§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what statistics are collected by, or reported to, his Department relating to minors sustaining personal injury while taking part in the activities of junior sports clubs. [59707]
§ Ms JowellI have been asked to reply.
The Department does not collect information on injuries from sporting activities at junior clubs. Although the hospital episode statistics data system has information on injuries and accidents, these relate only to events which require medical treatment at a hospital. These do not specify the location of the accident. The Department of Trade and Industry's Home and Leisure Accident Surveillance System records treatment for injuries from sporting activities from a sample of accident and 452W emergency departments in the United Kingdom. Under this system an estimated 215,000 children under 15 had sports injuries in 1996 in the UK. Although the database cannot identify whether they occurred in junior sports clubs, it can differentiate between organised and non-organised games.