Oral Answers to Questions

Toby Perkins Excerpts

Thursday 1st November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Wright]

I think that is highly likely.

[Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) (Lab)]

We are blessed in this country to have—

[Mr Speaker]

No, no: Question 13.

[Toby Perkins]

Good point.

[Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)]

It is about tennis.

[Mr Speaker]

It is okay; the hon. Gentleman will get his second serve in a moment.

[Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) (Lab)]

13. What assessment he has made of the correlation between the number of professional tennis tournaments played in the UK and the level of domestic participation in that sport.

[The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Jeremy Wright)]

Mr Speaker, I know that you would not want to miss out on any information about tennis. The Lawn Tennis Association continually reviews the number of professional events held in this country with the international tennis associations. As the hon. Gentleman knows, Britain has the world’s greatest tournament, Wimbledon, and also hosts the Association of Tennis Professionals world tour finals, which will celebrate its 10th year being held at the O2 later this month. We continue to encourage participation in tennis, with more than £9 million given to the LTA between 2017 and 2021 to encourage more participation.

[Toby Perkins]

As I was saying, the Secretary of State is absolutely right to talk about our world-class tournaments, but at challenger and future levels, we have far fewer tournaments than the other major European nations. Holding tournaments right across the UK is an important part of the participation strategy, so what more can the Secretary of State tell us about what he is saying to the LTA about getting tournaments held throughout the country at that lower level?