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Sport England hold reception for MPs to learn more about inclusive sport

MPs recently experienced first-hand how Sport England funding has been opening up sporting opportunities across England for disabled people. A parliamentary reception held on 29 April showcased the wide range of projects, facilities and specialist equipment that have received over £170 million of National Lottery funding from Sport England, helping a record 1.67 million disabled people play sport regularly.

Among the demonstrations of sport for disabled people was Motivate East, hosting a boccia session on mats purchased with funding provided by Sport England. Motivate East received over £560,000 from the first round of the Inclusive Sport fund back in December 2012, with the aim of delivering a series of initiatives designed to respond to the needs of disabled people in East London.

The funding has paid for sports equipment that can be taken to a variety of locations using bespoke designed portable surfaces, giving disabled people new opportunities to get involved at times and places that are convenient to them. The project has also recruited disabled people as ambassadors for sport as well as working directly with venues, facilities and clubs to support and improve the sports they have on offer.

Also represented at the event was London Youth Rowing, accompanied by coaching staff and Olympic Silver medallist Mark Hunter. The project hosted a competition using rowing machines connected to a big screen, so participants could track their progress. London Youth Rowing was awarded £1,997,310 to develop and deliver a network of 110 satellite clubs linking to 11 hub (community) clubs in targeted boroughs across London by 2017, including coaching for young disabled people.

Guests were also able to watch a video which highlighted three other projects to benefit from Sport England funding and the impact it is having on the lives of disabled people taking part in sport.

Sport England Chair, Nick Bitel, said:

“The London 2012 Paralympic Games were a real game changer for disability sport. Sport England's priority at the grassroots is to make sport a practical choice for many more disabled people. We are working in a completely different way with a range of impairment groups and those who support them to achieve this, and although there is a lot more to do, we are pleased that record numbers of disabled people are now playing sport regularly.”

Sport England’s Inclusive Sport Fund supports programmes that aim to increase the number of disabled people playing sport. Since the fund launched, £17.1 million has been invested in 88 projects that make sport a viable lifestyle choice for disabled people.

As well as funding disability sport programmes, Sport England also funds equipment. In addition to today's £8.06 million announcement, Sport England also recently awarded £1 million to 141 clubs across England to help them buy equipment to open up sport to disabled people.

In 2013, Sport England invested £2million into the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) to help accelerate our strategy to increase sports participation over two years. They have also directly funded six disability sports organisations to advise, support and guide other sports governing bodies as they create opportunities for participation by disabled people. British Blind Sport, Cerebral Palsy Sport, Dwarf Sport Association UK, WheelPower, UK Deaf Sport and Mencap Sport/Special Olympics GB all received a share of £1.3 million of National Lottery funding to make this happen.