Romford Town Conservatives

Protecting sporting facilities Lord Moynihan, the chairman of the British Olympic Association, has argued that councils should be forced by law to provide sports facilities for people in their area. He said reducing facilities deprived people inspired by the Olympic Games of the “opportunity to really engage in sport” and added that their provision should be a “statutory requirement”. Lord Moynihan has also called for the first Government audit of leisure and sporting facilities. A survey for the BBC found that out of 369 councils in Britain, 126 said they had reduced sports provision. Flick Rea, of the Local Government Association, questioned whether legal protections would have any effect. She said councils were fully aware of the importance of such facilities, but warned that 28% of cuts into a £1.8bn leisure and sport budget inevitably meant that in some areas these services will have to be reshaped. Source: The Daily Telegraph, Page: 9   The Independent, Page: 14   Independent i, Page: 57   Daily Mirror, Page: 8