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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of mixed gender sports for (a) diversity and inclusion and (b) public health.

The Government is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in sport and physical activity, including gender inclusivity. Our strategy ‘Sporting Future’ sets out a clear ambition to increase levels of physical activity, particularly amongst all under-represented groups. We welcome the efforts of the sport sector and use of a variety of methods to achieve this.

We are determined to get more women and girls active including through mixed gender sports. We recognise that Covid-19 has brought new challenges to the way people are able to engage in physical activity. I am keen that we do all we can to break down the barriers that still exist and I welcome the work of Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign which has inspired 3.9 million women to take part since its launch in 2015. Sport England’s “Join the Movement” campaign has also provided some great tools to keep everyone active during the lockdown.