Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what data her Department holds on gender disparities in access to youth sports training facilities; and what steps she is taking to decrease those disparities.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. The Government has invested £98 million through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme across the UK in 2025/26, funding projects such as new and upgraded grass pitches, pitch maintenance equipment and floodlights. Following the Spending Review we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans.
We are committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, are able to participate in sport and physical activity. We will more than double priority access to grassroots football pitches for women and girls in England over the next five years as part of a series of plans to honour the success of the Lionesses following the team’s victory at Euro 2025, as well as dedicating flagship sites and pitches to the Lionesses.
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport in England through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what provisions he is making in the National Health Service to ensure that patients with long term eye conditions receive adequate practical and emotional support.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the importance of practical and emotional support for people living with long term eye conditions. Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are responsible for assessing individuals’ care and support needs and, where eligible, for meeting those needs. This includes the legal duty for local authorities to support people with sight loss.
NHS England has published a patient support toolkit for eye care commissioners and providers which aims to ensure that patients with ophthalmic conditions are supported throughout their care journey. It sets out that whilst receiving care provided by the hospital, patients need information and support through diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment. Individuals can also refer themselves into talking therapies, which are widely available.
We are also taking steps to revise the certificate of visual impairment to improve signposting to local support for newly certified patients with a sight impairment or severe sight impairment.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that access to information about the contribution of good eye care is readily available.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS.UK website sets out the importance of regular sight tests whilst also providing information about entitlement to free National Health Service sight tests. The Department also looks for opportunities to promote the importance of NHS sight tests, such as through National Eye Health Week.