§ Mr. LazarowiczTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will discuss with Scottish Ministers the locating of national athletics facilities for the United Kingdom in Scotland. [10149]
§ Mr. CabornThe question of whether there should be national athletics facilities needs to be determined by UK Athletics' own long-term strategic objectives. A long term development plan for athletics in this country is being developed by UK Athletics in discussion with Sport England and my Department.
Mr. Gareth R. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what stadiums there are in(a) the United Kingdom and (b) London capable of holding international athletics events under the auspices of the IAAF. [11018]
§ Mr. Caborn[holding answer 29 October 2001]: The IAAF have a variety of different international track, road, indoor and cross country events with different technical requirements. Four stadiums have hosted the IAAF Grand Prix and the AAA National Championships in recent years: London—Crystal Palace; Birmingham—Alexander Stadium; Sheffield—Don Valley; and Gateshead—the 759W Gateshead Stadium. None of the venues is currently able to host the IAAF World Athletics Championships, however the Don Valley Stadium is fully capable of being converted to World Championships standard.
Mr. Gareth R. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of United Kingdom sports medicine provision for international athletics; and if she will make a statement. [11021]
§ Mr. Caborn[holding answer 29 October 2001]: The UK Sports Institute (UKSI) is currently setting up a network of world class facilities and services to elite athletes. There will be centres in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and a network of regional centres in England. Each centre will provide state of the art sports science and medicine facilities.
The Government, through UK Sport and Sport England, continue to fund the work of the National Sports Medicine Institute (NSMI). The Institute promotes good medical practice in the treatment of athletes at all levels, including adequate preparation for events and the importance of a sound diet for optimum health and performance.
In addition, the UKSI and NSMI work closely with the British Olympic Medical Centre (BOMC), based at Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow, on co-ordination and delivery of sports medicine and science services for elite athletes in the UK.
Following a monitoring report on their World Class Performance Plan, published at the start of 2001, and subsequent joint work between UK Athletics and UK Sport, UK Athletics commissioned an independent review of its sports medicine provision. Dr. Ken Fitch, who has undertaken significant reviews across the world, including the Australian Institute of Sport, was responsible for the review. The Minister for Sport recently met with UK Athletics and Dr. Fitch to discuss sports medicine provision for international athletics.
UK Athletics have just received Dr. Fitch's report and they will be putting together an action plan for the short, medium and long term to enhance their provision of sports medicine to athletes. The UKSI also contributed to the review and UK Sport will work in partnership with UK Athletics on the implementation of the review's recommendations.