Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the time it takes for charities to access government support provided in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government has announced a broad package of support for businesses and charities to ensure that organisations that need support are able to access it. This includes the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and the option to defer VAT payments due between 20 March and 30 June 2020.
In addition, on 8 April the Government announced a £750 million funding package to ensure charities providing frontline services to vulnerable people affected by the pandemic can continue their vital work. We have been focused on distributing these funds as quickly as possible, but balanced with ensuring it reaches those that need it most. Of this, £360 million was to be allocated to individual government departments based on evidence of service need. This funding has now been allocated to government departments, who are using a range of approaches to award funding either directly to charities or through bidding processes. All funding must be spent by the end of October 2020.
£370 million has been allocated to support small and medium sized charities during the pandemic. This includes £60 million funding through the Barnett formula to support charities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Of the £310 million to be spent in England, £200 million has been distributed to the National Lottery Community Fund to award grants through the Coronavirus Community Support Fund. Applications for this fund opened on 22 May and the National Lottery Community Fund is assessing applications in the order in which they are received, in order to award grants as quickly as possible.
In addition, the Government is matching public donations to the BBC Big Night In. The first £20 million of match funding went to the National Emergencies Trust. The 47 local Community Foundations across the UK, including Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland will then provide grant funding to eligible organisations within their community.
Further information on available funds and how to apply for them can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/financial-support-for-voluntary-community-and-social-enterprise-vcse-organisations-to-respond-to-coronavirus-covid-19.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to make a range of physical activities, including dance and sport, available for all age groups in society.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Physical activity is crucial to the health and wellbeing of the nation and, as we set out in Government’s sports strategy Sporting Future, it is important for people of all ages to be active. The national sports council Sport England is responsible for supporting sport and physical activity organisations to promote health and fitness, including dance.
The latest example of this has been the Join the Movement campaign, which has provided tips, advice and guidance on how people can get or stay active in and around the home during lockdown. Sport England have also worked with Public Health England to develop the Active At Home booklet to help older adults without access to the internet keep up their activity levels while isolating.
Sport England have previously developed the We Are Undefeatable campaign, which encourages people with a range of long term health conditions to get active, and the This Girl Can campaign which encourages women to get active regardless of their shape, size and ability.
Sport England’s funding programmes such as their Active Ageing Fund and their Families Fund are helping more people to play sport and take part in physical activity.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to publish guidance, including in easy read format, for the charity, voluntary and amateur sports sectors in relation to the support available to them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information on the current Covid-19 pandemic including the support available to the charity, voluntary and amateur sports sectors can be found on Gov.uk.
Further detail on the support available to sports clubs, including the Sport England Community Emergency Fund, can be found on the Sport England website.
Accessible formats of the guidance are available on request via the Gov.UK website including versions for use with assistive technology.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to publish guidance on the use of changing rooms during competitive sporting fixtures, in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government has published guidance on gov.uk allowing the phased return of sport and recreation in line with the latest medical guidance. This guidance can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-phased-return-of-sport-and-recreation. A pdf of the web page is attached.
The current guidance for recreational settings states that indoor facilities, apart from toilets and through-ways should be kept closed.
The guidance also includes a set of recommended minimum practice for Step One of ‘return to training’ (RTT) guidance for elite athletes. This guidance will assist elite sport organisations to deliver a safe return to organised training for its athletes and staff, while adhering to social distancing guidelines. Step Two guidance on a return to close contact training, and Step Three of parameters of Behind Closed Doors competition, will follow in due course.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to publish guidance on a sport-by-sport basis in relation to the resumption of competitive sport following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government has published guidance on gov.uk allowing the phased return of sport and recreation in line with the latest medical guidance. This guidance can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-phased-return-of-sport-and-recreation. A pdf of the web page is attached.
The guidance includes a set of recommended minimum practice for Step One of ‘return to training’ (RTT) guidance for elite athletes. This guidance will assist elite sport organisations to deliver a safe return to organised training for its athletes and staff, while adhering to social distancing guidelines. Step Two guidance on a return to close contact training, and Step Three of parameters of Behind Closed Doors competition, will follow in due course.
Whilst the Government does not plan to publish sport-specific guidance, the national governing bodies of sports are producing guidance for the safe, phased return of play, in line with the overarching guidance that the Government has produced.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish a list of supported schemes made available during the COVID-19 lockdown, whether mandatory or discretionary in nature, to assist such bodies as community amateur and other amateur sports clubs and groups that own or maintain their own facilities.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government has announced an unprecedented support package for sports clubs and other organisations affected by Covid-19, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Business Interruption loan scheme.
Full details of Government guidance and support for organisations including community amateur sports clubs can be found on the Gov.UK website.
In addition, Sport England have also announced a support package of £210m for the grassroots sport sector. Full details can be found on their website.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to produce a guide for community amateur sports clubs and other amateur sports clubs about how to access any support schemes run by central or local government, or endorsed by them.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government has announced an unprecedented support package for sports clubs and other organisations affected by Covid-19, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Business Interruption loan scheme.
Full details of Government guidance and support for organisations including community amateur sports clubs can be found on the Gov.UK website.
In addition, Sport England have also announced a support package of £210m for the grassroots sport sector. Full details can be found on their website.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what comprehensive guidance they have provided to voluntary and sporting organisations which operate buildings and other facilities in respect of outlining the support available throughout the COVID-19 pandemic; and where any such guidance is published.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government has announced a number of support packages for voluntary and sporting organisations, who have been impacted by Covid-19.
For sport, this includes Sport England’s announcement of a £195m package of support for the grassroots sport and physical activity sector, including a £20m Community Emergency Fund (CEF) to support those organisations that are suffering from immediate financial hardship. The CEF includes support for organisations which operate facilities and which require specific support to meet fixed and other costs relating to buildings. Further details are available here: https://www.sportengland.org/how-we-can-help/coronavirus/coronavirus-funding-and-flexibility.
For the voluntary sector, this has included the Government distributing £310m via the National Lottery Community Fund to support voluntary organisations most affected by Covid-19 as part of the wider £750m Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise funding package announced by the Chancellor.
These packages are in addition to the wider HM Treasury support packages, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Business Interruption loan, both of which the sport and voluntary sector are eligible for. Full details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus.