§ Mr. BestTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to tackle obesity through sport. [136649]
§ Mr. CabornThe Government is aware that obesity levels are rising, especially among young people. Raising levels of community participation is key to tackling this. The Government is addressing this by investing in high-quality local sport and activity resources, which are available to all. The New Opportunities Fund (NOF) and Space for Sport and the Arts are putting over £581 million into new PE and school sport facilities in England and Wales, and putting over £400 million into local sports facilities, healthy living centres and activity centres for young people. In addition, we are supporting the vital network of 110,000 amateur sports clubs with a new £60 million capital investment, tax and charity breaks, and mandatory rate relief. £28 million is also being invested by my Department in the recruitment, training and deployment of sports coaches across the UK.