Lord Moynihan

There are several government-funded schemes available to help support the installation of energy efficiency measures for fuel poor households. The low-income element of the £1.5bn Green Homes Grant vouchers scheme is open to homeowners in receipt of certain benefits. Installation of measures under the scheme will be covered up to a maximum of £10,000. This extra support for low-income households, is likely to help those who are unable to keep their homes warm at a reasonable cost, and who are unable to cover the cost of energy efficiency upgrades to their home.

The Green Home Grant Local Authority Delivery (LAD) Scheme provides an additional £500 million focused on owner occupiers, those in the private and social rented sector, with a household income of under £30,000. The primary purpose of LAD is to raise the energy efficiency rating of low income and low EPC rated homes (rated D, E, F or G), including those living in the worst quality off-gas grid homes.

In addition, the current Energy Company Obligation continues until March 2022. It requires large energy suppliers to deliver energy efficiency measures to fuel poor domestic households. Homeowners on low incomes are eligible under the scheme and low-income private renters living in the least energy efficient homes can also be eligible for solid wall insulation and renewable heating.

The Common Training Test (CTT) for ski instructors was established by the European Commission Delegated Regulation 2019/907, and only applies to citizens of EU Member States. Now the Transition Period is over, the CTT no longer applies in the UK and UK ski instructors do not have access to the CTT.

Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, in common with other professionals, UK snow sports instructors who have had their qualifications recognised before the end of the Transition Period, or who applied for recognition before the end of the Transition Period and subsequently have that recognition granted, and who are resident or frontier workers in the EU Member State that recognised them at the end of the Transition Period, will have that recognition protected and will be able to continue to rely upon it.

Following the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, if UK professionals wish to provide services in the EU, the recognition of their professional qualifications across all industries (including snow sports instructors) is subject to the local laws and regulations of individual Member States. Over time, the UK-EU Partnership Council may enter into, and adopt, profession-by-profession mutual recognition agreements.

Under consumer law consumers are entitled to a refund within 14 days, depending on the nature of the contract in place. Many businesses are also offering consumers vouchers or alternative dates, which consumers are able to choose should they wish. The Government is engaging with the package travel sector and consumer advocacy bodies to assess the impact of cancellations made in light of the covid-19 outbreak.

The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 protect consumers who have bought package holidays. Under existing consumer law consumers are able to choose a voucher or credit note should they wish. We are engaging with the package travel sector and others to assess the impact of the covid-19 outbreak.

Under consumer law consumers are entitled to a refund within 14 days, depending on the nature of the contract in place. Many businesses are also offering consumers vouchers or alternative dates, which consumers are able to choose should they wish. The Government is engaging with the package travel sector and consumer advocacy bodies to assess the impact of cancellations made in light of the covid-19 outbreak. We recognise the extremely difficult circumstances travel agents are currently facing, which is why on 17 March the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a wide range of support for businesses, in addition to the £30bn support announced in the budget.

We are currently engaged with other countries in our ‘like-minded’ coalition regarding the International Olympic Committee’s recommendations to International Federations, published on 28 March, on neutrality conditions for Russian and Belarusian athletes.

Athlete participation in the Olympic and Paralympic Games is a matter for the British Olympic and British Paralympic Associations, which operate independently of the Government. The Government’s long-standing position is that a boycott would wrongly deny British athletes the chance to reach the pinnacle of their careers.

The UK attaches great importance to the principles of the UN Charter, including not to use force against the territorial integrity of other states. These principles must be defended. We agree on the importance of sports events for improving international relations, and have set out our position about when events are used to try to legitimise conflicts.

Vladimir Putin should not be able to use sport to legitimise Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine. The UK has built and led the international response in this area, including convening three collective statements signed by more than 35 countries. Amongst other principles, our statements also set out that Russia and Belarus should not be permitted to host, bid for, or be awarded any international sporting events; the use of official state Russian and Belarusian flags, emblems and anthems should be prohibited; and no athletes or officials representing the Russian and Belarusian states should be allowed to participate in international sport.

Individual, self-funded Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete in the UK, subject to following our guidance on neutrality. We therefore support the approach of the All England Lawn Tennis Club and Lawn Tennis Association on the basis of following that guidance.

We have announced £30 million for PE teacher training and to open up school facilities to provide access to the wider community. At the recent Spending Review, we announced £205 million to build or transform up to 8,000 state-of-the-art community football pitches and multi-use sports facilities across the UK. This was in addition to a £30 million package to renovate park tennis courts across the country.

Please the staff figures below for DCMS teams that work on sport and recreation policy. Data based on staff in post on the 26/07/2021.

The Government is aware of the concerns which have been raised about the potential challenge of securing insurance for live events, including those in the sporting and entertainment sectors. We have been working closely with the affected sectors over the last few months to understand the challenges and to keep the situation under review.

Understandably, the bar for considering Government intervention is set extremely high, especially in light of the furlough scheme and local business support, so the evidence of market failure specific to DCMS sectors must be clearly demonstrated and robust.

Sports and physical activity including golf are incredibly important for our physical and mental health, and are a vital weapon against coronavirus.

On Monday 4 January the Prime Minister announced a national lockdown and instructed people to stay at home to control the virus, protect the NHS and save lives. The National Restrictions are designed to get the R rate under control through limiting social contact and reducing transmissions. All decisions made by the Government relating to the pandemic and sport have been based on advice and guidance from health and scientific experts. We have no plans to publish the evidence for individual decisions relating to specific sports.

You can continue to exercise alone, with one other person or with your household or support bubble. This should be limited to once per day, in a public outdoor place and you should not travel outside your local area. You should maintain social distancing. Indoor and outdoor sports facilities, including golf courses, must close.

It is the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) role to approve new testing processes. WADA has not yet developed a test for gene editing due to the complexities in identifying gene doping. To mitigate the threat of gene doping, WADA has a Gene and Cell Doping Expert Group which provides direction to its Health, Medical and Research Committee. The Committee develops strategies to prevent and detect non-therapeutic manipulation of gene/protein in sport.

WADA has approved tests for RNA, but these are only being used in experimental environments for research, and not yet by anti-doping organisations (including UK Anti-Doping).

UK Anti-Doping split the samples they collect from each athlete into “A” samples which are analysed, and “B” samples which are stored securely for potential future tests. Samples can be stored for up to 10 years.

UK Anti-Doping defines a test as any attempt to test a single athlete in a single Sample Collection Session. During the periods:

1. January to March 2019, it conducted 3,803 tests

2. April to June 2019, it conducted 2,212 tests

3. July to September 2019, it conducted 2,943 tests

4. October to December 2019, it conducted 2,789 tests

5. January to March 2020, it conducted 2,512 tests

6. April to June 2020, it conducted 126 tests. The drop in testing during this period was due to UK Anti-Doping’s decision in March 2020 to significantly reduce its testing programme due to Covid-19.

7. July to September 2020. The testing statistics for this period have not yet been released.

All testing in the first quarter of 2020-2021 (April-June 2020) conducted in the UK was done in England. However, this does not mean that athletes from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales were not tested during this time. UK Anti-Doping publishes its testing figures on a quarterly basis and combines the figures for blood and urine samples. This ensures transparency of its testing activity, while protecting the confidential methodology which goes into planning a testing programme.

UK Anti-Doping defines a test as any attempt to test a single athlete in a single Sample Collection Session. During the periods:

1. January to March 2019, it conducted 3,803 tests

2. April to June 2019, it conducted 2,212 tests

3. July to September 2019, it conducted 2,943 tests

4. October to December 2019, it conducted 2,789 tests

5. January to March 2020, it conducted 2,512 tests

6. April to June 2020, it conducted 126 tests. The drop in testing during this period was due to UK Anti-Doping’s decision in March 2020 to significantly reduce its testing programme due to Covid-19.

7. July to September 2020. The testing statistics for this period have not yet been released.

All testing in the first quarter of 2020-2021 (April-June 2020) conducted in the UK was done in England. However, this does not mean that athletes from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales were not tested during this time. UK Anti-Doping publishes its testing figures on a quarterly basis and combines the figures for blood and urine samples. This ensures transparency of its testing activity, while protecting the confidential methodology which goes into planning a testing programme.

If attempting testing at an athlete’s home, Doping Control Personnel or “Testers” will check whether anyone present at the athlete’s residence is self-isolating, quarantining or shielding. If so, then this would provide sufficient grounds for UK Anti-Doping not to continue with testing. If testing outside of an athlete’s home, Doping Control Personnel will check the athlete does not have Covid-19, Covid-19 symptoms, or is in an at risk-group before proceeding. UK Anti-Doping has developed a protocol which its Doping Control Personnel are required to follow to determine whether an athlete can be tested. This procedure is in line with the World Anti-Doping Agency’s guidance for resuming testing, and is fully outlined on UK Anti-Doping’s website.

Doping Control Personnel also warn the athlete that if they (or anyone else on their behalf) provide any information which is later found to be false, misleading, inaccurate or incomplete they may be committing the Anti-Doping Rule Violation of ‘Tampering or Attempted Tampering’ which could result in sanctions.

So far, there have not been any cases where testing has not proceeded due to self-isolation, quarantining or shielding.

The government does not hold the data to answer this question. The samples collected during the London Olympic Games in 2012 were done so under the jurisdiction of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), rather than UK Anti-Doping (the UK’s national anti-doping organisation). As LOCOG no longer exists, it is therefore the IOC that has the ability to reanalyse the samples collected at the Games. UK Anti-Doping has welcomed the reanalysis of samples from previous Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Any information which UK Anti-Doping receives is handled with the strictest data protection compliance. Therefore, it is not always possible for UK Anti-Doping to share information or samples from British athletes with third parties when this breaches data handling requirements.

UK Anti-Doping has already publicly set out its position on sending samples related to the investigation of Alberto Salazar to the United States Anti-Doping Agency. To date, the World Anti-Doping Agency has not requested to reanalyse any of UK Anti-Doping’s samples of British athletes overseen at any time by Alberto Salazar.

UK Anti-Doping has always supported the work of other anti-doping organisations and the World Anti-Doping Agency. When UK Anti-Doping cannot share information or samples, it always works for a constructive outcome to progress cases where there is a joint interest.

Any information which UK Anti-Doping receives is handled with the strictest data protection compliance. Therefore, it is not always possible for UK Anti-Doping to share information or samples from British athletes with third parties when this breaches data handling requirements.

UK Anti-Doping has already publicly set out its position on sending samples related to the investigation of Alberto Salazar to the United States Anti-Doping Agency. To date, the World Anti-Doping Agency has not requested to reanalyse any of UK Anti-Doping’s samples of British athletes overseen at any time by Alberto Salazar.

UK Anti-Doping has always supported the work of other anti-doping organisations and the World Anti-Doping Agency. When UK Anti-Doping cannot share information or samples, it always works for a constructive outcome to progress cases where there is a joint interest.

UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) publishes its doping test figures on a quarterly basis to preserve the integrity of the test allocation process and ensure the “no advance notice” testing principle is protected. Therefore, UKAD’s figures for the in- and out-of-competition tests it has carried out since 17 March 2020 are only partially available.

Testing figures for Q4 of 2019/20, which covers January-March 2020, have been published on UKAD’s website. According to this report, the domestic and international Anti-Doping Testing Programme carried out 2,512 tests during this period. Testing figures for Q1 of 2020/21, which covers April-June 2020, will be published after the period is complete.

Athletes are not required to declare in advance of tests if they, or anyone they are living with, are at higher risk from, or clinically extremely vulnerable to, COVID-19. UKAD has asked athletes and National Governing Bodies to provide this information to help their planning, however does not have plans to make this publicly available.

UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) publishes its doping test figures on a quarterly basis to preserve the integrity of the test allocation process and ensure the “no advance notice” testing principle is protected. Therefore, UKAD’s figures for the in- and out-of-competition tests it has carried out since 17 March 2020 are only partially available.

Testing figures for Q4 of 2019/20, which covers January-March 2020, have been published on UKAD’s website. According to this report, the domestic and international Anti-Doping Testing Programme carried out 2,512 tests during this period. Testing figures for Q1 of 2020/21, which covers April-June 2020, will be published after the period is complete.

Athletes are not required to declare in advance of tests if they, or anyone they are living with, are at higher risk from, or clinically extremely vulnerable to, COVID-19. UKAD has asked athletes and National Governing Bodies to provide this information to help their planning, however does not have plans to make this publicly available.

There are currently 561 athletes registered on UKAD’s National Registered Testing Pool and Domestic Testing Pool, with an approximate 50/50% split between the two pools. These athletes are required to provide their Whereabouts via the Anti-Doping Administration Management System to enable out-of-competition testing.

Whereabouts Failures for the current period will be reported in the next Quarterly Testing Reports, likely to be published in mid-July on UKAD’s website.

There are currently 561 athletes registered on UKAD’s National Registered Testing Pool and Domestic Testing Pool, with an approximate 50/50% split between the two pools. These athletes are required to provide their Whereabouts via the Anti-Doping Administration Management System to enable out-of-competition testing.

Whereabouts Failures for the current period will be reported in the next Quarterly Testing Reports, likely to be published in mid-July on UKAD’s website.

The National Anti-Doping Panel has heard three cases of Anti-Doping Rule Violations via videoconference since 17 March 2020, which is in line with what the Panel usually hears.

We recognise the impact that covid-19 is having on the sport sector, and we are continuing to engage with sporting organisations to understand how it is affecting them and provide support. Sport England, the arms-length body of government who invest in and provide a range of services to national governing bodies have been involved in these discussions.

The Chancellor has already announced a host of measures to help businesses, with £330 billion worth of government backed and guaranteed loans to support businesses across the UK. In addition, our national sports council, Sport England, has also announced £195 million of funding to help sport and physical activity organisations deal with the short and long term effects of the pandemic.

Camelot is the current operator of the National Lottery. They release sales information under a timetable and format agreed with its regulator, the Gambling Commission. Data on sales is published on the Camelot website three months in arrears and this can be found at; http://www.camelotgroup.co.uk/about-us/reporting

Sales for the months of January and February were as follows:

The March 2020 sales data will be published alongside Camelot's 2019/20 year-end sales announcement in early June and the April 2020 sales data will be published later in June.

We know this is a challenging period for all sports and we continue to work closely with the whole sector to understand the issues they face and how we can best support them through this difficult time.

The Comprehensive Spending Review has been delayed from July to later this year to ensure that HM Treasury and departments can remain focused on responding to the immediate public health and economic emergency.

Further details about the next spending review will be set out in due course. It will follow significant investment the government announced through both Budget 2020 and Spending Round 2019, and will take into account the government’s response to COVID-19.

We remain committed to supporting our elite athletes and the current UK Sport settlement goes through till April 2021. My department is working to ensure that we have a strong evidence-base with which to support the Chancellor ahead of the Spending Review.

The government is holding weekly meetings with senior medical officials and sport representatives to discuss key issues around COVID-19, and is communicating regularly with stakeholders across the sporting sector to share the latest advice. We will maintain these discussions as plans to restart training and competition within elite sport are developed.

Olympic and Paralympic sport is not immune from the impact of Covid-19 and we will continue to work with UK Sport in ensuring that our athletes are well supported in this difficult period.

We have now published step one guidance on the return to training for elite sport which sets out the minimum operating expectations of an elite training environment, and has been developed in close consultation with the Deputy Chief Medical Officers of England, Public Health England and medical representatives across Olympic, Paralympic and professional sports governing bodies.

The proposal from the National Rifle Association of India is with the Commonwealth Games Federation for consideration, and any decision on the proposal or the format of the competition will be subject to their governance process. The Government welcomes the proposal, and hopes that a solution can be found to enable shooters from the UK and around the Commonwealth to compete at the highest level.

Whilst discussions are still at an early stage, and subject to further consideration, the Government understands that the costs of hosting an event would be borne by India as the host nation.

Subsequent to USADA’s ban of Alberto Salazar being issued, UK Sport’s discussions with UK Athletics on this issue have focused on ensuring there is an effective independent review as to whether UK Athletics took the appropriate decisions in respect of its relationship with Mr Salazar and the Nike Oregon Project.

UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) has offered support to the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) during its investigations. However, UKAD has not received any request for information from UK Athletics in relation to Mr Salazar’s ban.

Across the Games partnership we are developing an evaluation methodology for Games legacy, and this will be published in due course. This legacy work will be informed by lessons from previous Games, including London 2012 and Glasgow 2014. It will also draw on the evidence from Sport England’s £10m Local Delivery Pilot investment to promote physical activity in hard to reach groups in Birmingham and Solihull.

Improving health and wellbeing, including tackling physical inactivity, is a legacy ambition for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. This will include how we maximise the impact of the new sporting facilities being delivered for the Games, such as the redevelopment of athletics facilities at Alexander Stadium, creation of a brand new aquatics centre in Sandwell and the addition of new cycle lanes across the city. A number of partners are involved in this work including Sport England, Sport Birmingham, local and regional authorities and the Birmingham 2022 Organising Committee.

UK Sport supported UK Athletics in commissioning an independent review into its decision-making in respect of its relationship with Mr Salazar and the Nike Oregon Project. Both UK Sport and DCMS will await the outcomes of that review before drawing any further conclusions.

It is absolutely right that all athletes should be able to compete on a level playing field.
Clean sport is a shared responsibility; one in which sport and government should work together.