MALCOLM MOSS MP AND JOHN BARNES SUPPORT SPORTS CLUB CAMPAIGN

North East Cambridgeshire MP, Malcolm Moss, attended an event at Westminster yesterday to throw his weight behind the CCPR’s campaign to support sports clubs in North East Cambridgeshire.

Football legend John Barnes joined Malcolm Moss MP at the event, which highlighted a campaign to provide more tax relief for sports clubs that offer sporting activities for children.

Malcolm Moss MP said “Sport and recreational clubs are a vital part of our social fabric.  There are dozens of clubs in North East Cambridgeshire that do a fantastic job providing sports facilities for children.  Many of them are run by volunteers who put in a lot of time and effort to give our kids the chance to take part in sports.

“They deserve more support, and providing tax relief on junior subscriptions is a great way of giving them that.  I am asking the Government to expand the Gift Aid scheme to help children’s sports.  It can make all the difference in boosting sports participation by children in the run up to the 2012 Games.”

CCPR is calling on the Government to enhance the benefits of the Community Amateur Sports Club Scheme which over 4,400 clubs have already signed up to.  Clubs offering activities popular amongst children, such as swimming, gymnastics and netball, have been the slowest to join the scheme which is why CCPR believes the introduction of Gift Aid on junior subscriptions would be of significant benefit to all sports clubs.

Brigid Simmonds, Chair of CCPR, said:

“At CCPR we are working hard to develop sport and recreation across the UK and this was a great occasion to explore with MP’s how we could work together to improve sporting opportunities in local communities and clubs.  We’re delighted that Malcolm Moss is backing our campaign.”