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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an estimate of how many leisure centres may close (a) temporarily and (b) permanently due to rising costs in winter 2022-23.

The Government recognises the impact rising energy prices will have on organisations of all sizes, including on providers of indoor leisure facilities. In September the government announced the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, under which businesses and other non-domestic energy users (including leisure facilities) will be offered support. We are working with Sport England and sector partners including ukactive to closely monitor the impact of this on public leisure centres.

The Government invested £100 million in the National Leisure Recovery Fund, which supported the reopening of local authority leisure centres and facilities throughout the country after the pandemic.