Sports minister Stephanie Peacock has urged people to take inspiration from Olympic and Paralympic athletes and be more active.
During a debate on Team GB and Paralympics GB, Ms Peacock championed the public health benefits of sports, stating that physical activity could help prevent diabetes and dementia.
The minister also reiterated the Government’s commitment to investing £123 million in grassroots sport this year, in line with the Government’s ambitions of ensuring that “sport is open to everyone”.
She told the Commons: “UK Sport have invested £385 million of Exchequer and lottery funds into success at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics.
“Government recognises the vital importance of this funding to continue to support opportunity for all our talented athletes to succeed, which is why we are fully committed to multi-year funding to our elite sport system, to enable our athletes to excel on the world stage.”
She added: “At a very basic level, this Government wants people to get more active and we want to ensure that sport is open to everyone.
“Major sporting events present an opportunity to inspire the nation to get active, indeed nearly two-thirds of British people say they are inspired by the success of our Olympic and Paralympic teams.”
Ms Peacock said: “The benefits for everyone to public health of being active are well known, whether that be through supporting mental health, or managing long-term conditions. For example, physical activity directly prevents 900,000 cases of diabetes each year and 93,000 cases of dementia.
“Which is why it is important to have high-quality, inclusive grassroots facilities to help ensure everyone has access to sport. Now we as the Government have committed to continuing the multi-sport grassroots facilities programme that will invest £123 million across the UK this year.”
Intervening, Labour MP Natasha Irons (Croydon East) said: “The growth and power of sport is not just an exciting opportunity for British sport, but also an opportunity to make sport more accessible to everyone.
“So does the minister agree with me, that this commitment to the Paralympics should leave a lasting legacy that ensures disabled people across our country have access to physical activity?”
Ms Peacock said the Secretary of State also felt strongly about “getting disabled young people more active in sports”.
Shadow sport secretary Louie French pushed the Government to commit to further funding for sports.
He said: “I hope that we will all finally learn more today about Labour’s funding plans to support great British sport, and to continue the strong Conservative legacy that they have inherited, because sport is much more than just free tickets.”
Max Wilkinson, the Liberal Democrats’ culture, media and sport spokesman, said council cuts had left some athletics clubs struggling.
He told MPs: “In the case of swimming pools, the running costs are high and the need is acute. The previous government’s Swimming Pool Support Fund is a start and in Cheltenham we’ve benefited from some investment as a result, but more must be done.
“In the case of athletics facilities, a lack of funding in the sector has left local athletics clubs crowdfunding to keep facilities going.”
