Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Leader of the House

Oral Answers to Questions

Clive Efford Excerpts
Thursday 13th September 2012

(12 years, 3 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Clive Efford Portrait Clive Efford (Eltham) (Lab)
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The Government have set up a programme to encourage local sports clubs to engage young people and to get them involved in sports after school to create a sporting habit for life, but that will not work unless we have quality sports education in earlier years. In response to my right hon. Friend the Member for Exeter (Mr Bradshaw), the Minister said that the delivery of school sports partnerships was patchy, but that is not what he said before the general election, when he said that we should be building on school sports partnerships. Sadly, in the past two years, there has been a 40% drop in school sports partnerships and a 60% drop in hours spent outside the classroom by teachers organising sport, and the Government’s PE teacher release money is due to end in August 2013. Will he admit that cutting £162 million from school sports partnerships was a mistake, and will he join the Opposition in calling for the Secretary of State to re-ring-fence that money so that we can have a sporting legacy?

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. We have got the question and we are grateful for it. Let us have the answer.