The government has set targets for physical activity

Only �8.5m of the �750m promised for school sport across the UK by Tony Blair in 2000 has been spent.

So far 631 grants, worth �230m, have been awarded by the New Opportunities for PE and Sport fund, but just 32 projects have been completed.

In Northern Ireland, none of the allocated �33m has been spent.

Only �1.5m of funding has been committed in Northern Ireland.

But the government said the "majority" of UK schemes would be finished by 2006.

The funding revelation came in a written answer to the shadow sports minister, Lord Moynihan, who said the government was "not delivering".

The money from the fund has been available, however it is available in certain conditions Sammy Wilson DUP assembly member

When announcing the extra money in 2004, Mr Blair called New Opportunities for PE and Sport "a health policy, an education policy, an anti-crime policy, an anti-drugs policy".

It was intended to improve school sport facilities across the UK.

Lord Moynihan said the government needed to explain the "unacceptable delays" in completing projects.

Democratic Unionist assembly member Sammy Wilson said there were many reasons why the money had not been spent in Northern Ireland.

"The money from the fund has been available, however it is available in certain conditions," he said.

"I think that may be why there has been a slowness in uptake.

"The first requirement is that there has got to be a partnership either between a school and a local council or a school and a community group.

Facilities

"Sometimes to get those partnerships established has been quite difficult.

"Secondly, a business case has to be made to show that the project is sustainable." Physical activity in schools has fallen by 70% in the past 30 years.

Today, young people get on average less than 90 minutes' exercise a week, according to the British Nutrition Foundation.

Meanwhile, television viewing time has more than doubled in the past 30 years to 26 hours per week.

Only 50% of children do two hours of PE at school. The government is hoping to increase this to 75%.

A Department for Education and Skills spokesman said: "When the programme was announced in 2000 we underlined that this would be a five to six-year programme and it was always envisaged that the majority of projects would be built between 2004 and 2006."

He added: "Building top-quality facilities that last and get maximum use requires proper planning as well as consultation with schools and the local community.

"We are working with local authorities to ensure projects start up as quickly as possible"