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Sport Funding

Volume 402: debated on Tuesday 25 March 2003

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To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures she has taken to ensure that sportsmen and women in Northern Ireland who wish to compete as British competitors receive funding from the National Lottery; what measures she has taken to ensure that sportsmen and women in Northern Ireland who wish to compete on behalf of the Republic of Ireland do not receive funding from the National Lottery; and if she will list the occasions when funding from the National Lottery has been used to assist in the development of sport in a foreign country. [103942]

National Lottery funding for Northern Ireland athletes who wish to compete as British competitors is available through UK Sport's World Class Performance Programme (WCPP). The criteria for the inclusion of an athlete from Northern Ireland on the WCPP is the same as that for an athlete from any of the four home countries. Inclusion is based on sporting performance and future medal prospects.An athlete may have the option to compete for All-Ireland or for UK/GB. Where an athlete chooses to compete for All-Ireland, he/she would not receive funding from the UK programme.In addition, the Sports Council for Northern Ireland also provides National Lottery support to athlete development in Northern Ireland through Programmes such as Talented Athlete, Talented Athlete Next Generation and Talented Junior. This funding is provided for training and preparation for competition to enable the athletes to qualify for a variety of high profile tournaments eg the Olympic Games, the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games. As far as the Olympics and European Championships are concerned, athletes have a choice about which country they represent, either Great Britain or Ireland, and the choice often depends on the constitution of the Governing Body to which they are affiliated.However, all athletes in receipt of funding ultimately represent Northern Ireland in the Commonwealth Games, if selected.In accordance with the Good Friday Agreement, under which the British and Irish Governments recognise the birthright of all the people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or British, or both, as they may so choose, the Sports Council for Northern Ireland seeks to ensure that the structures of sport in Northern Ireland provide an equal and equitable opportunity to all to participate in a sport of their choice, for a country of their choice.Normally, UK Sport Lottery funding is confined to supporting the goal of "winning athletes" and the bidding for and staging of world class events in the United Kingdom. The UK Sport Council agreed to make a Lottery award in support of the joint bid by Scotland and Ireland to bid for the UEFA Euro 2008 Championships. It was agreed that it would be counter-productive to attempt to confine UK Sport's Lottery funding to just the Scottish element of that bid. This is the only example of its kind.