COMMITTEE Grassroots Sport and the European Union Oral Evidence with Associated Written Evidence
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SOCIAL POLICIES AND CONSUMER PROTECTION SUB- COMMITTEE Grassroots Sport and the European Union Oral evidence with associated written evidence Contents Sport and Recreation Alliance (formerly CCPR) ................................................................................. 2 Written evidence (GSEU 1) ................................................................................................................. 2 Oral evidence, 11 November 2010, Q 1–39................................................................................. 15 Supplementary written evidence (GSEU 21) ................................................................................. 29 Sport England ............................................................................................................................................ 32 Written evidence (GSEU 29) ............................................................................................................ 32 Oral evidence, 9 December 2010, Q 40–69 ................................................................................. 43 Football Association, Lawn Tennis Association and Rugby Football Union ............................... 55 Written evidence from the Football Association (GSEU 16) .................................................... 55 Written evidence from the Lawn Tennis Association (GSEU 27) ........................................... 58 Written evidence from the Rugby Football Union (GSEU 7) ................................................... 66 Oral evidence, 16 December 2010, Q 70–98 ............................................................................... 71 Supplementary written evidence (GSEU 33) ................................................................................. 87 Football Foundation and StreetGames ................................................................................................ 92 Written evidence from the Football Foundation (GSEU 20) .................................................... 92 Written evidence from StreetGames (GSEU 11) ........................................................................ 97 Oral evidence, 13 January 2011, Q 99–138 ................................................................................. 104 Supplementary written evidence from the Football Foundation (GSEU 37) ....................... 121 Supplementary written evidence from StreetGames (GSEU 34) ........................................... 124 Emma McClarkin MEP ........................................................................................................................... 133 Oral evidence, 25 January 2011, Q 139–154 .............................................................................. 133 Mary Honeyball MEP ............................................................................................................................. 140 Oral evidence, 25 January 2011, Q 155–168 .............................................................................. 140 EU Sports Platform ................................................................................................................................ 145 Oral evidence, 25 January 2011, Q 169–183 .............................................................................. 145 European Commission .......................................................................................................................... 152 Oral evidence, 1 February 2011, Q 184–208 .............................................................................. 152 Sport Northern Ireland, sportscotland and Sport Wales ............................................................. 166 Written evidence from Sport Northern Ireland (GSEU 19) ................................................... 166 Written evidence from sportscotland (GSEU 5) ....................................................................... 171 Written evidence from Sport Wales (GSEU 35) ....................................................................... 176 Oral evidence, 3 February 2011, Q 209–227 .............................................................................. 184 Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) ...................................................................... 198 Written evidence (GSEU 9) ............................................................................................................ 198 Oral evidence, 10 February 2011, Q 228–264 ........................................................................... 203 Supplementary written evidence (GSEU 38) ............................................................................... 219 Sport and Recreation Alliance (formerly CCPR) Sport and Recreation Alliance (formerly CCPR) Written evidence (GSEU 1) CCPR is the national umbrella body of governing and representative bodies of sport and recreation in the UK. Our 321 members represent 150,000 clubs across the country and some 8 million regular participants. CCPR exists to promote the role of sport and recreation in healthy and active lifestyles, to encourage a policy and regulatory environment in which sport from grassroots through to elite level can flourish, and to provide high quality services to help its members continually improve and progress. CCPR provides these organisations with a single, independent voice ensuring that their interests are represented and that they have the skills and capacity to deliver high quality sport and recreation across the country. The Alliance welcomes the House of Lord’s EU select committee’s active role in sport and the opportunity to examine European issues from a national perspective. The Benefits of Participation 1. Why is participation in grassroots sport important? What benefits does it bring? It should not be forgotten that sport is the largest social activity in Europe and is, in essence, hugely popular. According to the European White Paper on sport about 60% of Europeans participate in sport on a regular basis1, while the drama of sports create a passionate following at both competitions and through television. Policy changes which affect sport matter to hundreds of millions of people across Europe. Social, health and community benefits are derived from well-run clubs and sports organisations. The fact that sport can have a positive effect on so many other policy streams provides both challenges and opportunities for the sport movement. The multi-faceted benefits of sport emphasise the need for sport to be considered cross-departmentally, for example being an integral part of health ministry strategies across Europe. It is also hoped that mainstreaming of sport successfully across these lines will allow sport to access funding for the benefit of the club and community. Some of the policy streams to which sport can play a leading role are: a) Health Regular physical activity can help prevent a host of preventable diseases2. Most obviously in the field of health, sport can help with an ever-growing obesity problem. Children burn, on average in the UK, 600kCal per day less than 50 years ago and an adult’s decrease in energy expenditure since the 1950s is equivalent to running a marathon every week3. Encouraging activity and improving access and opportunity to play sport can obviously help, and simple 1 European Commission (DG MARKT) (2007) European White Paper on Sport 2 For example: obesity, type II diabetes, osteoporosis, haemorrhagic, strokes, arthritic problems, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, hyperinsulinaemia, dyslipidaemia and psychosocial dysfunction. See MacDougall, J. (2007) Towards a better future for youth sport 3 National Audit Office (2001) Tackling Obesity in England 2 Sport and Recreation Alliance (formerly CCPR) principles such as rationalising current facilities and opening school facilities for community use outside school hours4 could be simple ways of increasing access. b) Social Exclusion Sport can help provide opportunities for young people and help combat negative effects of social exclusion. In terms of anti-social behaviour, studies have shown increased sporting activity has been linked to developing the type of personality more resistant to drug and alcohol addiction5, while girls participating in sport are less likely to be sexually active at a young age and have teenage pregnancies6. Sport provides a focus for youngsters and a way to organize and apply meaning to their lives, this is particularly important for children who lack role models in their home life. c) Community cohesion and active citizenship Sport has always provided great opportunities for community cohesion through its networks of community clubs and grassroots sport’s dependency on volunteering. Sports clubs across the UK rely on volunteers from the community to function, with over 90% of clubs using volunteers7 and with each sport club averaging 21 volunteers8. More people in the UK also volunteer in sport than any other sector9. c) Integration of immigrant populations Sport can be used to help engage and integrate immigrant populations and has long been recognised across the world as benefitting diverse societies. Sport “has served to confront people with the social reality of multiculturalism. Changes in public opinion and outlook have in part been shaped by ethnic involvement in sport.”10 A concrete example in the UK is Commonwealth England’s plan to use the 2011 Delhi Commonwealth games to reach out to and integrate Indian minorities in the UK. d) Integration of ageing populations The European demographic is undoubtedly