Oral Answers to Questions

Duncan Baker Excerpts

Thursday 18th April 2024 Commons Chamber

[Stuart Andrew]

I want to put on record my thanks to the charities up and down the country that have done some incredible work over some of the most challenging times. I recognise that when costs are rising and donations are falling, demand for their services often increases. That is why I had conversations with my right hon. Friend the Chancellor and why we secured a significant package of £100 million to support those charities. It was welcomed by the sector. I am grateful to the National Lottery Community Fund for helping us to get that money out as quickly as possible to so many charities around the country.

[Duncan Baker (North Norfolk) (Con)]

11. What recent discussions she has had with representatives of football clubs and associations on ensuring the wellbeing of football players, in the context of their increased risk of dementia.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Stuart Andrew)]

I have discussed the issue of dementia with the Professional Footballers’ Association, specifically around the Premier League’s promise to allocate funding towards the new brain health fund for football players impacted by dementia. I am pleased that the fund was launched in September last year, and I will be writing to the PFA shortly to seek its assurances on the current workings of the fund and how the PFA is engaging with former players.

[Duncan Baker]

My constituent is the former Celtic, Chelsea, Blackburn and, more importantly, Norwich City football legend, Chris Sutton. He has recently brought to my attention the very distressing fact that former professional footballers are four times more likely to die of CTE—chronic traumatic encephalopathy—dementia than the wider population due to repeated head impacts. Chris is just one of a group of former players who are championing these issues and pushing for better provisions to support the wellbeing of ex-players and their families. Can the Minister reassure me that the football industry will create a properly financed dementia fund to help players, and of course their widows, who are affected by the CTE dementia scandal?

[Stuart Andrew]

My hon. Friend is right to raise this incredibly important issue, and I want to record my thanks to Chris Sutton and all those involved in this important work. We welcome the practical support that those involved in sports give former players in these circumstances. The PFA and Premier League’s brain health fund has an initial amount of £1 million in financial support for former players and their families, to improve their quality of life. The fund will remain in place until the PFA and the Premier League establish a charity that will involve a great many football stakeholders so we can provide a much longer-term support vehicle. I can reassure him that I take this area of work incredibly seriously and will continue to put pressure on those involved.