Ah now we get it, the reason why sport and physical activity is so low on the totem pole is that our masters think it is a diversion measure for crims and the rest of us aren't interested. So to get sport funded we have to get banged-up?

Gerry Sutcliffe (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Culture, Media & Sport)

"I heartily agree, and I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising this issue. He will know that one of my previous roles was in the Home Office, dealing with young offenders. The busiest place in a young offender institution and, indeed, a prison is the gym, and we must try to channel that activity into sport. I believe that there is a great role for sport to play in helping support offenders and in getting them away from offending."

His colleague Chris Bryant said:

"Paris has more 50 m swimming pools than England and Wales put together. That is partly because it is very expensive for local authorities to build and maintain swimming pools. Will the Government consider building more 50 m pools and making sure that funding comes from central Government, rather than local government?"

(Chris Bryant forgets to mention that he was part of Hackney Council that went on to deny Hackney and London residents a 50m pool when the 25metre, £50million Clissold Leisure Centre was being designed. Ed)

(Via Sport (Girls): 28 Jan 2008: House of Commons debates (TheyWorkForYou.com): .)

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| Parliament, Hansard and Whitehall | 30 January 2008; 1:04:04 AM |# | | Discuss |

David Chaytor (Bury North, Labour) Link to this | Hansard source

"Should schools not be assessed on achievements in running, swimming and cycling in exactly the same way as they are assessed on achievements at level 4 in key stage 2, or the gaining of five A-C grades at GCSE?"

(Via Obesity: 23 Jan 2008: House of Commons debates (TheyWorkForYou.com): .)

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| Parliament, Hansard and Whitehall | 24 January 2008; 8:50:11 PM |# | | Discuss |

This contribution in Westminster follows up on Ms Hoey's Daily Telegraph piece [LINK].

"The Secretary of State will know that all the research shows that good quality sports facilities and having sport in schools raises standards. Why, then, given the welcome building schools for the future programme, is a school such as Stockwell Park in the most deprived part of Lambeth, which currently has a good 25 m swimming pool, to be totally rebuilt minus its swimming pool? Surely that does not show that we mean what we say when we talk about joined-up thinking, bringing together and tackling obesity in our inner-city areas."

(Via Kate Hoey's Recent Appearances (TheyWorkForYou.com) Educational Standards | Oral Answers to Questions - Children, Schools and Families | Commons debates: .)

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| Parliament, Hansard and Whitehall | 15 November 2007; 1:26:28 AM |# | | Discuss |

Recently the Government announced that 800,000 people had come to Britain to live and work since 1997 and the public laughed. Now we read that all is well in the school gym and on the playing fields.

"Schools across UK have reached their activity targets a year early, according to a government report.

The 2006-07 School Sport Survey found that 86 per cent of pupils now participate in at least two hours of PE and school sport per week. The figure is just above the 85 per cent target set by government for schools to reach in 2008."

(Via Leisure Opportunities: Schools hit activity targets: .)

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| Parliament, Hansard and Whitehall | 30 October 2007; 2:03:12 PM |# | | Discuss |

"Weight-concious lawmakers called on British authorities Thursday to replace Parliament's shooting gallery with a swimming pool, saying it would help them keep in shape.

"Do you agree that there are too many fat members of Parliament?" lawmaker Richard Bacon asked in a House of Commons debate. "Speaking as one of them, may I say how much I welcome reports about proposals to (replace) the shooting range with a swimming pool."

(Via The Associated Press: Overweight Lawmakers Want Swimming Pool: .)

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| Parliament, Hansard and Whitehall | 22 October 2007; 9:43:21 AM |# | | Discuss |