UK Sport has announced the breakdown of the EURO 9.5 million (£6.5 million) awarded to Paralympic sport through to March 2009, following the additional funds allocated to high performance sport in March. This new investment brings the total funding in the run-up to Beijing to EURO 42 million (£29 million) and includes first-time investment in a number of sports, along with a strengthening of existing programmes.

The British Paralympic Team finished second on the medal table at the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games with 35 gold medals. The investment is designed to help Paralympic sports in the early stages of their preparations for London 2012, where UK Sport’s ultimate goal is to move towards the top spot.

"In developing an investment package for Paralympic sport we have maintained our ‘no compromise’ approach which focuses on those sports and athletes most likely to deliver medals in Beijing and London,” commented UK Sport’s Performance Director Liz Nicholl. "A crucial element now is the successful identification and recruitment of athletes," she said.

The new funding package includes continued investment in the 16 Paralympic sports already funded by UK Sport, funding specifically for 2012 preparations for four new team sports - Goalball, Football 5-a-Side, Football 7-a-Side and Volleyball (sitting) - and women’s Wheelchair Basketball. It will also provide the opportunity to define and fund a complete ‘World Class Pathway’ (from the identification of talent right the way through to performing at the top level) for every Paralympic sport.

This builds on the Paralympic Investment Strategy announced last year by UK Sport, which committed to an increase in investment in talent development. The funding is subject to the sports meeting a number of criteria on which they will be reviewed regularly.

One of the sports particularly benefiting from the additional funding is Swimming, which will receive over EURO 8.3 million (£5.7 million) from 2006 to 2009. National Performance Director of Disability Swimming Tim Reddish said: "British Swimming welcomes this further investment into disability sport. We will use this additional funding towards building a comprehensive programme focused on identified athletes we believe have the potential to win medals at both the 2008 and 2012 Paralympic Games."

For more information, please visit www.uksport.gov.uk or www.paralympics.org.uk. For a full breakdown of the funding allocation, please visit www.uksport.gov.uk/images/uploaded/funding_guide_260706a.pdf.