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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has had discussions with representatives of the Professional Football Association on the support and care required by former footballers affected by Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

My Department has discussed a range of issues with the Professional Footballers Association (PFA), including around instances of concussion and brain injury within football.

On 10 December 2021 we published our report on Concussion in Sport. It outlines the steps the government will be taking to help reduce risks associated with head injuries by improving understanding, awareness, prevention and treatment of concussion in sport.

We are now working to develop a single set of shared protocols across the UK on concussion, and convening a new sports concussion research forum to identify the research questions that need answering in this important area.

On 14 March 2022, the Department for Health and Social Care launched a Call for Evidence to inform the development of the government’s Acquired Brain Injury Strategy. More information on the Call for Evidence can be found here.

The Government remains committed to working with sports stakeholders, including the PFA, to build on the positive work on concussion and brain injury that is already taking place to mitigate the causes and effects of concussion in sport.