Outdoor Sport and Recreation

Helen Grant Excerpts

Wednesday 10th September 2014 Westminster Hall

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Mrs Helen Grant)]

It is a great pleasure, Mrs Main, to serve under your chairmanship. I, too, thank the hon. Member for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies) for securing this debate and for his contribution, and I thank other hon. Members for theirs. I have always been very lucky when it comes to the outdoors. As a child growing up on the edge of the Lake District, I was spoilt for choice with walking, kayaking, climbing and the views from Blencathra to which my hon. Friend the Member for Macclesfield (David Rutley) referred. It is a stunning part of the country. I then went on to become an MP and found myself in the heart of the garden of England in the beautiful Kent countryside. I drew the long straws there.

As the Minister for Sport and Tourism, I want to ensure that everyone has the chances I had to participate in a diverse and interesting range of sports and activities. Many Departments and many hon. Members, including my hon. Friend the Member for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire (Simon Hart), work closely together to ensure that we are all playing our part in supporting this important sector.

There is little time available and a lot to say, but I will do my best to cover the points raised. Today, many hon. Members, including the hon. Member for Ogmore and my hon. Friends the Members for Macclesfield and for Leeds North West (Greg Mulholland), called on the Government to create a strategy for outdoor recreation. I am happy to look at that and at how we can bring together in a strategy all the good work already being done throughout the Government in different Departments.

Many hon. Members acknowledged that good work is being done, but asked for more to be done and for the Government to keep their foot on the pedal in relation to recreation and outdoor activity. That is certainly happening. VisitEngland has made a substantial investment in campaigns such as the Coastal Escapes campaign, the English Countryside campaign, the Rural Escapes campaign and the Active Outdoors campaign. Sport England has recently put £3 million into the British Mountaineering Council and there is ongoing cross-departmental ministerial involvement in campaigns in the health context such as the “Moving More, Living More” campaign, which confirms genuine support, interest and commitment in dealing with inactivity and benefiting from the various pluses of health, fun, sport and the resulting economic benefits.

The hon. Member for Ogmore, my hon. Friend the Member for Macclesfield and many other hon. Members spoke about the six key manifesto points. I have looked at them and they are all very interesting. We are already providing a lot of support for the outdoor recreation sector, but we will give all the six points due and proper consideration. Clearly, the matter is also for numerous other Departments, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Transport and the Department of Health.

My hon. Friend the Member for Leeds North West (Greg Mulholland) referred to the Active People survey and various concerns involving the calculation of the participation figures. I will be happy to talk to Sport England and the Department of Health about how to measure some of the recreational activities in the Active People survey.

The hon. Member for Ogmore, the shadow Minister and others referred to the “Reconomics” report and I agree that it is very good and detailed. In a good way, it pulls together existing research. Sport England and VisitEngland will certainly build on the various reports.

The hon. Member for Worsley and Eccles South (Barbara Keeley) and my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tracey Crouch) raised the important issues of women in sport, participation by women and girls, lack of commercial sponsorship and investment in those important sectors.

[Barbara Keeley]

In the limited time, I did not mention that there are some informal initiatives that could do with better support. In Blackburn, the Couch to 5K initiative is getting many people running. The wonderful person who runs the Twitter account, @fattymustrun, is on a mission to get 1 million larger people running. Such initiatives should receive more support.

[Mrs Grant]

The hon. Lady has made some good points. The issue of women and girls in sport is an absolute priority for me. It has always been a priority, even before I came to this place, and it will remain one, mainly because of what it did for me when I was growing up. It provides not just health and fitness, but self-confidence, self-esteem and the important life lessons of leadership, teamwork, discipline and respect. We all know that and I am determined to get as many young people as possible, not just women and girls, doing sport.

There is good news because 600,000 more women are doing sport than when we bid for the Olympics in 2005. However, there is no room for complacency and I accept that there is still an irritating gender gap of about 1.9 million between the number of women and the number of men doing sport. I want that to diminish. There are some excellent projects at the moment, including Sportivate, Satellite Community, sports clubs and the school games in which more than 60% of schools are participating. Interestingly, at county sports festival level, more girls than boys are competing. The school sports premium provides the opportunity to ignite an interest in sport among our children at an early age.

In half an hour, I will meet the Woman in Sport Advisory Board. It is working hard on the lack of media coverage and commercial investment. The board includes people such as Judy Murray, Karren Brady, Helena Morrissey, Clare Connor and others who are working hard to deal with the lack of commercial involvement and media coverage, although I believe there have been improvements in what Sky and the BBC are doing. That is partly due to great leadership by Barbara Slater and people such as Clare Balding.

I know very well the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Hexham (Guy Opperman), having spent a considerable time there when I was little. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for High Peak (Andrew Bingham) on his major marathon walk during the recess when he raised a phenomenal amount of money for charity. Both my hon. Friends referred to the economic benefits of recreational activity. I agree that the great outdoors is hugely important for tourism and the country’s economic well-being. Interestingly, according to VisitEngland, overnight trips in Great Britain last year, including walking, hiking and rambling, resulted in a spend of £2.6 billion.

This has been an important debate and for me a very enjoyable one to respond to. Some excellent points have been made and I assure hon. Members that I take the issues seriously. Outdoor sport and recreation are key not only to our personal well-being but to the nation as a whole. I want to maintain the good progress that has been made by encouraging even more participation in outdoor sport and recreation with all the benefits that brings: a fitter, healthier and economically stronger nation.