HL Deb 19 December 2001 vol 630 cc64-7WA
Lord Northbourne

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they are committed to securing the provision of playing fields and other sports facilities for all young people, whether or not the users can pay. [HL2005]

Baroness Blackstone

This Government are committed to the protection and provision of playing fields for all young people regardless of their ability to pay for these facilities. We recognise that playing fields provide a vital recreational resource for schools and local communities and we have put forward a number of strong measures because too many have been lost in recent years and grassroots sport has suffered as a result.

As well as considering further protection measures for playing fields, we are also investing heavily in new and improved playing fields for schools and local communities: £581 million from the National Lottery through the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) will be invested in strengthening the foundation of sport across England by building and refurbishing PE and sports facilities in schools in every local education authority. Innovation will be encouraged, through, for example, groups of local schools sharing facilities, such as playing fields, and making them available to the wider community and attracting partnership funding. Through a separate NOF initiative, Sport England has been tasked with delivering £31 million of lottery money to projects throughout England for the creation and improvement of playing fields and community spaces, as part of NOF's Green Spaces Initiative.

Lord Northbourne

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will encourage all local authorities to set up and maintain a website showing the names and addresses and a brief description of as many as possible of the youth and sports facilities (statutory, voluntary and private) which are available to 13 to 18 year olds in their area for use by individuals, the Connexions service, parents, schools and those interested in setting up new services in their areas. [HL2006]

Baroness Blackstone

Many local authorities already have their own websites which give details of the sporting opportunities available to people of all ages in the locality. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport recently announced plans for a database of sports facilities in England. We are currently discussing with Sport England the possible scope and content of the proposed database and how the project will be taken forward.

Sport England's own website provides access to Sports Gateway, a public access portal to a wide variety of sports information over the Internet. Sports Gateway provides access to information on over 6,000 sporting contacts and more than 4,000 sports facilities countrywide: website links provide a further access point for additional information. In the spring of 2002, a sport education courses database comprising 1,200 academic sports courses at institutions around the country will be added. Sport England is also currently piloting Sportsearch, an Internet CD-ROM system designed to enable secondary school-aged young people to match their physical, physiological and skill profiles and preferences with sports they may enjoy. The computer program also provides young people with information about a range of sports and gives them direct access to local club contacts and information through an automated club finder using post codes. Sportsearch will ultimately hold information on all national governing body affiliated clubs in England (approximately 150,000). Initially this information will be targeted at young people but will be extended to provide information for adults in the future.

Lord Northbourne

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will consider imposing on local authorities a duty to provide appropriate youth services and sports facilities available to all 13 to 19 year-olds on a basis which does not exclude any young person simply because they cannot afford to pay for the service or for necessary special clothing and equipment. [HL2007]

Baroness Blackstone

The provision of youth services and sports facilities is a matter for local authorities to consider. Local authorities are best placed to determine the level of provision required in the light of local needs and the appropriate mixture of public and private provision. The Government have no plans to impose a duty along the lines suggested by the noble Lord.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is encouraging local authorities to develop local cultural strategies by the end of 2002. These strategies will help local authorities express their own cultural visions and priorities in response to the needs and aspirations of local communities. They will provide a strategic overview, recognising the role of cultural services, including sport, in tackling the wider objectives of social inclusion, regeneration, lifelong learning and creating healthier and safer communities. Cultural strategies will help local authorities to ensure equity and access for everyone to cultural activities.

Lord Northbourne

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What studies they have made into the effect of youth services and sports facilities in contributing to the elimination of social exclusion and the reduction of juvenile crime. [HL2008]

Baroness Blackstone

There is a good deal of evidence to illustrate that the provision of youth, sport and leisure facilities can have a positive impact on tackling social exclusion and reducing crime. The report of Policy Action Team 10, which looked at how to maximise the impact on poor neighbourhoods of government spending and policies on arts, sport and leisure, concluded that arts and sport, cultural and recreational activity can contribute to neighbourhood renewal and make a real difference to health, crime, employment and education in deprived communities.

Research undertaken for the Department of Health, Making Research Count, Quality protects research briefing: the value of sports and arts, acknowledges that sport and recreation are regarded as having a significant social cachet among young people and are used as a means of engagement.

The evaluation of a programme known as Summer Splash, in a Youth Justice Board report published in November, indicates a significant impact on crime. In the summer of 2000, the Youth Justice Board established 102 projects to provide sports and arts activities for 20,000 13 to 17-year olds in deprived areas of the country. Each of the projects provided five weeks of events combining educational and life classes, such as drug awareness, with video-making, team sports, drama and DJ classes. In areas where the scheme ran, the total crime rate fell by 6 per cent compared with a national rise of 3.8 per cent. Criminal damage fell by 14.2 per cent compared with a national rise of 8 per cent and domestic burglary fell by 26.6 per cent compared with a national fall of 8 per cent. The schemes were supported by the police and engaged local communities, with 35,000 volunteer hours recorded nationally.

Youth Works in the North East of England, trained 40 young people in youth/sports leadership awards through supervised activities, with recreational activities organised and facilitated by trained young people. Its report illustrates outcomes of 40 per cent reduction in crime, 70 per cent reduction in calls to the police and £200,000 reduction in vandalism costs.

The Positive Futures programme demonstrates joined-up working to achieve a number of complementary objectives for young people. Launched in March 2000, the programme is steered by a national partnership comprising Sport England, the UK Anti-Drugs Co-ordination Unit and the Youth Justice Board and on the ground additional links have been made between a range of bodies, including professional sports clubs, local leisure, youth and social services, the police, schools and universities. The programme, which now operates in 55 targeted areas, aims, "to use sport to reduce anti-social behaviour, crime and drug misuse among 10–16 year olds from selected/disadvantaged neighbourhoods". Ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the Positive Futures programme will be developed, using a specific management information system database (SIMIS) which is scheduled to become operational by March 2002. Evaluation of Positive Futures is also being assisted by a study undertaken by an independent research company, Leisure Services, which will be available in the new year.

A number of studies and reports have been produced which cover the effect of youth services in contributing to the elimination of social exclusion and the reduction of juvenile crime.

The Policy Action Team on Young People (PAT 12) looked at how government can improve the way policies and services work for young people. In looking at existing policies, the report found that the need for more consistent coverage and provision for the Youth Service was an issue. The Government have therefore set up the Connexions service. Connexions offers a universal youth support service which will provide advice and guidance to all 13 to 19 year olds. It will improve and enhance a range currently available to young people.

The Government White Paper Tackling Drugs Together. A strategy for England 1995–1998 sets out a new drugs strategy for England. A key element of the strategy was the establishment of drug reference groups to assess the nature and scale of local drug misuse problems and advise drug action teams on the apppopriate measures to be taken to tackle them effectively. Youth services were one of the key agencies identified in the White Paper for membership of the drug reference groups.

Other reports and studies include:

Young women's access to opportunities: external evaluation report:a report by the Young Women's Christian Association which provides an evaluation of a youth and community work programme run by the YWCA in seven locations across England. The programme targets disadvantaged or socially excluded young women and works with them using innovative ways to build up their employability.

Doing something positive: youth activities work with disengaged young people: a report by the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (NACRO) which illustrates its experience and success in managing its youth activities units and other projects working with young people.

Making a difference: preventing crime through youth activity: a report which examines evidence from a range of youth activity projects run by NACRO and other organisations which illustrate the potential of youth work for the prevention of crime.