LEARNING DISABLED ATHLETES AND THE PARALYMPIC GAMES

That this House regrets the exclusion from the 2004 Paralympic Games of all learning disabled athletes as a result of a dispute between the International Paralympic Committee and the International Sports Federation for People with Intellectual Disability about verification procedures; believes that people with learning disability should be able and entitled to compete at the highest level of sport; is deeply concerned that, at its Extraordinary General Meeting on 25th November, in Cairo, the International Paralympic Committee may permanently ban all learning disabled athletes from participating in the Paralympic Games; recognises that funding for disability sport is dependent on participation in the Paralympic Games; calls on both the International Paralympic Committee and the International Sports Federation for People with Intellectual Disability to work constructively to find a way of testing learning disability and its impact on sporting capacity that is mutually acceptable; and urges the UK Government to use its influence to help secure a satisfactory agreement that will see learning disabled athletes once more eligible to compete in the Paralympic Games.