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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with local authorities on the provision of swimming facilities.

The Government does not hold data on individual swimming clubs, but Sport England data shows that the number of operational swimming pools on sites owned by Local Authorities in the North West in June 2013 was 239.

We regularly engage with Local Authorities and the Local Government Association (LGA) on the provision of swimming pools, particularly in light of the £63 million support package for swimming pools announced at the Budget. This package will help provide investment in energy efficiency measures to reduce future operating costs and make facilities sustainable in the long-term.