§ Lord Moynihanasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the departmental budget allocated to the promotion of sport and physical recreation by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and its associated agencies for each year since 2001–02. [HL3384]
§ The Minister of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Lord Rooker):The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister recognises that sport can play an important role in neighbourhood renewal. It has recently published three documents relating to sport and neighbourhood renewal:
- Joint Working in Sport and Neighbourhood Renewal—a study into the nature of joint working between sport and neighbourhood renewal practitioners.
- Teaming Up—a guide to joint working between sport and neighbourhood renewal practitioners that makes the case for linking sport and regeneration activities and provides some practical advice on how to do it.
- Street Games—a report about the street games initiative to get young people involved in regular sporting activities through properly mentored community football games.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is also aware that some regeneration expenditure is spent on sport interventions. To minimise reporting burden, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not require detailed breakdown of expenditure spent specifically on sport projects. However, the Association of London Government reports that 11 per cent of London's 2002–03 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund allocation was dedicated to culture, a category that encompasses sport.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has specific responsibility for the Fire Service College. The college operates a leisure centre which is available to students and local residents. This provides a swimming pool; multi-gym; sports hall; squash courts; tennis courts; and playing fields. The budgets for the leisure centre were:
£ Year Cost Income Net Cost 2002–03 225,000 120,000 105,000 2003–04 232,000 120,000 112,000 The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister also has a departmental sports and recreation club, SPARTA, for which it provides administration resources to cover the managing of the club. The budget for this was £63,000 in 2002–03 and £63,000 in 2003–04.