Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance her Department provides to non-departmental public bodies, including Sport England, to ensure that grassroots sports grant funding accounts for secondary costs associated with indoor venue hire for year-round community outreach programmes.

The Department works closely with Sport England to target grassroots investment toward high-need areas experiencing elevated youth violence. Through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme supported with £400 million of funding over the next four years, we are expanding peak evening and weekend capacity by funding floodlights and durable all-weather pitches that offer up to 80 hours of weekly use, alongside targeted partnerships with local Violence Reduction Units. To ensure funding accounts for operational realities, DCMS guides non-departmental public bodies like Sport England to allow outreach providers to include secondary costs, such as indoor venue hire, within grant applications, while enforcing Community Use Agreements to guarantee subsidised or free access for high-priority youth programmes.