Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of sexual abuse of minors by sports coaches; and if he will make a statement.

Ensuring that sport is a safe environment for all young people is of paramount importance, and my department works closely with Sport England and the Child Protection in Sport Unit to strengthen provision wherever possible.

All organisations in receipt of public funding from Sport England and UK Sport have been required to meet the standards set out in the Code for Sports Governance since April 2017. The Code contains specific obligations around safeguarding, including a requirement for national governing bodies to adhere to the Standards for Safeguarding and Protecting Children in Sport, which are issued by the Child Protection in Sport Unit.

We have also taken steps to promote best practice in non-publicly funded sports. A Code of Safeguarding in Martial Arts was launched in March 2018 which sets consistent standards and provides parents with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about where to send their children for instruction.

We welcome the Ministry of Justice’s commitment, at a recent hearing of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, to change the law around ‘positions of trust’ in the Sexual Offences Act 2003. We look forward to working closely with the Ministry of Justice to ensure that sports coaches are included as part of these legislative changes.