HC Deb 23 July 2002 vol 389 c974W
Mr. Sheerman

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what she is doing to nurture future sporting talent among young people. [72045]

Mr. Caborn

This Department is working in partnership with the Department for Education and Skills to improve access to and the quality of PE, school sport and club links for 5 to 16-year-olds. Gifted and talented sportspeople, specifically, will benefit from: a national support network based around specialist sports colleges; a programme of summer schools and performance camps; a much stronger emphasis on sporting talent within all parts of our national strategy for gifted and talented education; improved coaching; and stronger links between schools and sports clubs. As far as the last is concerned, we aim to increase the numbers of children and young people moving into sports specific junior clubs in seven major sports from 386,000 now to 1 million by 2006.