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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the London 2012 Olympic sporting legacy for the country as a whole, and the value for money obtained from this spending in comparison to having spent the same amount on securing sporting participation for all children in all schools.

Participation in sport by children in schools is a key part of the sporting legacy from the 2012 Games. Since the 2013/14 academic year, a ring-fenced primary school sports fund of over £150m per year has been in place. This fund, the PE and School Sport Premium, is paid direct to every primary school headteacher in England and is ring-fenced. Government has committed to funding the PE and Primary School Sport premium throughout this Parliament. Two independent reports, by Ofsted and research company NatCen, have found that the premium is being used effectively.

Another element of the sporting legacy from London 2012 is the School Games. The School Games were established in 2011 and consist of competition over four levels (intra-school, inter-school, county and national finals) for schoolchildren aged 5 to under-19. They were designed to build on the 2012 Games and enable every child to participate in competitive sport, including disabled children. 19,000 schools have signed up to the School Games and over 7,000,000 young people have taken part in the Games since their inception. School Games alumni are making their presence felt in elite sporting competition: 150 competitors in last year's Glasgow Commonwealth Games had previously competed at the School Games.

Other elements of the sporting legacy include:

· 1.4 million more people playing sport once a week than when we won the bid in 2005

· more than £1bn over 5 years invested in youth and community sport

· a 13% increase in funding for elite sport for the four years leading to Rio 2016 (a 7% increase for Olympic athletes and a 45% increase for Paralympians)

· more than 12,000 visits to schools and communities by 1,477 GB Olympic and Paralymipc athletes since London 2012.

The sporting legacy benefits from London 2012 are being felt across England.