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English Sports Council: Grants

Volume 480: debated on Monday 6 October 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how the maintenance regime of a sports facility which has received a capital award from Sport England is monitored; what guidance and advice other than on the terms and conditions included in grant offer letters is given to successful grant applicants at the (a) pre- and (b) post-application stages; and what information on sports turf maintenance is issued by his Department and Sport England to applicants. (223468)

[holding answer 15 September 2008]: Monitoring arrangements vary from project to project, dependent on the size and type of grant. Sport England requires applicants to ensure that adequate funds are made available over the life time of the grant award, to ensure that the facility is maintained properly.

Sport England has advised that pre-application advice is supplied to applicants through both online support and one-to-one meetings. A sample of capital projects are monitored post completion. In addition, Sport England’s regional offices are in contact with projects in their region on an ad hoc basis.

Technical Guidance on Natural Turf can be found on Sport England’s website as a free download of the Natural Turf technical publication;

www.sportengland.org/se_facilities_naturalturf.pdf.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether a revenue tail to fund maintenance staff is a requirement for applicants for capital awards from Sport England; what discussions he has had with Sport England on such a requirement; and if he will make a statement. (223469)

[holding answer 15 September 2008]: Arrangements for the award and management of grants are primarily matters for Sport England. Sport England has advised that it does not require, as condition of grant, a revenue tail to fund maintenance staff. It does, however, require the applicant to ensure that adequate funds are made available over the life time of the grant award, to ensure that the facility is maintained properly. Sport England has advised that where it is known that replacement of elements of the capital facility will be required within the lifetime of the award, such as a synthetic turf surface, they will seek assurance that a replacement budget is established by the awardee to ensure the replacement is made.