January is the one month when most of us can empathise with weak-willed individuals who make ambitious resolutions about sport and exercise that they fail to keep. But Tony Blair can expect little fellow feeling from teachers now that his three-year-old promise to pump pound;750 million into school sports facilities has proved as empty as a charity tin at a misers’ convention.
Mr Blair can argue that his Government has created more sports colleges than expected (231 at the last count). Nevertheless, he and his ministers must be embarrassed that schools have so far got their hands on only pound;8.5m of the promised fortune.
This is further evidence that the avowedly child-friendly Labour administration does not place as much importance on school sport and children’s health as it does on the 3Rs. It will be years before we can assess the cost of that neglect. But it will be high.
