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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January 2022 to Question 132433 on Leisure and Swimming Pools, what steps the Government is taking as a result of the roundtable discussion on Tuesday 24 January to discuss the issues affecting the leisure and physical activity sector.

We recognise the importance of ensuring public access to swimming pools, as swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing this access lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities.

Last month I chaired a roundtable discussion with representatives from the public and private leisure sector including organisations such as Ukactive, Sport England, Swim England and the Local Government Association (LGA).

During this session, we discussed the current challenges facing the sector and how we could work together and across government in order to resolve them. Officials remain in contact with representatives from across the sector and are working collaboratively on potential avenues for further support.