§ 11. Mr. Michael Jack (Fylde) (Con)In what ways his Department is assisting schools to develop their sports facilities. [187705]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Skills (Mr. Stephen Twigg)We are investing £686 million in school sports facilities in England. More than 3,000 schools are benefiting from those programmes. The Department is also supporting capital investment in schools of £4.5 billion this year and more than £5 billion in 2005—06, much of which will be directly allocated to local authorities and schools for them to address their priority needs, including sport facilities.
§ Mr. JackThe Minister has indicated that substantial sums in capital funds are available for schools that wish to develop their sports facilities. Sadly, however, following an Ofsted recommendation, St. Bede's school in my constituency was unsuccessful in bidding for money under the targeted capital fund arrangements and, although it wishes to reapply under that scheme, it has been told that it cannot. Will the Minister look carefully at the school's case to see whether St. Bede's could reapply under the fund, or, if that route to capital funding is not available, can he recommend another route, given that the school has already raised £250,000 of its own money to put towards its much-needed sports facilities?
§ Mr. TwiggI am aware of the situation at St. Bede's. It received a good Ofsted report, and Ofsted made a recommendation about sports facilities. The target capital fund was heavily over-subscribed and the next 857 round is also very highly subscribed. If St. Bede's is unsuccessful in that round, there will be a further round early next year. It may also be possible to secure a grant from the formulaic capital programme allocated through the Lancashire local education authority. It is possible that there could be scope for progress by St. Bede's under the building schools for the future programme. I will write to the right hon. Gentleman setting that out in detail.
§ Judy Mallaber (Amber Valley) (Lab)Will my hon. Friend look at the success achieved in Amber Valley by developing the key sports facility of having hundreds of young people acting as sports leaders through the community sports programme, which is working with schools, Connexions and the Learning and Skills Council? Because that programme promotes sport and good health and also gives confidence to young people to be engaged in such activities, including their education, will he also consider the associated NEET programme, which brings in and re-engages in sports 16 to 19-year-olds who are "not in employment, education or training"?
§ Mr. TwiggI am happy to commend those programmes in my hon. Friend's Amber Valley constituency. She will be aware that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills launched the healthy living blueprint earlier this week, setting out some of the challenges for schools and the wider community in promoting healthy living. Good quality physical education and sport is at the heart of our efforts to ensure that children and young people have the healthiest lifestyles possible.
§ Charles Hendry (Wealden) (Con)Does the Minister agree that it is not just sports facilities in school that are important, but how students are encouraged to use them in the wider community? Is he aware that in other European countries, particularly France and Holland, where there is a much higher involvement of young people in sport, sports facilities tend to be located in local clubs, rather than attached to schools, and are properly co-ordinated to bring a range of sports together on one site? What discussion is the Minister having with UK Sport and Sport England to ensure that sports facilities are developed in a way that will be of the greatest overall community benefit?
§ Mr. TwiggThe hon. Gentleman raises a reasonable point. We work closely with our colleagues in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to ensure that our efforts are coherent. It works in both directions. It is, as the hon. Gentleman rightly says, about ensuring that we have facilities in the community for young people, but it is also about facilities in schools being accessible to the community outside traditional school hours, including for young people. We need to do both. A lot of money is going into that and I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will welcome those additional resources. We want to ensure that they have maximum impact on young people from all backgrounds in all our communities.
§ Andy Burnham (Leigh) (Lab)Does the Minister agree that the British state school system has traditionally 858 undervalued the role of after-school competitive sport between schools, particularly its value in raising the self-esteem of young people who may lack confidence in the classroom? To ensure that we get maximum benefit from the new facilities that the Government are putting in, will he consider a proper system of rewarding teachers who take after-school or weekend sport and work with the governing bodies to get an extensive league structure for schools in all the main sports?
§ Mr. TwiggI pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who has campaigned on these issues for some time. Competitive sports are an important aspect of our work on physical education and sport in schools. I am happy to look into the specific suggestion that he has made today and to write to him. We have said that we want every school to be part of a school sports partnership by 2006. More than half are now in such partnerships, and competitive sports will be an important element in the work of those partnerships.