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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many rugby league clubs have (a) applied for and (b) received funding from Government backed business support loans.

The Government announced on 30 April that the Rugby Football League (RFL) will receive an emergency loan of £16 million to safeguard the immediate future of the sport for the communities it serves.

The Government recognises the impact that covid-19 is having on the sporting sector. The Chancellor has announced an unprecedented package of measures to help businesses in this period, including £330 billion worth of government-backed and guaranteed loans to support businesses across the UK.

Those support measures, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and Self-Employed Income Support Scheme are open to businesses across the UK and in every sector, including Sport.

In addition, Sport England, has also announced £195 million of funding to help sport and physical activity organisations deal with the short and long term effects of the pandemic.

The RFL is fully engaged with the process and is ensuring that the sport as a whole is aware of the assistance available and how to access support. It is a matter for individual clubs to pursue the support appropriate for their situation.

We know this is a challenging period for all sports and we continue to work closely with the whole sector to understand the issues they face and how we can best support them through this difficult time.