Children to get five hours' sport a week in new Olympic era

Unveiling a new £32million package to fund 4,000 sports programmes, Mr Burnham said that he wanted to make coaching and competition available to all children by 2012.

Speaking at the third UK School Games in Bath, Mr Burnham said that, by the time of the London Games, high-quality coaching and competition will be on offer to all school children in all the main sports such as cricket, tennis and athletics.

He also said that the £1.5billion investment into school sport since 2002 - roughly five times the amount invested in that time in developing medal winners - was beginning to reap the same rewards as those seen in elite sport.

Mr Burnham hailed today's "Sport Unlimited" scheme as the first phase of government plans to offer young people more sport outside school.

The £32million project is designed to attract into sport those who do not take part regularly.

It will set up 4,000 taster sessions across England in nontraditional sports, including cycling, sailing, kayaking and American football. The scheme will be available from this new term.

Mr Burnham told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It is part of the Government's overall aim in this Olympic era to get children doing at least five hours of sport a week - trying to capture everyone's imagination.

"In the past we have not given children sports that appeal to them - we have to get all young people interested in sports. Sport is the best way of engaging young people in physical activity - it is the right thing to do, to build a healthier and happier nation."

Today's cash is part of the £100million extra funding for spor t announced by Gordon Brown to bring investment into school sport over the next three years to £780million.

At present 86 per cent of children in school take part in at least two hours of sport a week, up from 74 per cent under the Tories, Mr Burnham said.

He denied claims that Labour had continued to oversee the sale of playing fields, saying since 1997 just 192 had been sold, compared with 10,000 under the Conservative government.

"Since Beijing it is has become widely acknowledged both here and abroad that we now have a world class system for developing medal winners. By the time the Olympics start in 2012 I'm confident our school sport system will lead the world."

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne writes in today's ES magazine that "as the politician who hopes to be Chancellor at the time, I am keeping a close eye on the rising costs".

The London Games, while not as grand as those in Beijing, would be "more personal".

A key member of Boris Johnson's administration has claimed Britain's Olympic medals are "tainted with the blood of Tibetans" because of China's human rights record.

The Mayor branded London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority chairman Brian Coleman's remarks "preposterous".