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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of reductions in local government funding for sporting facilities on the UK's future prospects for achieving international sporting success.

Local Authorities continue to be the biggest investors in community sport in England​, investing £1.1bn in 2015/16, delivering both community and health benefits and opportunities for talented athletes.

​Sport England works closely with the Local Government sector, investing £258m in community sports facilities over the last five years, attracting an additional £1.2bn investment from other sources spread across more than 2,800 projects.

Sport England launched a £15m Community Asset Fund in January 2017 to support local sports infrastructure, and will also invest up to £40m to support the development of large scale facilities.

In partnership with UK Sport, Sport England has invested over £8m in elite facilities since 2013 to ensure that world class training environments meet the needs of the World Class Programmes and add value to the local community. In addition, a number of the London 2012 Olympic Venues, such as the Aquatics Centre and the Velodrome, are providing a long-term benefit to both community and elite sport.

UK Sport is investing £345m​ in Olympic and Paralympic success in the 4-year period leading up to and including the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games​, including the funding of talent pathways​ which identify talented young athletes and prepare them for elite competition.