asked Her Majesty’s Government:

Whether they will consider placing boxing within the physical education curriculum in schools.

My Lords, schools may choose to provide boxing for their pupils if they wish. The latest schools sport survey showed that 15 per cent of all maintained secondary schools do so as part of their PE and sport provision, usually in partnership with local boxing clubs.

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for that encouraging and surprising Answer. I say that because there has been, as it were, a cold shouldering of boxing over the years, and not just in education. However, it has proved to be quite useful in leading young people from relatively deprived backgrounds into an activity that is disciplined, encourages fitness and can take them away from a path leading towards criminal activities or drug taking, sad instances of which we see almost daily in our newspapers. Will the noble Lord encourage others in the Government to support boxing as an option?

My Lords, my honourable friend the Minister for Sport has given strong encouragement to boxing, but of course it needs to be conducted in a safe environment. We hope that schools would consult closely the Amateur Boxing Association, for example, before they introduced the sport. So far as its benefits are concerned, in preparing for this Question last night, I read Ricky Hatton’s memoirs, entitled The Hitman. This is what Ricky has to say about his schooldays:

“School was a bit of a dead end for me. I never took an exam in my life and I left Hattersley High School with absolutely no qualifications. There was only one subject I liked, PE. In the back of my mind, I always thought I was going to be a boxer”.

The moral I draw from that is that it is another great contribution from my noble friend Lord Hattersley to the youth of this nation. I am sorry to say that the school itself has since closed, but Ricky Hatton makes a great contribution in the Manchester area to sporting opportunities for young people and, indeed, by encouraging them in education.

My Lords, I declare an interest as a former trustee of Bolton Lads & Girls Club, where Amir Khan began his amazing boxing career. Amir has recently opened a gym in Bolton in order to put something back into the community. Will the Minister join me in acknowledging and celebrating the role played by individuals such as Amir and the third sector in giving young people the sense of self-worth that comes from sport and outdoor activities?

My Lords, I strongly endorse what the noble Baroness has said. Young sportsmen such as Amir Khan are great role models for our young people, and we wish Amir all the best as he defends his Commonwealth title next month.

My Lords, would my noble friend also consider encouraging schools to ensure that all young women are offered at the age of 12 or 13 the chance to take self-defence classes in the PE curriculum? That is not just to protect themselves against young men who are boxing, but to give them greater self-esteem and capacity for safety on the streets of our cities.

My Lords, I think that schools should pay close attention to the words of my noble friend in seeing that young women are taught properly how to maintain their own safety. That is an important part of the activity of schools.

My Lords, I hope the noble Lord has a very good run at Cheltenham in the next couple of weeks, if his namesake is still running. I am bitterly against boxing for children in case they suffer brain damage. Are all the children involved in boxing in schools given protective headgear?

My Lord, the Lord Adonis has been performing disastrously of late. I fear that he is not a role model for anyone at the moment. On safety, my department supports the safe practice guidance developed by the Association for Physical Education as well as the Schools Amateur Boxing Association’s standards scheme, which provides national guidance on the safe delivery of boxing activities. In order to reduce the potential for injury, schools keen to offer boxing are advised to consider the Amateur Boxing Association’s “Kid Gloves” scheme, or similar schemes, which focus on the development of non-contact boxing skills.

My Lords, I declare an interest as a member of the British Boxing Board of Control. In the past 18 months the number of competitive amateur boxers has doubled to 15,000 and four have already qualified for the Olympic Games. Can yet more money be put in through UK Sport so that we can qualify at all 11 weights when the Games come to London?

My Lords, I pay tribute to my noble friend’s work. Huge investment is going into sport in schools, both into developing school sport partnerships and into sports facilities. This will be to the benefit of boxing as to other sports.

My Lords, can the Minister give an assurance that all the other striking martial arts conform to exactly the same safety standards? There seems to be a myth that if something comes from the East and you are kicking as well as punching, it is not as dangerous.

My Lords, I am not sure whether I should answer yes or no to that; I am still trying to think about the noble Lord’s question. Perhaps I may look at it carefully and come back to him on it.

My Lords, how on earth do you have a non-contact boxing skill?

My Lords, I think the noble Earl needs to speak to the Amateur Boxing Association.

My Lords, is it not true that training for boxing can be non-combative and is one of the most exhilarating and demanding exercises one can undertake?

My Lords, I take my noble friend’s word for it, not having engaged in it myself. In politics, we develop skills which are commensurate in many ways. I am glad to say that they are non-contact too.

My Lords, my brother, as a doctor, was the manager of the only ever world champion boxer from Australia. He claimed that this boxer was one of the only ones who retired without brain damage because he was very determined to ensure that. Will the Minister emphasise the point about head protection, particularly for young people? In his answer to my noble friend Lady Trumpington, he was not clear whether the guidance available to schools indicates that there should be head protection.

My Lords, I should stress that it does. I strongly emphasise the importance of schools paying attention to the safe practice guidance developed by the Association for Physical Education, as well as the Schools Amateur Boxing Association’s standards scheme, for precisely the reasons that the noble Baroness and her noble friend set out.