§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) if he will make a statement on the number of children playing(a) cricket and (b) rugby league in schools; [128831]
(2) if he will make a statement on the number of children playing tennis in schools. [128833]
§ Kate HoeyA survey of young people in sport, commissioned by Sport England in 1999, shows that participation in tennis and cricket in schools has increased since 1994 (from 16 to 18 per cent. and 13 to 16 per cent. of children participating 10 times or more in the last year, respectively), while participation in rugby remains unchanged (12 per cent. of children participating 10 times or more in the last year).
My Department does not have statistics on the number of children playing tennis and rugby league in schools, but English and Wales Cricket Board figures suggest that more than 2.1 million children play cricket in schools.