§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will estimate the amount of public funds given to support sporting activities for(a) men and (b) women in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [102192]
§ Kate Hoey[holding answer 13 December 1999]: Information on the amount of public funds given is not available in the form requested. However, to date Sport has been awarded £1,145 billion from the National Lottery, which has benefited 5,089 capital projects. Additionally, the Sports Councils, through which my Department's funding for sport is channelled, have received £234.3 million grant in aid in the last five years to provide support to the governing bodies of sport and other representative bodies. Funding of around £750,000 is being provided this year to three gender-specific sports: women's netball, rugby and football. All applications for a Lottery award should demonstrate that it would benefit all sections of the community, including young people, ethnic communities, people with disabilities, older people and women.