young athletes in the Vale of York are being failed by the Government, says MP Anne McIntosh.

She has challenged the Culture Secretary over the availability of sports training for 16 to 18-year-olds.

Miss McIntosh said that after talks with young athletes from her region, she had written to Tessa Jowell on the question of sports training and support for teenagers.

"In the Vale of York, we have a lot of young sporting talent," she said, "but the costs of pursuing a chosen sport can be very high, including expenses such as clothing and equipment, club fees and physiotherapy in the event of an injury.

"At the moment, 16 to 18-year-olds do not qualify. I think they should and I have asked the Secretary of State to extend National Lottery funding to this age group.

"Regrettably, under New Labour we have seen Lottery funds diverted from Sport England to Labour's New Opportunities Fund, a back door method of using Lottery money to support projects which ought to be funded by Government taxation.

"The net result is that the funds are available to support our young athletes have been massively reduced. Lottery-funded spending on sport has fallen by a third since 1997, a drop of £100m a year."