Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many people under 18 years of age have participated in cricket since 2005.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Data from the Active Lives Children and Young People Survey show that in the 2018-19 academic year 575,800 children and young people in England aged 5-16 participated in cricket at least once a week. This is an increase of 1.8% since the previous year (441,500 in 2017-18) when the survey was launched. Data on those aged 16+ is collected through the Active Lives Survey. Reports and data tables for both surveys can be found on Sport England’s website: https://www.sportengland.org/know-your-audience/data/active-lives.
Grassroots sport is a devolved matter, so data on cricket participation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is a matter for the devolved administrations of those nations.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect on participation rates by young people of media coverage of sporting events listed under Group A under the terms outlined in Part IV of the Broadcasting Act 1996; and if he will make statement.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Britain is a sporting superpower; our shared victories in London and Rio demonstrated not only our sporting prowess but also the pride and passion for sport that is central to our national identity. That is why the Broadcasting Act 1996 ensures that events of special national significance such as the Olympics and Paralympics can be seen as widely as possible. While DCMS has not conducted a study into the impact of viewing the specific events listed in 'Group A' on children's activity levels, we know that they have the power to unite the nation, and to inspire us all to get active.
The Active Lives Children and Young People Survey shows that 3.3m (46.8%) of children and young people (aged 5-16) in England met the Chief Medical Officers’ guidance on physical activity in 2018-19. This is an increase of 279,000 since the previous year. However this means that over half do not do enough exercise to benefit their health. The School Sport and Activity Action Plan, published last July, set out government’s commitment to tackling this important issue, and ensuring that all children and young people have access to at least 60 minutes of high quality sport and PE every day.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the (a) Scottish Rugby Union, (b) Irish Rugby Football Union, (c) Welsh Rugby Union and (d) Rugby Football Union on increasing participation rates in rugby union.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Secretary of State and I meet with sports national governing bodies on a regular basis to ensure they are supporting grassroots participation in line with the objectives of the government's Sporting Future strategy. Ministers continue to work with national governing bodies of sport to ensure that the Sporting Future strategy is implemented effectively, and that grassroots participation is supported.
Sport is a devolved matter and therefore support for grassroots sport and physical activity in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the respective Home Nations Sports Councils and devolved governments.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is in regular contact with Sport England, which is the organisation directly responsible for investing in and supporting grassroots sport in England. Through Sport England, government is investing £12.6m in the RFU over 2017-21 for its work on participation and supporting talented young athletes. Since 2016, England has invested a further £12.61m in multi-sport projects where rugby union is identified as one of the sports benefitting.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions officials in her Department have had with their counterparts in the Home Office on the effect of Tier 4 visa regulations on amateur sports.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
DCMS and Home Office officials are in regular contact on matters relating to visas for sport. The Home Office also routinely engages with sports governing bodies, organisations within the sport sector and other government departments on visa issues.
Home Office definitions of amateur and professional sports persons contained in the immigration rules were established following full consultation with all recognised sports governing bodies. The full definitions can be found in the document attached. The rules surrounding entering the UK on a Tier 4 (General) student visa can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/tier-4-general-visa.
Tier 4 visas have restrictions imposed regarding what work can be undertaken during the period agreed. For example, one of the conditions of holding a Tier 4 visa is that foreign students must not work in certain jobs, for example professional sportsperson or sports coach.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with Six Nations Rugby Limited and their representatives on their tournaments’ listing under the terms outlined in Part IV of the Broadcasting Act 1996.
Answered by John Whittingdale
I have had no such discussions with Six Nations Rugby Ltd or their representatives. The Government is clear that the existing list works well, and strikes the right balance between retaining free-to-air sports events for the public, and allowing rights holders to negotiate agreements in the best interests of their sport. The Government has no current plans of undertaking a review of the list, or of moving the Six Nations from the category B list to the category A list. As a Group B event, live coverage of the Six Nations Rugby tournament may be broadcast by a subscription television service provided that secondary coverage is offered to the eligible free-to-air broadcasters.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with (a) the Scottish Rugby Union, (b) the Irish Rugby Football Union, (c) the Welsh Rugby Union and (d) the Rugby Football Union on the broadcasting of rugby union on free-to-air television.
Answered by John Whittingdale
I have had no such discussions with the Scottish Rugby Union, the Irish Rugby Football Union, the Welsh Rugby Union or the Rugby Football Union. The Government is clear that the existing list works well, and strikes the right balance between retaining free-to-air sports events for the public, and allowing rights holders to negotiate agreements in the best interests of their sport. The Government has no current plans of undertaking a review of the list, or of moving the Six Nations from the category B list to the category A list. As a Group B event, live coverage of the Six Nations Rugby tournament may be broadcast by a subscription television service provided that secondary coverage is offered to the eligible free-to-air broadcasters.