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Hugh Robertson (Faversham and Mid-Kent) (Con): May I say what an enormous pleasure it is that you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, are in the Chair? You are well known as a school sportsman of some distinction, as was your son, I believe, so it is a particular pleasure that you are in the Chair today.
It is also an enormous personal pleasure for me to speak in this debate on school sport not only because it is such an important and worthwhile subject but because I know that I gained an enormous amount personally from playing sport at school. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that my experience of playing sport at school shaped much of the rest of my life.
During my two years in the Whips Office before taking on this job, I attended, I am sad to say, a considerable number of debates on Thursdays on a one-line Whip. Despite the unappealing timetable, they were often excellent debates, precisely because the hon. Members who contributed cared deeply about the subject and often had personal expertise to bring to
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bear. I have no doubt that this debate will be no exception and that we will hear a number of interesting and thought-provoking contributions.
My only regret is that my opposite number, the Minister for Sport and Tourism, is not here to listen to those excellent speeches. Of course, it is an enormous pleasure that the Under-Secretary of State for Education and Skills, the hon. Member for Enfield, Southgate (Mr. Twigg) is here, but a visible sign of commitment from my opposite number would have been welcome. [Hon. Members: "Where are the Tories?"] Quite a few of my hon. Friends are here.
I should like to remind the House of exactly why sport is so important to young people, and I am sure that hon. Members on both sides of the House can agree about that. Sport is good for young people because it gets them fit, which is good for their health. It teaches them about the benefits of exercise, so they are more likely to maintain a healthy lifestyle throughout their adult years—something that the Minister touched on. It teaches them about leadership, commitment, teamwork, success, and of course, occasionally, failure. It keeps them occupied and channels their energies towards worthwhile and rewarding activities. It may well provide future career opportunities and, probably most importantly, it is fun.
Before I address the main issues that affect sport in school, it is important to emphasise that not all young people play all their sport at school. Sadly, some traditional school sports have virtually died out in some state schools, as my hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Mr. Cash) said; cricket and rugby are two excellent examples, as anyone who reads the trade press on those sports will know. There are also several sports where the necessary coaching expertise can be found only in clubs. For example, I was struck by a recent article in the Sunday papers about Kelly Holmes, because it was immediately obvious that the majority of her early athletics training had come, quite properly, from her local athletics club. It is vital, therefore, that the House recognise the crucial role that clubs play in encouraging young people to play sport and that the link between clubs and schools should be strengthened. I hope that the Minister will address that in his closing remarks.
There is a consensus that sport is good for young people and needs to be encouraged and promoted, and the Government certainly recognise that, as I would be the first to admit. Their 2001 manifesto stated:
"We pledge a sport entitlement for all children, giving them access to at least two hours a week of sport in or after school."
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport was given a new public service agreement target in the spending review—shared with the Minister's Department—to increase the proportion of schoolchildren who spend a minimum of two hours a week on high-quality PE and school sport to 85 per cent. by 2008, and to ensure that at least 75 per cent. of schoolchildren are in a school sport partnership by the same year.
On 4 March this year, DCMS published to statistics on the take-up of PE in schools that have been part of the school sports partnership for three years. The results come from a sample of 1,807 schools that were surveyed, of which 74 per cent. replied. I thought that that survey found that 68 per cent.—the Minister said 62 per cent.—
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of pupils in schools that have been in such a partnership for three years are spending at least two hours each week on high-quality PE and school sport. Let us all admit that that is greatly to be welcomed. However, even after three years of being in a schools partnership, it sounds as though 38 per cent.—I thought that the figure was 32 per cent.—of pupils are not doing so.
Mr. Stephen Twigg: We are both right. The hon. Gentleman quotes a figure that relates to those schools that have been in the partnership for the full three years. The 62 per cent. figure includes schools that have come into the partnership in the second and third year of the programme.
Hugh Robertson: I am grateful to the Minister for clearing that up, not least because his figures suit my argument better than mine do. That means that 38 per cent. of pupils—one in three—are not spending two hours a week on sport, and I am sure that we would all agree that that is far too many.
Furthermore, 26 per cent. of schools did not reply to the survey, so it is probably safe to assume that they are not meeting the target. A number of schools have not been part of the school sport partnership for three years, so are not eligible to be included in the figures in the first place. If we break those figures down, we see that that leaves 68 per cent.—or perhaps 62 per cent.—of the 74 per cent. that replied, as opposed to a target of 75 per cent. by 2008. We would all agree that there is much left to do.
Several hon. Members have already asked why a mere two hours a week should be the holy grail. I am always nervous, particularly in the company of one or two of my hon. Friends who are here today, of drawing lessons from Europe, but France, for example, specifies three hours. That is an example from the continent to which we could safely aspire—and if we are to do so, funding is the key.
The national lottery, which will soon celebrate its 10th birthday, and of which my party can rightly be proud, is a welcome source of funding for sport. Many Members on both sides of the House will have facilities in their constituencies that have been improved since 1994 with the help of lottery funding. Four years ago, in his keynote speech to the Labour party conference, the Prime Minister said:
"Today we set out plans to invest £750 million of lottery money in schools and community sport as part of a £1 billion investment over three years".
However, last January, more than three years after that speech, we discovered that only £8.5 million of that £750 million had been spent. There cannot be one MP in the House who regards that as satisfactory.
Andy Burnham
: I was at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport when that policy was developed, and I can tell the hon. Gentleman that my constituency, which previously had no floodlit Astroturf pitches, now has two, at Bedford high school and Westleigh high school,
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and there are two more to come under that policy. It takes time to put such facilities in place, but they are now coming through, and they are very welcome.
Hugh Robertson: I am delighted to hear it, but by the same token, the hon. Gentleman will admit that £8.5 million out of £750 million—
Hugh Robertson: That was the figure to which a DCMS Minister admitted one Question Time, when we had an exchange on the subject, so clearly he could not produce better figures. Perhaps we could clear the matter up by asking the Minister to confirm how much of that lottery money has been spent, and what plans his Department has to improve the situation.
I want to mention three further factors, the first of which is school playing fields, which the Minister has already touched on. I have no wish to enter into what could only be described as a sterile party political debate on school playing fields. I am well aware that Labour Members will criticise the Conservative Government for starting the sales—although I have never seen any great statistical evidence to back that accusation up. We will inevitably respond by pointing out that the Government have been in power for seven years, and have had ample time to honour their commitments. However, I am sure that we would all agree that the record is, at best, mixed.
On 4 March the DCMS published statistics on the applications for developments on playing fields relating to applications made between April 2002 and March 2003. There were 1,297 applications relating to playing fields, and 807—62 per cent.—were approved. The remainder were either rejected or are yet to be decided. Of the 807 approved applications, in only 212—26 per cent.—did the redevelopment provide new or improved sporting facilities. Nineteen per cent. of the applications related to changing rooms, access or floodlights—although I would be the first to agree that floodlights allow people to play sport for longer. Thirteen per cent. of the applications were simply like-for-like replacements. Those figures, as the Minister has been big enough to admit, give cause for concern. The fact that the Secretary of State for Education and Skills felt compelled to announce last August that new regulations are to be introduced is a sure sign that things are not going well. That announcement is welcome and I pay tribute to him for making it. However, we must wait and see its effect before we pass judgment.
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