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Sports: Finance

Volume 470: debated on Monday 7 January 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the level of public funding for (a) sport and (b) women's sport has been in each of the last five years; and which sport received the most money per participant. (173458)

Exchequer and Lottery spending on sport in England in each of the last five years was:

£ million

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

Lottery

350

297

249

419

344

Exchequer

137

140

235

273

377

Total

487

437

484

692

721

The Exchequer figures show DCMS spending through UK Sport and Sport England, and DCSF spending on school sport through the Youth Sport Trust. The Lottery figures show spending through UK Sport, Sport England, the Big Lottery Fund and its predecessors (Community Fund and New Opportunities Fund).

It is not possible to provide total figures for investment into women's sport, or which sport received the most money per participant, as information is not held in this format.

We do have figures on programmes specifically targeted at women.

The Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation, which exists to promote physical activity as an integral part of life for women and girls, has received the following funding:

£

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

Core costs (Exchequer)

150,000

200,000

200,000

200,000

329,333

Project support (Exchequer)

133,000

Project support (Lottery)

83,729

65,207

56,454

Total

150,000

283,729

200,000

265,207

418,787

1 £20,000 to support work across the Sports Equity Alliance, not solely women's sport.

UK Sport has funded the following women's sport programmes:

£30,000 (£10,000 in 2006-07 and £20,000 in 2007-08) has been invested in the Women and Leadership Development Programme, established in partnership with the BOA and CCPR to address the lack of women in senior decision making sports positions.

£67,500 has been invested between 2004 and 2008 in international women's sport development projects.

Synchronised swimming, (£1,617,000 for April 2006 to March 2009) and rhythmic gymnastics (integrated into the overall British Gymnastics Beijing award of £9 million) which are both female only sports.

Since 2003, female athletes have received 39 to 41 per cent. of UK Sport World Class Performance Programme and World Class Pathway Programme awards.