Sport: Women on Governing Bodies

Debate between Lord Ashton of Hyde and Lord Addington

Thursday 6th April 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Addington]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage all sports governing bodies to increase the number of women on their boards and in senior posts.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Lord Ashton of Hyde) (Con)]

My Lords, in December 2015 the Government published their Sporting Future strategy, which stated that UK Sport and Sport England would agree to a UK sports governance code to strengthen existing commitments. The code for sports governance was published in October last year and requires each funded organisation to adopt the target of a minimum of 30% of each gender on its board. That will be in place by October this year. The new governance code will be mandatory for all sports bodies seeking public funding from April this year.

[Lord Addington (LD)]

I thank the noble Lord for that Answer. Can we have some enlightenment about what the Government are doing to make sure that there is not only an attempt to recruit but also a steady stream of candidates? Are we doing enough to identify women with the correct talents and letting them know that there is a pathway to go forward? If not, are these sports required to undertake the correct training?

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

My Lords, Sport England is developing its future leadership programme, which will be launched later this year. Women are a priority group identified by Sport England for the scheme. It will identify suitable female candidates who will be given the chance to develop their leadership potential in sports organisations and succeed in senior leadership roles.

UK Sport: Elite Sport Funding

Debate between Lord Ashton of Hyde and Lord Addington

Thursday 23rd February 2017 Lords Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Lord Ashton of Hyde) (Con)]

My Lords, decisions on elite funding allocations are for UK Sport to make, not the Government. That funding must be invested strategically in the right sports, athletes and support programmes to deliver medal success. UK Sport’s no-compromise approach delivered our greatest Olympic performance in a century at Rio 2016, making the country very proud. I hope that Team GB’s amazing success in Rio will be repeated at Tokyo 2020.

[Lord Addington (LD)]

I thank the Minister for that reply, but does he not consider that we should expand our base of elite, medal-winning sports and not simply the number of medals? For instance, if we have a sporting culture where we dominate one or two sports, we are in danger of stopping the encouragement of grass-roots participation across a much wider range of sports in which to win medals.

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

Of course, that is exactly what the Government are doing. By spending about four times as much on Sport England, they aim to encourage activity and sporting achievement, which will lead to elite sport level. However, the remit for UK Sport is to win medals at the Olympics, and it has achieved that in spectacular fashion.

UK Sports: Funding

Debate between Lord Ashton of Hyde and Lord Addington

Monday 6th February 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

My Lords, first, UK Sport deals with the national governing body of the sport before the decisions are made—so there is a lot of consultation with the individual sport. These decisions, therefore, do not come as a surprise—or at least they should not. With regard to the appeals process, the sport can make a presentation to the board of UK Sport; that is taking place for several sports—eight, I believe—today and tomorrow. If that does not go the way that the sport wants, it can go to a three-man independent board of Sport Resolutions.

[Lord Addington (LD)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that the funding of sport is crucially linked to the lottery? What steps will the Government take to ensure that the National Lottery retains its pre-eminent position? The first step might be a statement that the other competitors have to pay out at least as much to good causes as it does.

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

The noble Lord is right that funding for sport is crucially dependent on the lottery. The other problem that UK Sport has is that it has to make its allocations four years in advance for the Olympic cycle. That is why DCMS has underwritten the potential lack of funding from the lottery so that it can produce a plan for the athletes for 2020.

Disability: Football Stadiums

Debate between Lord Ashton of Hyde and Lord Addington

Thursday 13th October 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

No.

[Lord Addington (LD)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that whatever happens now, the point at which we should be asking and suggesting has long since passed? We should actually be telling, and relying on an independent body to take legal action without government backing may not be sufficient to tell loudly enough.

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

My Lords, the Premier League made a commitment, and that commitment, as the noble Lord, Lord Faulkner, said, goes only to 2017. The Premier League will make a detailed report in January and we expect it to comply with its promises. That is the best way forward at the moment.