Olympic Athletes: Financial Support (Hansard, 7 March 1994)

§ Baroness Trumpington
My Lords, the Sports Council, which is sponsored by my department, plans to provide £ 24 million of grant-in-aid to the Olympic 1239 governing bodies of sport over the next four years, an increase of 12 per cent. over provision between 1989 and 1993. In addition, elite athletes will benefit from the additional £ 1.3 million which the Foundation for Sport and the Arts have made available to the Sports Aid Foundation in 1994 to assist with specialist training and living expenses.

§ Lord Addington
My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for that reply. However, is she aware that many athletes find themselves dependent on income support for long periods of training? Indeed one competitor who won a bronze medal in the 1992 Olympics was stripped of income support for having spent too much time out of the country. Will the Minister tell us what the new situation will be when the job seeker's allowance is brought in? Will the Government also consider bringing in some form of tax relief for a firm which sponsors athletes, in particular those who are on the edge of international performance?

§ Baroness Trumpington
My Lords, taking the last part of the noble Lord's question first, I shall feed that suggestion to my right honourable friend.
With regard to the first part of the question, I understand from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Social Security in another place that his department cannot create a special exemption in its income support rules for sport. My department wrote to the BOA on 3rd December 1993 setting out clearly the rules on eligibility for entitlement. Many elite athletes benefit from the most generous support of the Sports Aid Foundation, which provided over 350 grants totalling over £ 1 million for Olympic preparation in 1992– 93.

§ Lord Donoughue
My Lords, is the Minister aware that the British Olympic Association report is a devastating critique of the deficiencies of the provision of athletic coaching, management and facilities? Is she also aware that the report makes clear that a quarter of our top athletes depend upon parental support, averaging about £ 5,000 a year, simply to continue their training, and that a fifth of them are unemployed? That is grossly inferior to the provision among our competitor nations. Do we not need to take the next Olympic Games seriously, with better financial provision, and, above all, with a total shake up in the athletic organisations which have a responsibility for preparing for them?

§ Baroness Trumpington
My Lords, the Athletes' Report is not just about funding issues. The report fails to recognise the significant provision by the Sports Council in terms of its financial assistance to governing bodies and support services, including access to sports medicine facilities and other specialised training facilities such as the national sports centres. My department is in constant liaison with the BOA and other sports authorities on all matters relating to performance and excellence. It is very difficult to make direct comparisons due to differences in the structure and management of sport within Europe. However, the 1240 overall package available to our athletes, including non-financial elements, does not compare unfavourably with similar countries elsewhere.

§ Lord Donoughue
My Lords, does not the Minister accept that the provision through the Sports Council is far inferior to that in other countries? The Germans have built 22 centres of sporting excellence since 1986 and we have built none. I do not believe that that is comparable provision.

§ Baroness Trumpington
My Lords, realistically we should not expect to match such countries as America and China in our athletic performance. However, our achievements are comparable to those of similar countries such as France, Canada and Italy; we came 13th out of 81 at Barcelona. However, I recognise the noble Lord's point. I know that there is great interest in the matter and my right honourable friend the Secretary of State is looking into the way the Sports Council is administered at present.

§ Lord Dean of Beswick
My Lords, the Government quite rightly set aside a substantial sum of money for the Olympic Games if Manchester were successful in its bid. Unfortunately, it was not, but I repeat that I understand that the money was set aside. But is it not the case that Olympic athletes start very young in athletics and, whatever our politics, we come out badly in the provision of facilities for those at the bottom end of the social scale? Would it not now be an opportune time to ensure that some of the money set aside for athletes at the top level was diffused downwards to train younger people on a wider basis?

§ Baroness Trumpington
My Lords, some of the money will go into the stadium in Manchester. I have spent a whole year learning to pronounce "Barthelona" correctly and I am only sorry that I shall not be able to say "Manthester".