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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department taking to encourage volunteers in engaging with local sports clubs.

The Government recognises the value of sport volunteering both to the sports that benefit and the volunteers themselves, and our sport and physical activity strategy, 'Sporting Future', emphasises the importance of volunteering.

Volunteering is a focus for Sport England’s new ten year strategy “Uniting the Movement”, published in January 2021. Their ambition is to place an emphasis on diversity, inclusion, skills and behaviours across the sporting workforce, to help open up and increase volunteering opportunities for people from a broader range of backgrounds and experiences.

Since 2016, Sport England has invested more than £5m of National Lottery funding in programmes to promote quality volunteering experiences and increase the diversity of volunteers who help to keep the nation active. Sport England supports local sports clubs to encourage and support volunteers through Club Matters. Club Matters provides free, convenient, practical resources to help organisations to develop, grow and become more sustainable and successful.

Sport England also works with stakeholders to look at the support and experience for volunteers within the sporting sector, focusing on what’s needed to make giving their time easy, meaningful and supported, and in doing so, reducing drop-out rates.