Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of providing funding for covered tennis and padel facilities in Maldon constituency.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That has to mean delivering a range of facilities across the country based on what each local community needs.

On 16 March, the Prime Minister confirmed £10 million investment in 2026/27 to develop new delivery models, including at least £2.5 million to the Lawn Tennis Association for covered courts for tennis, padel and other activities.

We provide the majority of our support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding into grassroots sport across England, including providing support for the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). The LTA is receiving up to £14.5 million for seven years from 2022 to 2029 to invest in community tennis initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.

We are now working closely with the sport sector stakeholders and local leaders to develop plans for future funding for a range of sports across the country based on communities’ needs. We will keep stakeholders and the wider sport sector updated as this work progresses, and we will announce plans once they have been fully developed.