Minister for Sport and Civil Society facts for kids

The Minister for Sport and Civil Society was a special job in the UK government. This person was in charge of sport and helping different groups in society in England. They worked in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. In 2020, this job joined with another one. It became the Minister for Sport, Tourism, Heritage and Civil Society.

This minister looked after sport, and sometimes also tourism and heritage (important historical things). Over the years, the sports minister worked for different government departments. These included the Department of National Heritage and the Department of Education.

Sport is handled differently in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each of these places has its own ministers for sport. This is called a devolved matter. If the Northern Ireland Assembly was not working, the UK government took over responsibility.

Under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, this job was called the Under-Secretary of State for Sport.

What the Minister for Sport Did

The Minister for Sport and Civil Society had several important duties. These duties helped make sure sport and community groups in England worked well.

Key Responsibilities of the Minister

• Sport: Looking after all kinds of sports across England. This included supporting athletes and sports clubs.
• Gambling: Overseeing rules for gambling. This helped keep things fair and safe.
• Horse Racing: Managing matters related to horse racing. This is a popular sport in the UK.
• Office for Civil Society: Working with groups that help people. These are often charities or volunteer organisations.
• The National Lottery: Overseeing the National Lottery. This lottery raises money for good causes.
• Loneliness: Working across the government to help people who feel lonely. This was a newer and very important task.

Past Ministers for Sport

Many different people have held the job of Minister for Sport. This table shows some of them. It lists when they served and which political party they belonged to.

Name		Portrait	Time in Office		Political Party	Prime Minister
	Denis Howell		1964	1970	Labour		Wilson
	Eldon Griffiths		1970	1974	Conservative		Heath
	Denis Howell		1974	1979	Labour		Wilson Callaghan
	Hector Monro		1979	1981	Conservative		Thatcher I
	Neil Macfarlane		1981	1985	Conservative		Thatcher I Thatcher II
	Richard Tracey		1985	1987	Conservative		Thatcher II
	Colin Moynihan		1987	1990	Conservative		Thatcher II
	Robert Atkins		1990	1992	Conservative		Major I
	Robert Key		1992	1993	Conservative		Major II
	Iain Sproat		1993	1997	Conservative
	Tony Banks		1997	1999	Labour		Blair I
	Kate Hoey		1999	2001	Labour
	Richard Caborn		2001	2007	Labour		Blair II Blair III
	Gerry Sutcliffe		2007	2010	Labour		Brown
	Hugh Robertson		2010	2013	Conservative		Cameron-Clegg
	Helen Grant		2013	2015	Conservative
	Tracey Crouch		May 2015	2018	Conservative		Cameron II
							May I
							May II
	Mims Davies		2018	2019	Conservative
	Nigel Adams		2019	2020	Conservative		Johnson I
							Johnson II
	Nigel Huddleston Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sport, Tourism and Heritage		2020	Incumbent	Conservative