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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to improve availability of grassroots football facilities in Ashfield constituency.

The Government is committed to ensuring that communities across the UK benefit from high-quality sport facilities - including new and improved pitches, changing rooms, goalposts and floodlights - to help enable people to get active and build pride in place in local communities.

In 2024/25, the constituency of Ashfield received a total of £1,849,232 from DCMS’s Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities programme, primarily towards a new artificial grass pitch and changing pavilion at Sutton Lawn Pleasure Ground.

This programme is investing a further £98 million towards new and upgraded sports facilities across the whole of the UK in 2025/26. At least £400 million more will be invested in new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities between 2026 and 2030. DCMS is working with the sports sector and local leaders to develop plans for delivering this funding, ensuring that investment best serves the needs of local communities, in the areas which need it most across the UK.

Our delivery partner in England, the Football Foundation, plans its investment pipeline using Local Football Facility Plans (LFFPs), which are developed in partnership with local authorities in line with the needs of each community. The LFFP for Ashfield can be found at https://localplans.footballfoundation.org.uk/local-authorities-index/ashfield/ashfield-executive-summary/.