British Swimming has welcomed the announcement that UK Sport is to be given a 29% increase in funding as part of the Government’s autumn Spending Review.
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said that Government is committed to building on the success of Olympic and Paralympic games at London 2012.
The Chancellor said: “One of the best investments we can make as a nation is in our extraordinary arts, museums, heritage, media and sport. £1 billion a year in grants adds a quarter of a trillion pounds to our economy – not a bad return. And I will help UK Sport, which has been living on diminishing reserves, with a 29% increase in their budget – we’re going for gold in Rio and Tokyo.”
British Swimming Chief Executive David Sparkes commented: “Today’s announcement as part of the spending review is to be warmly welcomed.
“We agree strongly with the Chancellor that sport provides a massive return on investment to the nation and we are committed to that cause as we near the pinnacle of the Rio 2016 cycle while continuing to work hard towards Tokyo 2020.
“We also hope today’s commitment will assist as we try to secure a return to funding for our synchronised swimming programme. Currently we’re working towards an initial bid of funding for Rio 2016 but we have a longer-term aim to see the previously successful synchro programme integrated once again into UK Sport’s World Class stable.”