Sir Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab) (Urgent Question): To ask the
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a
statement on UK concussion guidelines for grassroots sport. The
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
(Stuart Andrew) The UK concussion guidelines for grassroots sport
mark an important step in making sport safer for millions of
people. Taking part in sport has many benefits. It is great for
people’s...Request free trial
Sir (Rhondda) (Lab)
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture,
Media and Sport if she will make a statement on UK concussion
guidelines for grassroots sport.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and
Sport ()
The UK concussion guidelines for grassroots sport mark an
important step in making sport safer for millions of people.
Taking part in sport has many benefits. It is great for people’s
physical and mental health, and it brings friends and communities
together. We want to protect that and encourage more people to
enjoy being active and play a sport.
As I set out in my written ministerial statement published today,
the vast majority of people participate in sport safely, but head
injuries do occur. We want to reduce the risks associated with
concussion and make sport even safer for everyone. Research has
shown the importance of fast, effective, tailored treatment, and
we are issuing this expert guidance to help people spot and treat
head injuries. Our guidance is a tool for the thousands of people
who enjoy sport at the grassroots level. Whether it is used in a
local leisure centre during a swimming lesson or in the second
innings of a village cricket match, this landmark guidance has
the chance to make a real difference to people across the UK.
The guidance was developed by a world-leading panel of medical
experts, and I am grateful to the whole expert group for giving
so freely of their time while drafting the guidance. I pay
tribute to the efforts of the group and to the valuable input of
the Sport and Recreation Alliance, which has worked tirelessly to
produce this excellent guidance. All that builds on the
world-leading work conducted in Scotland by raising UK-wide
awareness of the issue of concussion and making sport safer for
all who take part. Fundamental to the guidance is an overriding
simple message:
“If in doubt, sit them out.”
Finally, this guidance is an essential but first step. The
Government remain committed to working with the industry to help
to make sport safe and enjoyable for everybody, including on
technological solutions and the prevention of concussion.
Mr Speaker
I call Sir .
Sir
Thank you, Mr Speaker, and thank you for granting this urgent
question.
Sport is indeed good for us, but as we have seen from countless
footballing legends and rugby league and union players, repeated
sporting concussions and sub-concussive events can lead to
depression, anxiety, suicide and early-onset dementia. I have
seen tough men weep and heard from sporting stars with no memory
of their victories and triumphs. I am therefore delighted that
the Government have worked hard to produce these guidelines. I
pay tribute to Professor James Calder and the team, to the
Minister and to Dawn Astle, Alix Popham, Steve Thompson and
, who have campaigned for all
this to happen.
However, I do have some concerns. These guidelines rightly
say:
“If in doubt, sit them out.”
That is what to do after a brain injury on the pitch, but what
are we going to do about preventing brain injuries in the first
place? Should we not look at further limiting youngsters heading
the ball in football and curtailing rugby training sessions that
include tackling? Why is there no reference to multiple
concussions? Surely a young person who suffers two or more
concussions in a 12-month period must be referred to a
specialist. Why is there no recommendation that medical approval
be sought before a return to play? That is weaker than the
Scottish guidance. How do the guidelines align with existing
ones, such as in boxing and equestrianism?
What about elite sport? The sporting bodies have shown a shocking
disregard for the health of their own professional players for
far too many years. If they do not act, should we not legislate
for a duty of brain injury care? How can we ensure we get
reliable statistics on brain injury in sport when nearly one in
five rugby league players say that they deliberately did not
report a concussion last year lest they be not allowed to
play?
How do we get schools to understand concussion and brain injury
better? Would it not be better to say “brain injury” rather than
“concussion” because that is what it actually is? How can we
ensure far greater co-ordination of research into concussion in
sport, for instance through saliva tests and new generations of
mouthguards, and especially into concussion in women’s sport? Are
we sure that we have enough rehabilitation services for those
with more serious injuries?
Brain injury is a hidden epidemic. We cannot normally see it. Let
us do everything we can to prevent brain injuries, spot them,
understand them, treat them and give people back the best
possible quality of life.
First of all, I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on all his work
in this area. He has been a passionate advocate and campaigner,
and I welcome all the further work that he is doing with those
across Government. He is right to mention many campaigners who
have been working hard in this area.
Prevention is important, which is why the guidelines will go out
through all sports’ national governing bodies. We want them to go
out to schools, so that teachers and medical professionals all
have them. The advice in the guidance has been led by senior
medical experts—I am not a medical expert so I am relying on
their advice. I note the hon. Gentleman’s point that it perhaps
looks weaker than Scotland’s guidance, but the professor involved
with the Scottish guidelines has been instrumental in these, and
has learned a lot of lessons from their publication.
The hon. Gentleman has raised with me the terminology of “brain
injury” or “concussion”. The reason “concussion has been used is
that it is more broadly understood among the grassroots
organisations. We are trying to reach millions of people through
the guidelines. I assure him that they are just the first step,
as I said in my opening comments. I will continue to raise this
issue with all the national governing bodies—I had a summit with
them just last week to talk about it. We will ensure that sport
is held to account to look after all players who take part.
Mr Speaker
I call the acting Chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Committee.
(Ashford) (Con)
I welcome the introduction of the guidelines, and I would add the
Love of the Game campaign to the list of institutions that the
Minister paid tribute to. It has done a lot of work to raise the
profile of this important issue.
I urge the Minister to combine the guidelines and raising
awareness of the dangers of concussion with a continuous
education campaign from the Government and others to say that
sport is good for people, particularly young people. There is a
dangerous tendency among some parents to stop their children
taking up sport because they are worried about concussion. Of
course, we should be careful and do our best to prevent
concussion, but will the Minister assure me and the House that
the Government will do all they can to continue to encourage as
many boys and girls as possible to take up sport?
I thank the acting Chair and the whole of the Select Committee
for their input into this important area of work that we have
announced today. I add my thanks to Love of the Game. He is right
to raise continuous education. Sport and physical activity are
incredibly important. We will release our sports strategy very
soon, in which we will talk about how we want to raise activity
levels among all age groups, particularly the young.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Manchester, Withington)
(Lab)
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda (Sir ), who raised many important
issues. We want everyone to safely enjoy the benefits of
participating in grassroots sport. We agree on the pressing need
to address concussion and brain injuries, so we welcome the
guidance and the implementation of the action plan on concussion.
However, we want to ensure that it is as robust as possible, so I
have further questions for the Minister. Is he confident that the
guidance makes the risks of sustaining a concussion clear enough?
As my hon. Friend asked, why is the guidance limited to what
happens once someone is concussed, rather than giving better
advice on how to prevent concussions in the first place?
How does the Minister plan to monitor the adoption of the new
guidelines and their impact? In the light of the possible gaps
and points of contention in the guidance, and with new research
and evidence emerging, what is the capacity to amend the guidance
on an ongoing basis? Is the Minister aware of the ongoing inquiry
into concussion by the Parliament of Australia—a nation that
knows a thing or two about sport? Will he look at the outcomes of
that inquiry?
Finally, guidance on dealing with a concussion can be effective
only if the services that it signposts to can be accessed. Given
the crisis in the NHS overseen by this Government, is the
Minister confident that the current care and rehabilitation
provision for people with a concussion is adequate? I do not
think that he quite answered my hon. Friend’s question. Let us
get this right and keep grassroots sport safe.
I thank the hon. Gentleman for welcoming the guidance. Prevention
is important. It is up to each of the national governing bodies
to draw up plans, and in every meeting I have with those bodies I
will keep asking what they are doing in that area. We will ensure
that we monitor the success of the guidance. Just last week, we
were talking about how we will measure success and ensure the
messaging is delivered effectively.
If research suggests that we need to amend the guidance, then we
will amend it. We will keep up with the latest available medical
research and take evidence from all over the world. Indeed,
medical experts from around the world helped us to develop the
guidance.
On the provision of health services, I know that my right hon.
and hon. Friends at the Department of Health and Social Care are
taking the issue seriously, as part of a wider brain injury
strategy, and I am sure they will make announcements in due
course.
(South Holland and The Deepings)
(Con)
Brain injury blights thousands of lives each year. The Minister
is to be congratulated, as are his immediate predecessors, for
taking the issue more seriously than it has been taken by
Government for decades. Nevertheless, more needs to be done both
on preventative measures of the kind that have been raised
already and on aftercare. When concussion occurs, what happens 24
or 48 hours later, or later still, matters too. In developing the
next stage of the strategy, will the Minister recognise that this
is a matter of what happens before, during and after such an
event?
I know that my right hon. Friend is vice chair of the all-party
parliamentary group on acquired brain injury and takes a keen
interest in this area. I hope that the publication of the
guidelines shows how seriously we are taking the issue. We want
to ensure that the best possible information is available, and we
will liaise constantly with the research groups that have been
established, so that the guidelines will be updated if needs
be.
(Eltham) (Lab)
I pay tribute to all those who have campaigned tirelessly on this
issue, particularly my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda (Sir
). In order for the guidelines
to be embedded in grassroots sport, the issue needs to be taken
seriously at elite level, as that has an enormous influence on
what happens in grassroots sport. Will the Minister say whether
he is satisfied with how the governing bodies of elite sports,
such as rugby union, rugby league and football, are treating the
issue? What are the Government doing to ensure that they take the
guidelines on board?
Obviously, the guidelines are a baseline that we would expect all
the national governing bodies to use, but then to go even
further. Many of them have professional medical support, but they
should still take the issue very seriously because, as the hon.
Gentleman rightly points out, they are role models for many
organisations. In my meetings with each of them, I will ensure
that I keep raising that point.
(Preseli Pembrokeshire)
(Con)
Nothing will instil confidence in the important message of “If in
doubt, sit them out” more than for grassroots players,
particularly youngsters, to see elite-level players adhering to
the strictest head injury protocols. Sadly, we have seen too many
coaches, referees, on-pitch medics and game administrators
turning a blind eye, cutting corners and ignoring the protocols.
Will the Minister say a bit more about what he is going to do
with the governing bodies at professional level to ensure that
there is consistency throughout sports, from amateur and
grassroots levels right to the very top?
The very publication of the guidelines shows how seriously we are
taking the issue. We felt that it was really important to get
guidelines out to grassroots sports, given how many millions of
people are taking part in them. My right hon. Friend is right
that the elite levels of sports also need to lead the way. Good
work is going on, but I accept that more needs to be done. I can
assure him that I will take the messages from the House today to
the governing bodies in my further meetings with them.
(Gower) (Lab)
I welcome these changes, and I congratulate my hon. Friend the
Member for Rhondda (Sir ) on the urgent question, but
these changes relate to the grassroots. We know that elite rugby
union players such as my constituent Ryan Jones, a former Lion,
have early-onset dementia as a result of numerous subconcussions.
Can the Minister update us on the work to develop technology that
can help to mitigate concussions in sport—such as the player
brain scan trials in rugby union clubs last summer —as promised
in the concussion action plan?
We have established a research group that is looking into the
technology that is available, and any information that we receive
from its members will help us to develop this important work
further. The safety of everyone taking part in sport is a
priority for the Government. National governing bodies are
independent bodies, but, as I said a moment ago, I will certainly
continue to put the pressure on.
(Rugby) (Con)
In the year that marks the 200th anniversary of a game that
started in my constituency and is now played around the world,
will the Minister welcome the input of the English rugby union
authorities in setting the guidelines, and also their commitment
to ensuring that improvements in the game’s protocols are
implemented in time for the start of next season in
September?
It was a pleasure to join my hon. Friend in his constituency to
celebrate this important year for rugby, and yes, I do welcome
the work that has been done. I shall be interested to hear how it
is developing when I have my next meeting with the Rugby Football
Union.
(Glasgow North West)
(SNP)
I am a gymnastics coach at a local club in Glasgow in whatever
spare time I can manage. The message “If in doubt, sit them out”
is very welcome—it is a good, strong message—but unfortunately
there is still a lack of understanding among the public, parents,
participants and coaches of the damage that concussion can cause.
The Minister does not want to talk about brain injury, but may I
gently suggest to him that there has to be a better link between
the words “concussion” and “brain injury” if we are to take this
issue more seriously?
Let me first thank the hon. Lady for all the work that she does
with the gymnastics club. As she says, it is important for the
guidelines to be available to grassroots sport throughout the
country, and it has been good to work with the devolved
Administrations in producing them. Of course, further work is
being done across Government to examine brain injuries, which
will be linked to much of the work that we have already done on
the guidelines. We wanted the guidelines to be as effective as
possible, given that there is so much grassroots sport, and
ensuring that the information gets out there and is widely
understood will be a priority for the Department.
Dame (Gosport) (Con)
I, too, warmly welcome the guidelines, which are an important
step forward. I also pay tribute to those at the Headway charity
in my constituency, who do fantastic work in supporting people
with acquired brain injuries. They are always at pains to explain
to me how the impacts of concussion can vary because everyone is
different, and the way in which the side effects can fluctuate:
they can come and go. What more can be done, moving forward from
the guidelines, to ensure that the right training is in place for
coaches and match officials so that the identification of
concussion, and action on it, always take place very swiftly?
My hon. Friend is right, and that is the exact purpose of the
guidelines: they are for coaches, referees and teachers. Our key
priority will be ensuring that everyone has this information, so
that everyone knows how to recognise the symptoms of concussion
and how to deal with it. As my hon. Friend says, each person is
different, so understanding how concussion should be treated to
ensure a safe return to work and further sport is a priority.
(Putney) (Lab)
I recently visited the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, which
is in my constituency, with my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda
(Sir ). We heard about the shortage
of beds for the rehabilitation of people who have had a brain
injury, and about what is often too long a wait for the important
early treatment, which is then a false economy. What assessment
has the Minister made, along with Health Ministers, of the
availability of rehabilitation beds and the need for more funding
to meet the current requirement?
The Department and I work closely with colleagues in the
Department of Health and Social Care. I understand the point that
the hon. Lady is making. We are making this a priority in terms
of safety in sport, and I will certainly raise the issue in my
next meeting with that Department.
(Moray) (Con)
I welcome the work that is being done in Scotland and across the
UK. I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’
Financial Interests as a football referee with the Scottish FA.
On that subject, how does the Minister envisage this guidance and
any updates being disseminated to the match officials, referees
and umpires who officiate at all age groups and all levels, and
who are often the closest to incidents that happen on the field
of play or the pitch?
My hon. Friend is right to raise that issue. We are working
incredibly hard on this. As I have said, we held a summit just
last week with national governing bodies and all interested
parties to ensure that this information gets out there. It is not
just for one section of society; it is for everybody. We want
everybody to understand and raise awareness of the issues that
concussion can bring and, importantly, of how to treat it when it
has been identified. We will continue to monitor the
effectiveness of the distribution of that information, and if we
need to look at another way of doing it, we will of course do
so.
(Slough) (Lab)
This new guidance is a welcome step in helping to make sport
safer, but grassroots sports often do not have doctors or medics
on hand to help players who have suffered concussion, so what
steps is the Minister taking to ensure that the correct level of
training is there for coaches and others to identify and advise
on concussion?
That is precisely why we have published these guidelines. has said:
“These guidelines help players, referees, schools, parents and
others balance the substantial health and social benefits and
enjoyment from taking part in sport with minimising the rare but
serious and potentially lifelong effects of concussion.”
We are providing easy-to-read guidance for all those people who
are doing great work out there, so that they know exactly how to
deal with the issue, should it occur.
(Bracknell) (Con)
I watch a lot of grassroots sport, particularly football and
rugby, so I welcome the guidelines today. Does the Minister agree
that, as risks vary between the sports, the sporting governing
bodies are the best placed to regulate this, and also that as
part of the review we need to look at the medical cover that is
routinely available at these events?
As I say, this is a baseline of guidance and my hon. Friend is
absolutely right to say that each sport will have its own
individual needs. That is why it is right that the independent
national governing bodies should take this guidance and build on
it for the safety of all those involved.
(Caithness, Sutherland and
Easter Ross) (LD)
I welcome the guidelines and compliment the Government on their
thoughtful approach, including talking to the devolved
Administrations, which is most welcome. There is, however, a bit
of a problem. If there is a suspected case of concussion and some
right-minded person calls NHS 111, there could be a very long
delay before that call is answered. I understand that within the
last 12 months, 3.6 million calls were abandoned. We have an
issue here, so can the Minister assure me that there will be
discussions with the Department of Health and Social Care about
this particular aspect?
Yes, absolutely. This is obviously an important area of work. The
running of NHS 111 is not within my remit, but that close working
relationship with colleagues in the Department of Health and
Social Care will be key to ensuring that the guidelines work
effectively, so I will happily raise those issues.
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