Today I convened a roundtable discussion on women’s sport with Shadow Sports Minister Clive Efford MP and chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on women’s sport and fitness Barbara Keeley MP.

Representatives of sports governing bodies, broadcasters, journalists and the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation discussed Labour’s five point plan for women’s sport:

• Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee should launch an inquiry into women’s sport, including media coverage, sponsorship and prize money – I have written to John Whittingdale MP, chair of the Select Committee, asking for such an inquiry
• Men-only sports clubs should be banned, through changes to the Equality Act
• Sports that receive public money should have targets for getting women and girls playing sport
• There should be targets for sports governing bodies to have women on their boards – just one in five top positions on boards are taken by women
• There should be a proper strategy for increasing participation among school-age girls.

Our plan was covered by the Mirror and the Telegraph.