Broadband: Social Tariffs

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Excerpts

Tuesday 31st January 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

As I have said, the industry is responding, with a number of operators providing low-cost social tariffs for people who want them. We think that a voluntary, market-led approach is the quickest way to provide fast internet connection to everybody, and we are very grateful for the industry’s co-operation.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, can the Minister come back to the question raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Altmann? It appears that some government departments will accept payments only if they are made online, thereby excluding millions of people from engagement. What are the Government going to do to be more inclusive?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, I will discuss that with colleagues in other departments who are responsible for that particular aspect.

Youth Sport Trust Report

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Excerpts

Tuesday 11th October 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that during the Covid pandemic, it is estimated that over 200 swimming pools were closed, never to reopen? Given the impact on young people’s ability to swim, can he assure me that in the latest round of cuts that the Treasury is insisting that Whitehall embark upon to enable the ludicrous mini-Budget to develop he will protect children’s sports facilities?

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

My department is having a number of conversations, particularly on the issue that the noble Lord raises, but also on understanding the challenges of rising energy prices and those that the sector faces. In September, the Government announced an energy bill relief scheme offering support, and during the pandemic the Government prioritised physical activity, providing £1 billion of financial support to sport and leisure. We will continue to review that to make sure that we are targeting that support as effectively as possible.

English Football: Independent Regulator

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Excerpts

Monday 25th April 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

I cannot speak for the Lords spiritual, but I know that their prayers will be ecumenically directed. The noble Lord makes an important point. As with the application of the review to other sports, there are lessons to be learned for football internationally and elsewhere in the United Kingdom. We are discussing this with individual teams and with sports bodies.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that one of the problems with the Football League is that it never seems to have enough resources to conduct a proper fitness test on prospective owners and directors of football clubs? I realise that the Statement is yet to come. Is this issue being taken seriously enough to ensure that the regulator will have sufficient resources to do an effective job?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

As I said, the current tests for owners and directors do not go far enough in assessing the suitability for ownership of clubs. My honourable friend will set out more detail, following the recommendations made in Tracey Crouch’s fan-led review. I hope that the noble Lord will forgive me if I do not anticipate what he will say.

Loneliness Strategy

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd March 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

I am very mindful that my right honourable friend the Chancellor has, in another place, been setting out the Spring Statement, the details of which I have not yet had a chance to acquaint myself with. From what I have seen, I know he is addressing the pressures on public finances and household budgets, including the point made by the right reverend Prelate.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, I wish to follow up the question from the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, on people with ME, and to include other long-term conditions. Does the Minister think it possible to give guidance to the new integrated care systems in the health service to develop a local strategy to deal specifically with the issue of loneliness for people with long-term conditions?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

Local councils, local health systems and voluntary and community sector organisations all have important roles to play in tackling loneliness. I will follow up the point made by the noble Lord, as I will the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, in relation to health.

Football Governance

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd March 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

I advise the noble Lord to await the Government’s response to the fan-led review, in which we will deal with all its recommendations.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, will the noble Lord come back to ground ownership and the problems that have occurred when grounds have been sold off? The review recommended a golden share to be held by a community benefit society—in other words, supporters of the club—to have a veto, essentially, over such ground share sales in the future. Are the Government sympathetic to that?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

I am afraid I cannot anticipate all the areas of the review to which we must respond, but I repeat that football has clearly proven unable in the past to reform itself and deliver the changes needed. It is clear that current oversight of the game is not up to solving the structural challenges and that action must be taken. That is why we welcome the review and will respond to it in detail.

Racism in English Cricket

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Excerpts

Wednesday 26th January 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

Like my noble friend, I was impressed by the summary given by the noble Lord, Lord Patel of Bradford, of the work that he has undertaken since he became the chairman of Yorkshire County Cricket Club nine weeks ago. He outlined the many actions that are being taken, and I agree that these will have a wider application for other cricket clubs and other sports.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, has the Minister seen the reports that many county cricket clubs charge huge amounts of money for young players who have been identified as having particular skills to go into training programmes? He will know that there is a concern at the higher reaches of cricket that there is a dominance by pupils from public schools. Does he not think that the ECB needs to take action to make sure that these training programmes are open to everyone?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

The noble Lord, Lord Hunt, is right: there are many barriers which hold people back, and the Government are working with Sport England and other agencies to dismantle those barriers and make sure that everybody has the opportunity to participate in sport, whoever they are and wherever they come from. There is obviously work for the ECB to do, and lessons are being learnt in Yorkshire at the moment, but the noble Lord is right that these barriers go beyond matters of race.

Sport: Transgender Inclusion

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Excerpts

Tuesday 9th November 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

I strongly agree with the noble Lord and I am pleased to say that the sports councils’ work has followed that approach. The intention of their guidance is to encourage sports to think in innovative ways to ensure that nobody is left out. I am mindful that these exchanges will be followed by many people affected on a personal level, so I want everyone to hear very clearly that we want everybody to have every opportunity to enjoy, compete in and excel in sport.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, does not that mean that we should ensure that there is a way to have full, open and tolerant debate; and that those organisations that proselytise a “no debate” concept and accuse people who raise legitimate issues of being transphobic should desist? The Minister cannot instruct sports organisations what to do; he can encourage them to have courage to take on board what is in this guidance.

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

Again, I agree with the noble Lord about the importance of tolerant debate, such as we have in your Lordships’ House. As the sports councils say in their guidance:

“We hope to see sports bodies across the UK engaging in the conversation in a respectful way and develop policies in this area which help facilitate access for everyone to participate.”


A number of governing bodies have already said what they will do in the light of it, and we encourage others to look at it as well.

Choirs: Restrictions

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Excerpts

Wednesday 30th June 2021 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to review the guidance restricting the performance of indoor amateur choirs to no more than six people.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Baroness Barran) (Con)]

My Lords, I know that the restrictions on singing are frustrating to large numbers of amateur choirs and performance groups across the country. Following the move to step 3 of the road map on 17 May, non-professional groups of up to six people can now sing indoors, while multiple groups of 30 can sing outdoors. We will continue to keep guidance and restrictions under review. Further details of step 4 will be set out as soon as possible.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, I declare an interest as a supporter patron of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, which has more than 400 adults in its various amateur choirs. I can see no specific evidence to support the restriction on choirs. Indoor choirs are limited to six people, whereas last night at Wembley 40,000 people were singing, and the night before at Wimbledon the court was covered and people were cheering to the rafters. That apparently is allowed but indoor choirs, which can exercise proper social distancing, are not allowed. This is nonsense. The Government should reverse it immediately.

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I am sure the noble Lord is aware that the events to which he refers are part of the events research programme, and particular public health measures are taken for all those attending. The evidence is clear that, sadly, singing increases the risks of transmission. Hence, we have the guidance we have been given.

Birmingham Commonwealth Games (Compensation for Enforcement Action) Regulations 2021

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Excerpts

Wednesday 30th June 2021 Grand Committee

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, I welcome the Minister’s statement and these regulations. Let us hope they do not have to be used, but certainly they are useful as a backstop.

In supporting the regulations, I say again how much I welcome the decision of the Commonwealth Games Federation to select Birmingham as the host city for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. I applaud the city’s ambitious and innovative vision. The Games will open up a whole host of opportunities, including cultural engagement, business, trade, volunteering, physical activity, jobs, skills, education and tourism. Of course, it is the sports programme that is at the heart of Games, which will feature many thrilling sports, with wheelchair basketball making its first appearance at the Commonwealth Games. For me, the inclusion of women’s cricket is a great joy. It will be the first ever fully integrated parasport competition, with the potential for more medals for women than men—a first for any major multisports event.

I am grateful to the Minister for updating us in a recent letter on the sustainability pledge made by the Games organising committee to deliver the first carbon-neutral Games, and which also covers environmental, social and economic outcomes aligned with the UN sustainable development goals.

Of course, there are challenges, the first of which is finance. The funding of the Games is complex and includes a substantial contribution from commercial revenues. The budget is split, 75% and 25%, between central government and Birmingham City Council and several key partners. Additional commercial revenue will be raised by the organising committee and the Commonwealth Games Federation partnership through ticket sales, sponsorship, merchandising and the sale of broadcast rights. None the less, this is a major challenge, particularly because the finances of Birmingham City Council are themselves under huge pressure. Can the Minister update me on any budgetary issues, including whether there are any financial overruns and the projected commercial income? Can the Minister also confirm that the venues being built or adapted for the Games will all be ready on time?

It is important that the legacy includes a commitment to encourage sport and physical activity among young people. I am particularly interested in what contribution the Games legacy can make to the future health and well-being of people in Birmingham and the West Midlands—we certainly need to. The improvement in life expectancy in Birmingham has levelled off in recent years. It has one of the highest levels of obesity among year 6 pupils in England. Indeed, NHS Digital figures show that more than one in four children who finished primary school in Birmingham in 2017-18 were obese, of whom 6.5% were severely obese. Additionally, 15% of year 6 children were overweight. That means that 41% of Birmingham’s youngsters are unhealthily overweight when they finish primary school, so the opportunity a legacy offers in helping to change this is too good to miss.

Going back to the London Olympics Games, we know that hopes were raised that they would increase sports participation. Jeremy Hunt, then Secretary of State, said that the Games were an extraordinary chance to re-invigorate the country’s sporting habits. Despite an extraordinary Games, the evidence is that there has been virtually no change in participation rates in the 16 to 25 year-old group. I hope that Birmingham can learn and do better. Will the Minister say something about that?

Grassroots Sporting Fixtures and Facilities

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Excerpts

Monday 11th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

As my noble friend knows, I cannot give her an exact date on which those sports will reopen, but in recognition of the importance of physical activity, outdoor exercise within households, or with one other person from another household or your support bubble, is still permitted once a day in your local area. That obviously includes things such as walking, running, swimming and cycling.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, picking up the theme of the Question from the noble Baroness, Lady Morgan, before the pandemic, 20% of children aged between 10 and 11 were obese, with a further 14% overweight, and only 46% of children and young people were meeting the recommended level of physical activity. The CEO of ukactive has reported that during the previous lockdowns physical activity levels fell sharply and significantly. The Minister has said today that it is a priority to get these sports facilities open when they can, but is there also a concerted plan, with resources, to boost and increase physical activity among young people?

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The noble Lord is right to highlight the importance of physical activity among young people. We are grateful for all the action of Sport England and others to encourage that, both at the moment and, I am sure, well into the future. The noble Lord may be pleased to hear that, last week, specific clarification was made about the status of youth workers, many of whom will be carrying out sporting activities with particularly vulnerable young people; they have been confirmed as key workers.