§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many(a) football, (b) cricket, (c) rugby league and (d) rugby union matches the Minister for Sport has attended in his official capacity since 1 May 1997; and where each took place. [34738]
§ Mr. Chris SmithSince my hon. Friend's appointment as Sports Minister on 1 May, he has attended in his official capacity the following:
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- 20 Football matches at Stratford, Wembley, Upton Park, Old Trafford, Leicester, Northampton, Romford, Reading, Stevenage, Stamford Bridge, Sunderland, The New Den, Paris, Italy and Marseilles.
- 3 Cricket matches at the Oval and Lords.
- 1 Rugby League match at Wembley.
- 0 Rugby Union matches.
My hon. Friend has also attended other sporting occasions, at different locations, such as: the World Blind Sailing Championships in Weymouth, Boxing at Wembley Arena, Special Olympic National Summer Games in Portsmouth, Tennis at Wimbledon, Winter Olympics in Nagano, Basketball at the London Arena in Docklands, British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Netball at Crystal Palace Sports Centre, and a Gymnastics display in Gloucester.
§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many times the Minister for Sport has attended meetings with the(a) British Athletic Federation, (b) Cricket Council, (c) Football Association, (d) Rugby Football Union, (e) Rugby Football League, (f) Central Council for Physical Recreation, (g) British Association for Physical Training, (h) British Olympic Association, (i) National Coaching Foundation, (j) National Playing Fields Association and (k) Sports Nutrition Foundation since 1 May 1997. [34736]
§ Mr. Chris SmithSince 1 May my hon. Friend the Minister for Sport has attended meetings with the following organisations.
Although my hon. Friend has had no meetings with the British Federation, he has recently met the British Athletes whilst he was in Nagano during the Winter Olympics.
- British Athletic Federation: 0
- Cricket Council: 0
- Football Association: 9
- Rugby Football Union: 0
- Rugby Football League: 2
- Central Council for Physical Recreation: 3
- British Association for Physical Training: 0
- British Olympic Association: 3
- National Coaching Foundation: 0
- National Playing Fields Association: 1
- Sports Nutrition Foundation: 0.
My hon. Friend has also had meetings with other organisations such as: the Sports Council, English Sports Forum, Youth Charter for Sport, British Olympic Association Athletic Commission, Commonwealth Games Federation, British Ski Federation, Sports Aid Foundation, Sportsmatch, Football Licensing Authority, various Angling organisations, Athletics Youth Foundation, the Lawn Tennis Association.