Sport: Disabled Officials, Referees and Umpires

Debate between Nigel Huddleston and Lucy Allan

Tuesday 25th May 2021 Westminster Hall

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Nigel Huddleston)]

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship today, Mr Dowd.

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Telford (Lucy Allan) on securing this debate, and on raising the important issue of inclusion for disabled people in all aspects of sport and in officiating in particular. She is always a great champion of her constituents and it is a pleasure to respond to her. I also thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for his contribution and for highlighting another inspirational person, his constituent Scott.

It is clear from my hon. Friend’s comments that she shares my view that sports and physical activities at all levels are hugely important to disabled people. That is why the Government and their arm’s length bodies, Sport England and UK Sport, have worked closely with the sector and national governing bodies, including the ECB, which my hon. Friend highlighted, to ensure that inclusion in sport remains a priority at all levels from grassroots through to pathways to elite sport and governance.

At the outset, I would like to say that the Government are absolutely committed and recognise the great importance of sport and physical activity for disabled people who take part, including officiating and referring. The opportunity to have a parliamentary debate on what steps the Government are taking to support disability officiating in sport is a positive message in itself to send, highlighting the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion at all levels of sport. I warmly welcome the efforts of campaigns to increase diversity and inclusion, such as sports officiating from a powered wheelchair—SOPW—founded by my hon. Friend’s constituent, the truly inspirational individual Mr John McIntear, a Royal Navy veteran and a cricket umpire who uses a powered wheelchair. I would like to put on record my admiration for his work and encourage other governing bodies in sport to engage with his campaign, as my hon. Friend requested.

The Government’s strategy, “Sporting Future”, is aligned with Mr McIntear’s ambition for more inclusion in sport. It stresses the importance of helping under-represented groups and isolated communities, including disabled people, to take part as active participants, spectators and in the workforce. In addition, Sport England has recently launched its new 10-year strategy, “Uniting the Movement”. This strategy reinforces its commitment to increasing participation in sport and physical activity for those from under-represented groups, including disabled people.

I am aware that even before the effects of the pandemic, disabled people and people with a long-term health condition were twice as likely to be physically inactive as those without a disability or health condition. There are deep-rooted inequalities in participation levels in sport and physical activity. We know there are people who feel excluded from being active and participating in sport, because the right options and opportunities simply are not there. That does not only apply to taking part in playing, it also extends to the sporting workforce and officials. That only strengthens the resolve of the Government and national governing bodies to redouble efforts to ensure we keep the focus on increasing opportunities for disabled people.

We have been working with Sport England, UK Sport and sports organisations such as Activity Alliance to ensure that guidance is in place. That will help disabled people to get back to playing, volunteering and participating in the sports they love as safely as possible.

Sport has so much to offer. Everyone should be able to take part. In turn, sport has so much to gain from welcoming everyone in the community, including disabled people. Diversity of experience can only be an asset.

With the opening up of sporting activities over the next few months, projects such as sports officiating from a powered wheelchair will help to focus attention and resources on disabled individuals to have the opportunity to officiate in any sport they choose to participate in. As my hon. Friend the Member for Telford said, the UK has led the way in supporting, for example, Paralympic sports and disability participation at a grassroots level through Sport England with initiatives such as the “We Are Undefeatable” campaign; and partnerships between Sport England and Disability Rights UK, Aspire, Sense and international mixed ability sport.

However, many who wish to officiate are hindered by lack of access due to their level of mobility. Although programmes that focus on disabled coaches, volunteers and leaders are available, Sport England has also identified a gap around disabled officials and referees and is actively reviewing how to address this going forward. I would be happy to continue the dialogue with my hon. Friend on this area.

[Lucy Allan]

In his capacity as Minister for the Commonwealth Games, will my hon. Friend consider opportunities for disabled officials to participate?

[Nigel Huddleston]

I am delighted to comment on that. My hon. Friend is right: I am indeed the Minister for the Commonwealth games, which is an absolute honour. As we get closer and closer—we are not too far away from one year to go—the excitement and responsibility are certainly building up. It is really important that we do include disabled people in the games, with the motto being “a Games for everyone”.

That is absolutely right; that will be a focus. For the first time, Birmingham 2022 will deliver the largest fully integrated parasport programme of any Commonwealth games. It is an important distinction that the Commonwealth games, unlike the Olympic games, is integrated. Therefore, we will look to further promote opportunities for equality and inclusion, including officiating, in the lead-up to and throughout the games. I would be happy to give my hon. Friend an update on that at the appropriate time.

In terms of funds, certain funds and efforts are being made, such as the £20 million Tackling Inequalities Fund from Sport England, which will be essential to providing the necessary support at a community level, catering specifically to the needs of under-represented groups through trusted community partners and alliances. Currently, £13.5 million has been awarded and £9.7 million has already reached community organisations and groups across the country.

As a result, over 2,800 projects are actively being delivered by trusted partners close to the communities that have previously been unserved or underserved by more traditional delivery structures. Of these, almost £2 million has been awarded to 500 projects specifically targeting disabled people in sport.

We also welcome the efforts of inspirational individuals such as John McIntear and the FA licensed referee Nathan Mattick, who showcase first-hand that disability is not a barrier to officiating. They are indeed role models.

There are also organisations such as the National Star College UK, which target their campaigning, funding and support into education, refereeing and officiating opportunities for disabled people. It is now our job to ensure that the momentum continues and that the same level of effort and support is provided to disabled individuals who want to coach and officiate in the sports that they so clearly love.

Before closing, I should also mention that the Government are keenly aware that the last year has been particularly difficult for many disabled people. The recent Active Lives survey from Sport England has indicated that there was a general decrease in activity levels, but disabled people in particular were less active. That is probably in part because they are more likely to be reliant on facilities to participate in sport, which, of course, in many cases had to be shut. However, I am more determined than ever to work closely with the sector to ensure that activity levels return as quickly as possible to pre-pandemic levels and then beyond. As part of that work, there will be scope to look at the opportunities for disabled people to officiate and referee, as well as coach, volunteer and serve in leadership capacities in sport.

It has been a pleasure to respond to this debate today and to speak on this really important issue. I commend my hon. Friend the Member for Telford and her constituent again for their work on this. It is clear that this needs to be a joint effort; the arm’s length bodies that I work closely with, who are true experts in the field and care deeply about inclusion within sport, will be vital in reducing broader inequalities in sport and creating officiating opportunities for disabled people.

Understanding the needs of diverse communities, including disabled people, within sport is key to taking the first step to creating a level playing field, and today’s discussion has been genuinely useful in that regard. As we emerge from the pandemic, now more than ever it is important that we keep progressing. I am more determined than ever that the sports sector emerge from the pandemic stronger, with inclusion at the centre of everything it does.

Question put and agreed to.