Mr. Gareth R. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many unannounced tests taken on premises not owned by a professional football club have been undertaken in each of the last five years. [8258]
§ Mr. CabornAll tests for sports in the UK are unannounced tests, that are collected at short or no-notice to the individual athlete, whether collected in competition or out of competition. For team sports such as football, testing is arranged by collecting samples at squad training sessions or after a match which ensures that players are subject to the same procedures as they would be for an out of competition test.
Testing will always take place on football premises, whether a club ground, training venue, or academy. Because of the ease of access to football players it has not been necessary to instigate testing at players' homes.
Number of tests In competition Out of competition 1996–97 63 415 1997–98 57 460 1998–99 69 470 1999–2000 133 928 2000–01 97 919
Mr. Gareth R. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many erythropoietin and human growth hormone tests have been undertaken in the last three years by Sport England; if the method of conducting such tests in England is the same as that used by Fina in Sydney; and if she will make a statement. [8260]
§ Mr. CabornAs testing for erythropoietin and growth hormone is very much at its infancy the level of testing for these substances has been confined to research and limited screening, making the data regarding test numbers of limited value. Methods have been refined since the protocols introduced at the Sydney Olympics, different methods and protocols are adopted by different sports and the purpose of testing can vary. UK Sport is closely monitoring the different testing systems in order that any national testing programme that would include erythropoietin and growth hormone, particularly if it will be based on blood testing, has integrity and is legally robust.
Mr. Gareth R. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many tests for banned substances have been undertaken on footballers playing in the(a) Premier League and (b) Football League in each of the last five years. [8257]
§ Mr. CabornThe anti-doping programmes for the football governing bodies in the UK are delivered through the national anti-doping organisation UK Sport. UK Sport monitors the type and level of testing.
For the Football Association, the nature of promotion and relegation within the Football League and Premiership means that it is difficult to present meaningful and accurate figures that separate the Premier League and the Football League testing over the last five years. Teams may have been in numerous different divisions during that period, individual players may have 184W moved clubs or been included in testing of international competitions or squads. Furthermore, it is not in the interests of an effective testing programme to reveal the testing plan for any sport and therefore the figures are represented below as a total.
Year Total number of tests for the FA 1996–97 478 1997–98 517 1998–99 539 1999–2000 1,061 2000–01 1,016 The above totals include testing across all divisions of the Football League and Premiership and include testing at women's football and FA Conference football as well as FA Vase testing. Also included in the programme is the testing of national squads (male and female) and target testing through punitive action and that performed at the request of clubs. The programme covers all possible periods of training and, competition for an athlete, as testing can take place on any day of the week.
To explain the significant level of testing for the Football Association programmes, it may be helpful to point out that for 1999–2000 and 2000–01 they comprise over one sixth of the total tests conducted within the UK Sport testing programme.
Mr. Gareth R. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she commissioned a review of blood tests for the drugs erythropoietin and human growth hormone; and if she will make a statement. [8259]
§ Mr. CabornUK Sport conducts the testing programme for sports in the UK, presently the body fluid used for testing is urine. No formal review of blood testing has been commissioned for the detection of erythropoietin or human growth hormone. The introduction of blood testing to sport is quite recent. The testing protocols are still being revised to ensure that they are effective.
Blood testing took place at the World Cycling Championships in Manchester in 2000, this testing was part of the medical check on the cyclist and measured haematocrit. Blood screening was also carried out at the London Marathon this year as part of a research project to consider the operational issues and effectiveness of EPO testing, more recently blood tests were also carried out at the World Half Marathon in Bristol. As research into detection continues it is possible that blood tests may be replaced by urine tests for the detection to erythropoietin. Presently research into growth hormone has been limited, although Professor Peter Sonkson at St. Thomas' Hospital had made significant advances, this work is on-going in other countries with financial support from the World Anti-Doping Agency.