Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Sport England about ensuring Parkrun collects sufficient sex data to monitor female activity and therefore evaluate the impact of its £5 million grant.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Tackling disparities in levels of participation in sport and physical activity is central to Sport England’s ten-year ‘Uniting the Movement’ strategy and the Government’s ‘Get Active’ strategy, through which we have set a target of having 1.25 million more active women by 2030.
Sport England’s strategy is clear that all funding partners must work towards delivering its strategic priorities. Sport England previously awarded Parkrun £3 million between December 2018 and December 2021. The strategic purpose of this award was to start 200 new runs, with specific participation targets for women and people from lower socio-economic groups.
In 2022 Parkrun became a Sport England system partner receiving £5 million of public investment with a view to making sport and physical activity more accessible to all over the next five years. Sport England monitors this investment, ensuring that Parkrun delivers against the range of priorities in Sport England’s strategy. The Department works closely with Sport England to monitor the delivery of this strategy, including key ambitions to increase participation of women and girls.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Derby (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in improving the availability of sport and physical activity for women and girls in the criminal justice system; and what plans they have to expand provision.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Encouraging engagement in sport and exercise amongst women and girls in contact with the criminal justice system can have a significant impact on reducing reoffending through both early intervention and diversionary activities, as well as rehabilitation for those sentenced.
The Youth Justice Sport Fund is therefore funding over 200 voluntary and community sector organisations to carry out targeted work supporting children vulnerable to crime, using sport to address problem behaviour. We anticipate that 21-40% of the children being supported by the fund will be girls, which is lower than the national population but higher than the percentage of the offending population who are female (15%). While girls can access nearly all these services, a small number of these organisations specifically focus on girls as the primary cohort for early intervention. The evaluation report for the Fund will examine how future funding in sport can best engage and support girls at risk of entering the youth justice system.
We are continually improving our sport and Physical Education (PE) offer to all prisons, in particular by strengthening specific provision in the Women’s estate. Activities such as trauma-informed Yoga training as well as pre- and post-natal instructor qualifications can improve wellbeing and prevent reoffending, especially in a prison setting. Through initiatives such as Parkrun and the Twinning Project (which connects prisons to local football clubs so prisoners can access coaching and develop new skills), we are also increasing access to activities that support resettlement both in prison and back into the community.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Derby (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to improve the opportunities for sport and physical activity for women and girls in the criminal justice system.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Encouraging engagement in sport and exercise amongst women and girls in contact with the criminal justice system can have a significant impact on reducing reoffending through both early intervention and diversionary activities, as well as rehabilitation for those sentenced.
The Youth Justice Sport Fund is therefore funding over 200 voluntary and community sector organisations to carry out targeted work supporting children vulnerable to crime, using sport to address problem behaviour. We anticipate that 21-40% of the children being supported by the fund will be girls, which is lower than the national population but higher than the percentage of the offending population who are female (15%). While girls can access nearly all these services, a small number of these organisations specifically focus on girls as the primary cohort for early intervention. The evaluation report for the Fund will examine how future funding in sport can best engage and support girls at risk of entering the youth justice system.
We are continually improving our sport and Physical Education (PE) offer to all prisons, in particular by strengthening specific provision in the Women’s estate. Activities such as trauma-informed Yoga training as well as pre- and post-natal instructor qualifications can improve wellbeing and prevent reoffending, especially in a prison setting. Through initiatives such as Parkrun and the Twinning Project (which connects prisons to local football clubs so prisoners can access coaching and develop new skills), we are also increasing access to activities that support resettlement both in prison and back into the community.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what criteria her Department plans to use to assess whether Parkrun events would be able to continue in the event that further covid-19 restrictions are introduced in response to increases in covid-19 cases.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Sports and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health and all generations and communities should be able to enjoy the health, wellbeing, social and other benefits of being active. This includes ParkRun which the government supported the safe return of between March and June 2021.
We knew the coming months would be challenging, which is why the government set out our Autumn and Winter plan earlier this year. However, the data does not currently show Plan B is necessary. Plan B does not include proposals to prevent physical activity.
Vaccines will continue to be our first line of defence and our focus remains on delivering boosters, vaccinating 12-15 year olds, mass testing to identify and isolate positive cases, and developing new treatments through our Antiviral Taskforce. The Government will continue to support and work with local authorities and local areas directly to reduce the spread and minimise the impact of COVID-19.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will issue guidance on the safe reopening of Parkrun events under covid-19 regulations.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer my honourable colleague to the answer I gave to written parliamentary question 3831.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to ensure Parkrun events can go ahead from 5 June 2021 as covid-19 restrictions are eased.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer my honourable colleague to the answer I gave to written parliamentary question 3831.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Parkrun’s covid-19 operating framework; and what plans he has to include Parkrun in his Department’s list of approved sports published on the Government’s website.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Government has prioritised the safe return of sport including team sports, contact combat sports and organised sports participation events. Organised outdoor sport, such as Parkrun, is exempt from legal gathering limits and can take place with any number of participants, as long as undertaken in line with published COVID-secure guidance. As such, Parkrun has been able to take place since 29 March as part of Step 1 of the government’s response to the Covid-19 Roadmap.
We are aware of issues at local levels around this, which is why I met with ParkRun on the 21 March to discuss the issues regarding their return. As the Secretary of State announced on 20th May, DCMS will be writing jointly with MHCLG to all Local Authorities to ensure these important events take place. I am committed to supporting them to return as soon as possible.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure bureaucracy at a local authority level does not restrict the return of safe and legal community sports events as covid-19 restrictions are eased.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Government has prioritised the safe return of sport including team sports, contact combat sports and organised sports participation events. Organised outdoor sport, such as Parkrun, is exempt from legal gathering limits and can take place with any number of participants, as long as undertaken in line with published COVID-secure guidance. As such, Parkrun has been able to take place since 29 March as part of Step 1 of the government’s response to the Covid-19 Roadmap.
We are aware of issues at local levels around this, which is why I met with ParkRun on the 21 March to discuss the issues regarding their return. As the Secretary of State announced on 20th May, DCMS will be writing jointly with MHCLG to all Local Authorities to ensure these important events take place. I am committed to supporting them to return as soon as possible.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he has taken with the Local Government Association and others on the return of parkrun.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Government has prioritised the safe return of sport including team sports, contact combat sports and organised sports participation events. Organised outdoor sport, such as Parkrun, is exempt from legal gathering limits and can take place with any number of participants, as long as undertaken in line with published COVID-secure guidance. As such, Parkrun has been able to take place since 29 March as part of Step 1 of the government’s response to the Covid-19 Roadmap.
We are aware of issues at local levels around this, which is why I met with ParkRun on the 21 March to discuss the issues regarding their return. As the Secretary of State announced on 20th May, DCMS will be writing jointly with MHCLG to all Local Authorities to ensure these important events take place. I am committed to supporting them to return as soon as possible.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential for Parkruns to return in England in June 2021.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Government has prioritised the safe return of sport including team sports, contact combat sports and organised sports participation events. Organised outdoor sport, such as Parkrun, is exempt from legal gathering limits and can take place with any number of participants, as long as undertaken in line with published COVID-secure guidance. As such, Parkrun has been able to take place since 29 March as part of Step 1 of the government’s response to the Covid-19 Roadmap.
We are aware of issues at local levels around this, which is why I met with ParkRun on the 21 March to discuss the issues regarding their return. As the Secretary of State announced on 20th May, DCMS will be writing jointly with MHCLG to all Local Authorities to ensure these important events take place. I am committed to supporting them to return as soon as possible.