the
problems they face elsewhere. It is a hub of support that instils
life lessons of discipline, respect and teamwork.
I make no apologies for repeating these things, as this work is
so important. Some 63% of amateur boxing clubs in England are
actively delivering community projects to try to use the sport as
a hook to grow social mobility. West Kingsdown amateur boxing
club in Kent has, for the past year, been delivering sessions in
partnership with Parkinson’s UK to help elderly people in the
area to be more active, to slow the progression of the disease,
thanks to funding from Sport England If the
NHS were delivering that, we would be overjoyed and singing its
praises. This is a boxing club.
During lockdown a friend of mine, Nonito Donaire, a professional
boxer known as “The Flash” who has won titles at many different
weights, recorded a video for me to send to Filipino nurses,
doctors and staff at Watford General Hospital to thank them for
their work. That shows the power of boxing and the power of sport
to cross borders to thank people who do not live where they were
brought up.
I completely agree.
The target audience of these projects are often underrepresented
in society: women and girls—69% of projects; lower socioeconomic
groups and crime prevention —67%; and disability and
inclusion—41%. As I am sure my hon. Friend the Minister will
mention, England Boxing is incredibly grateful for the funding it
receives from Sport England Through
the £0.5 million provided by the tackling inequalities fund and
the together fund, England Boxing has supported clubs to deliver
such projects over the past two years. Ethnically diverse
communities make up 22% of England Boxing’s members. I celebrate
and thank Sport England for that
funding, but I would like to highlight what work could be done if
there were the opportunity of more funding.
England Boxing and clubs throughout the country are waiting to
have their potential released so that they can do the work they
want to do in the community.
Funding is important. I have a very successful gym in my
constituency that the Turpins essentially got started. Ed Cleary,
who runs the gym, works across the community. We have two
terrific young girls, aged 12 and 13, who did phenomenally well
at the Europeans—Jaya Kalsi and Serena Mali. Another boxer, Lewis
Williams, won heavyweight gold at the Commonwealth games. The
important thing is that the gym is run by volunteers as a
not-for-profit. They do fantastic work across the community, but
they need support from the likes of Sport
England and I hope they get it.
I sincerely hope they do. We are in a world in which it is not
reasonable to demand unlimited resources for anything, but we are
always looking for projects that have a record of delivery. One
of the elixirs of politics is partnership between public sector
funding and voluntary or community organisations, because the
state sometimes does not have that anchor in the community.
Boxing clubs can deliver that.
I reiterate the hon. Gentleman’s excellent point. With more than
95% of all clubs being run by just two or three dedicated
volunteers with the time, skill and knowledge required to
capitalise on the unique and trusted position of these clubs to
support disadvantaged people who are often missed, there is
rarely time for these volunteer coaches to set up and deliver a
new project after opening the club for, on average, three
evenings a week and then sacrificing weekends and holidays to
transport and coach boxers at competitions and events. They also
maintain the gym, order new equipment and deal with club
administration, usually on their own and free of charge,
throughout the year.
This is all taking place in buildings that I think we would all
agree have substandard facilities, with club volunteers and
members alike simply making do as best they can to maintain their
gym. In many areas, they simply cannot find an appropriate place
to have a gym in the first place. Some 66% of clubs have written
rental or hire agreements in place, with fewer than half having
five years or more left on the agreement, meaning that nearly 700
amateur boxing clubs have either no security or tenure or less
than five years before they potentially find themselves without a
home. This is about sustainability. Sport
England England Boxing and club officers throughout the
country are looking to work proactively with government, local
councils and local mayoralties to find ways and solutions to make
sure that clubs have a sustainable future.
I would welcome a comment from the Minister on one other serious
issue. We have seen an explosion in white-collar boxing, but
England Boxing and the Government do not yet have the authority
or legislation in place that other nations have to prevent event
organisers from operating outside the rules and guidelines set by
the national governing bodies of amateur boxing. Does the
Department plan to tackle the issue of white-collar unlicensed
boxing, given that there is no accountability to the EB, the
national governing body or any specific legislation?
The other points I raise are about funding and facilities. I have
a tendency to want to say when we have good people answering
questions and I know that this Minister is a good man. I know
that he will support such projects in his area and throughout the
country. If there is a way to have a meeting to develop a
relationship between the Government and EB, I know that he will
be open to that and to finding ways to support the great work
that is being done.
Community boxing clubs should be front and centre of the
Government’s new sports strategy and levelling-up agenda. They
are a vital social mobility generator and play a unique role in
supporting mobility, inclusion and regeneration in constituencies
throughout the country. Along with EB and many others, I am
calling on the Government to fully harness the power of
grassroots and community boxing clubs in their new sports
strategy.
When we look at amateur sport throughout this country, be it
sport for younger people or for older people, we see that the
position of boxing clubs is unique. I have seen and worked with
some of the greatest amateur clubs and people involved in
football, cricket and all sorts of other sports, but the work
being done by these clubs is overlooked and ignored. It is a
wonderful thing to be able to stand here to celebrate every
amateur boxing club in the country, everybody who gives their
time and everyone who is working to improve the lives of just one
person or 10 or 20. I pay tribute to every person and the work of
England Boxing in trying to keep everyone safe while all this
good work is happening.
21:22:00
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and
Sport ()
I am pleased to respond to this debate and I am extremely
grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Bury North () for securing it. Given his
family’s heritage in boxing and the experience of boxing that the
hon. Member for South Antrim () has, I am anxious to get my
response to this debate right. The contributions made by Members
from across the Chamber this evening show the importance that the
House places on support for grassroots sport and, in particular,
boxing clubs. Members have rightly mentioned the many volunteers
and coaches who give up a tremendous amount of time. Many of our
sporting facilities would simply not exist if it were not for
people giving of their time and sometimes their own money in
support of the work they do. I was interested to hear about the
experiences of Mr Jelley. I was also pleased recently to visit a
boxing club in Bradford to see for myself the tremendous work
that was going on there, particularly with people who perhaps
felt that they were overlooked in terms of their opportunities. I
hope to talk more about that shortly.
All Members will agree that these clubs provide people, wherever
they may be in the country, with fantastic opportunities to lead
healthy lives, unlock their potential and make new friends in
life. The Government are committed to ensuring that everyone, no
matter what their background is, has the opportunity to
participate in sport. To make that possible, Sport
England has, since 2019, invested more than £12 million into
boxing, including £2.3 million-worth of support to boxing clubs
during the covid pandemic. Like all sports, boxing has the unique
ability to unite communities and connect people to those who
otherwise would never have crossed their paths. The examples that
we heard from colleagues from Northern Ireland particularly
articulated that well.
Big fight nights, such as December’s Tyson Fury v. Derek Chisora
or last October’s Savannah Marshall v. Claressa Shields, create
exciting moments of sporting theatre. But beyond the drama at the
elite level, sport has the ability to unlock potential by giving
young people essential leadership and resilience skills.
Throughout the debate, we have talked about the important
contribution that sport makes to social mobility. Social
mobility, just one of many areas in my portfolio, is one on which
I am particularly keen, because unlocking people’s potential
early on in life is a great thing for us to be able to do, and
makes sure that we get the very best out of young people for
their lives ahead.
Research commissioned by Sport England shows
that for every £1 invested in community sport there is a return
of £4 of wider social and economic value. That is why, as a
Government, we are committed to ensuring that everyone across the
country has access to high-quality provision. Last year’s active
lives survey shows that, between mid-November 2020 and
mid-November 2021, just over six in 10 adults—28 million—achieved
150 minutes or more of activity a week, with those from lower
socio-economic groups and deprived areas more likely to be less
active. We know that opportunities to participate in sport are
not equal across the country, which is why we are working
with Sport England to
provide direct support to the organisations and communities in
the areas that need it the most. Over the past 12 months, 19.2%
of Sport England’s local level investment has been for projects
in index of multiple deprivation 1 areas.
We recognise that we need to maintain progress in this area. This
year, as my hon. Friend alluded to, we will be publishing a new
sport strategy that will set out how we will continue to support
people, no matter who they are or where they are from, to enjoy
the benefits of participating in sport. For me personally,
dealing with issues around community inclusion, bringing
communities together and providing access to sport for women and
girls will feature heavily in that sport strategy. It will also
concentrate on addressing current disparities in participation,
supporting children and young people and ensuring that everyone
has the facilities that they need to be active. Helping to ensure
that those from hard-to-reach communities get opportunities to
play sport is something that matters to me personally, and I look
forward to working with Members across the House to make progress
in this area. I see grassroots sport as being key to achieving
many of those ambitions.
Sport, and in particular sports such as boxing, can also play an
important role in tackling youth violence, and can have a
transformative impact in prevention and early intervention work
with children at risk of offending behaviour. During the summer,
I spent a few weeks as the prisons Minister. On a visit to a
young offenders’ institute, I spoke to two individuals who,
sadly, did not have the opportunities to which we are alluding. I
saw that their lives now will be spent primarily in the criminal
justice system. These were two particularly articulate young
people and it struck me that, had they been given an alternative
path to go down, they might be contributing to our society,
saving our public purse a great deal of money.
Last November, the Ministry of Justice announced a £5 million
sport fund to deliver “Sport for Crime Prevention” programmes.
This funding will deliver grants to around 200 local projects,
which deliver targeted support for children considered to be
at-risk of entering the justice system due to identified need or
additional vulnerabilities. The projects funded through the
programme will build on some of the fantastic programmes that are
already being run by community boxing clubs across the country,
and I thank them for that. Schemes include the Clink to Club
programme, which provides transitional support and guidance on
the benefits of boxing and mental wellbeing for inmates at
Brixton and Bronzefield prisons before they are reintegrated in
their local communities and club.
A number of Members have also approached me about the impact of
energy bills on clubs, and my hon. Friend was right to mention
some of the facilities in which they operate. I recognise that
this is a challenging area for those clubs. That is why we are
working very closely with the sector to support it through the
current challenges, with boxing clubs eligible for support under
the energy bill relief scheme and its successor programme.
My hon. Friend referred to white-collar boxing. The safety,
wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is always
absolutely paramount. Although there are always risks associated
with participating in contact sport, it is important that robust
measures are in place to reduce the risk of major injuries and
health issues. We urge all boxing event organisers to work with
the sport’s governing bodies to ensure that robust competition
standards are in place to protect the safety of those who are
taking part. I understand the issues that my hon. Friend was
talking about. He asked for a meeting to discuss them further,
and I am more than happy to oblige him in that request.
(Cleethorpes) (Con)
I thank the Minister for his comments. May I draw his attention
to the Trin Centre in Cleethorpes, whose boxing academy is
overseen by Andy Cox and an excellent team of volunteers? To
return to the issue of sustainable funding for these
organisations, could the Minister give an assurance that he will
do all he can to ensure that it is much easier to get continuity
of funding once an initial grant has been established? These
organisations spend so much time having to complete forms and it
is a complicated process. If he could do anything to streamline
that process, that would be very welcome.
Before I was elected to this House, I worked in the charity
sector, so I know how complex many of those forms are and how
long it takes to fill them out. That is an area I am keen to look
at. I have regular meetings with bodies such as Sport England so I
will be sure to arrange to discuss that at my next meeting with
them.
Sport has real power to change lives, as evidenced particularly
well by colleagues across the House this evening, not just
through the benefits it can have on an individual’s health, but
through the role that local clubs can play in fostering
relationships and breaking down barriers in communities. That is
why this Government are committed to ensuring that everybody has
the opportunity to benefit from playing sport and physical
activity. We will continue to work to address the disparities in
opportunity, both through Sport England funding
and through our upcoming sport strategy, recognising the
important role that sport plays in many of our communities.
Finally, I recognise the huge contribution that many of these
clubs provide in the community activity to which my hon. Friend
the Member for Bury North alluded. During the pandemic, many
sporting clubs up and down the country really stood up and helped
the communities in which they are based. They make a huge
contribution and are more than just sporting facilities and
sporting clubs; they are intrinsically at the heart of the
communities in which they serve. For that I thank them, and I
also thank all hon. Members for their time in this important
debate.
Question put and agreed to.
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