At first glance, the unabated storm over Government minister Maria Miller's expenses scam would seem to have little to do with sport. In fact it has a considerable significance.

For few tears would have been shed among British sportsfolk had their governmental overlady jumped or justifiably been pushed over the toxic aberration for which she was arm-twisted to make such a charmless apology to Parliament.

"A waste of space" was one of the milder views among those expressed by several senior sports administrators to insidethegames on her hapless tenure as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, in which the most notable contribution to the latter aspect of her role has been to shamefully block the appointment of Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson as chairman of Sport England following a petty political squabble over disability rights.

Like the majority who have held the post, she has shown little grasp of sporting issues or interest in them.

I have never understood why any government has needed to lump in sport with culture and media under a Secretary of State anyway. They are distinctly uncomfortable bedfellows.

A minister with sole responsibility for sport – these days a vital entity in both social and economic terms – reporting directly to the Prime Minister and/or cabinet as in most other European countries, surely is the most logical and practical situation.

Like her irritatingly meddling predecessor Jeremy Hunt, Ms Miller has a distinct lack of czar quality as far as sport is concerned.

Maria Miller has a distinct last of czar quality as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport ©AFP/Getty Images



Indeed, the only DCMS supremo who did have it in my experience was Labour's Tessa Jowell, who at least acquired a genuine feel for sport and the Olympics.

Both Hunt, who succeeded her in the Tory Government, and subsequently Miller, were fortunate in that during the run-up to 2012 they had a formidable and eminently capable Sports Minister in Hugh Robertson to take care of the real business.

Surely now is the time that the current incumbent, Helen Grant, was  given more opportunity to flex her muscles, to demonstrate that she too can stamp her own personality, and ultimately authority, on sport just as Robertson did.

Miller may hang on for now but it seems inconceivable that the beleaguered MP for Basingstoke can keep her job in any reshuffle. Or her seat at the next election. She's a dead woman walking.

It would be a perfect opportunity to give the Sport Minister's portfolio the autonomy it deserves.

Could Helen Grant make a fist of it? I believe she could.

Helen Grant has shown plenty of talent as Sports Minister, digging away at the grassroots of sport ©Getty Images



I happen to like her, so respect her rebuff of my suggestion that she has been keeping too low a profile after being "stitched up" when answering questions on sports trivia by a TV station. As of course was a Labour predecessor, Richard Caborn.

In fact it seems she has been working away solidly where it matters most in sport – digging away at the grassroots by tackling issues that have not always made the back page headlines.

Her current priorities include a closer examination of the nation's sports facilities and where they can be improved.

With quite a lot of the grassroots sporting calendar decimated in the winter floods, she is a firm supporter of third generation (3G) artificial pitches as a helpful solution to this particular problem.

She also is campaigning for the Football Conference to change their rules on 3G pitches too. Currently they don't allow them, but it's potentially an issue for her local club Maidstone United, who are in the mix for promotion to it.

They use a 3G pitch at their home ground and she points out that this has huge benefits for community sport throughout the week in the local area. Grant thinks at that level it can be a strong setup for community sport and that the Conference should change their rules.

She has met with the Conference and the FA on this issue. The FA recently voted on agreeing 3G pitches at every level in the FA Cup, so is an emerging trend.

In Westminster, Grant has also indicated that she is looking at the increasing cost of grassroots football by investigating the fees councils charge for pitches amid warnings that the sport is steadily becoming a game for children with rich parents. Another matter she has raised with the Football Association.

Ensuring football is accessible to all is a key pillar of Helen Grant's tenure as Sports Minister ©The FA via Getty Images



She told Parliament that a new ownership model for local sports facilities "may need to be looked at" after Labour MP David Crausby warned of a long-term decline in participation as teams cannot afford to hire pitches.

He claimed many parents cannot afford fees for their children to play on pitches, let alone boots and travel, and so many poorer children are being denied the chance to play.

Says Grant: "I do know that the FA and Sport England are working hard on this issue, it has got to be dealt with."

Her office tells us she is herself working hard to encourage greater sports participation among women and looking at the gap that needs to be closed between Sport England's emphasis on community sport and UK Sport concentration and funding of elitism. This could embrace talent development and the impact on team sports.

These are not issues which exactly grab the wider public by the footballs and certainly have no relation to the unseemly political maelstrom now swirling around above the Sports Minister's head at DCMS HQ in Whitehall.

There has been criticism that the Government has taken its eye off the ball, and relegated sport now that the 2012 bandwagon has put the brakes on. This grisly Miller tale has not helped.

But Grant seems to be keeping that ball rolling in a quietly effective manner. Let's hope, she is now left alone to get on with the job.

Alan Hubbard is an award-winning sports columnist for The Independent on Sunday and a former sports editor of The Observer. He has covered a total of 16 Summer and Winter Games, 10 Commonwealth Games, several football World Cups and world title fights from Atlanta to Zaire.