asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much public money in the current financial year is to be paid to the sports councils, the Central Council of Physical Recreation and other bodies giving facilities for training athletes.

Total grant-in-aid approved by Parliament for the current financial year is as follows:

	£ million
Sports Council	15·4
Scottish Sports Council	2·8
Sports Council for Wales	1·8
Northern Ireland Sports Council	0·742

Some of this money goes towards providing facilities for training athletes of all age groups from school children to veterans, at all levels of performance, in a wide range of sports and recreations, many of which have no international competitive activities.In addition, many athletes at all levels train in facilities provided by local authorities, schools, universities, and other bodies which are supported in varying degrees from taxpayers funds.