Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she is taking steps to support leisure centres in rural areas.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure centres and swimming pools, as swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility for providing this access lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support leisure provision. In 2023/24, the Government has also provided over £60 million to support operating costs and help improve energy efficiency of facilities in all areas of England through the Swimming Pool Support Fund.
In order to deliver on our ambitions, set out in the sport strategy Get Active, we need a rich and varied facilities offer across the country, including in rural areas. This requires partners from across the public and private sectors to work together to ensure that provision is accessible, sustainable and reflects the needs of the community.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many times the National Physical Activity Taskforce has met since it was created; and what progress that taskforce has made towards achieving its targets set out in the Get Active strategy.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The National Physical Activity Taskforce (NPAT) was launched in September 2023 as part of the government sport strategy Get Active, to bring together government departments, the sport sector and independent experts to deliver coordinated and innovative policy that will help encourage people to get active.
The NPAT meets quarterly and has held two productive meetings since its launch, with the next meeting scheduled for March. To make the ambitions of the Sport Strategy a reality requires long term behavioural change and that is why we have set our targets to 2030.
To help reach our target to get 3.5 million more people active by 2030, the Government is investing over £400 million into a wide range of grassroots sports facilities, including park tennis courts and swimming pools between 2021 and 2025. This is on top of the £323m in Exchequer and Lottery Sport England funding provided to help get people active.
We map our trends, targets and trajectories using the Sport England Active Lives Survey, and the Active Lives Children and Young People Survey, which provides data and insight into activity levels and behaviours. The NPAT commissions short term-actions and milestones that can be measured to supplement our long term targets. The minutes and actions of each meeting are published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which bathing waters have been de-designated in each region since 2015.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since 2015, the following bathing waters have been de-designated in the Environment Agency areas listed below:
Area | De-Designated bathing waters since 2015 |
Cumbria and Lancashire | 2 |
Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly | 3 |
East Anglia | 1 |
Solent and South Downs | 1 |
Wessex | 2 |
Yorkshire | 2 |
The names of these sites are:
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications for bathing water status have been (a) made, (b) granted, (c) and (d) pending decision since 1 January 2023.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has received 30 bathing water applications since 1 January 2023. All applications are currently being assessed by Defra officials against the eligibility criteria and evidence requirements set out in the bathing waters application guidance, which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bathing-waters-apply-to-designate-or-de-designate.
In addition, Defra designated four sites as bathing waters in 2023, although the applications for these sites were received in 2022. These four sites were:
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of school children leave school being able to swim at least 25 metres; and what proportion of those children are (1) Black, and (2) Asian.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Sport England’s Active Lives Children and Young People Survey 2022/23 reports that 70.5% of pupils in year 7 say they can swim 25 metres unaided. Information is not published for demographic data for individual school years, but data for years 7-11 show that 52% of black children and 57.3% of Asian children report being able to swim 25 metres unaided. This is compared with 82.8% of white British children in years 7-11.
The department does not collect data on schools’ access to and use of swimming pools. The government recognises challenges to pool operators and is providing over £60 million to local authorities in England through the Swimming Pool Support Fund. The fund will keep swimming pools and leisure centres open, as well as investing in renovations to boost energy efficiency, reduce future operating costs and improve sustainability. The department is supporting schools to operate their swimming pools effectively through the Opening School Sport Facilities programme, worth up to £57 million over three years. Over 200 school pools have already benefited from this funding.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many schools do not have access to a swimming pool.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Sport England’s Active Lives Children and Young People Survey 2022/23 reports that 70.5% of pupils in year 7 say they can swim 25 metres unaided. Information is not published for demographic data for individual school years, but data for years 7-11 show that 52% of black children and 57.3% of Asian children report being able to swim 25 metres unaided. This is compared with 82.8% of white British children in years 7-11.
The department does not collect data on schools’ access to and use of swimming pools. The government recognises challenges to pool operators and is providing over £60 million to local authorities in England through the Swimming Pool Support Fund. The fund will keep swimming pools and leisure centres open, as well as investing in renovations to boost energy efficiency, reduce future operating costs and improve sustainability. The department is supporting schools to operate their swimming pools effectively through the Opening School Sport Facilities programme, worth up to £57 million over three years. Over 200 school pools have already benefited from this funding.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many schools are using pop-up swimming pools.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Sport England’s Active Lives Children and Young People Survey 2022/23 reports that 70.5% of pupils in year 7 say they can swim 25 metres unaided. Information is not published for demographic data for individual school years, but data for years 7-11 show that 52% of black children and 57.3% of Asian children report being able to swim 25 metres unaided. This is compared with 82.8% of white British children in years 7-11.
The department does not collect data on schools’ access to and use of swimming pools. The government recognises challenges to pool operators and is providing over £60 million to local authorities in England through the Swimming Pool Support Fund. The fund will keep swimming pools and leisure centres open, as well as investing in renovations to boost energy efficiency, reduce future operating costs and improve sustainability. The department is supporting schools to operate their swimming pools effectively through the Opening School Sport Facilities programme, worth up to £57 million over three years. Over 200 school pools have already benefited from this funding.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2024 to Question 11912, how many local authority swimming pools have opened in each region in each year since 2015.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
245 local authority swimming pools have opened since 2015. The breakdown per region is as follows:
East Midlands: 27
Eastern: 21
London: 36
North East: 15
North West: 29
South East: 44
South West: 20
West Midlands: 28
Yorkshire and the Humber: 25
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many local authority leisure centres have closed by region in each year since 2015.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is clear on the importance of ensuring public access to swimming pools, as swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing this access lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities. We have also confirmed an additional £60 million support package for swimming pools in 2023/24, which is targeted at addressing cost pressures facing public swimming pool providers and helping make facilities sustainable in the long-term.
276 local authority swimming pools have closed since 2015. The breakdown per year is as follows:
2015: 40
2016: 36
2017: 31
2018: 23
2019: 31
2020: 38
2021: 26
2022: 28
2023: 23
These numbers should be considered in the context of facility provision within the local area. Facilities may close for a number of reasons: this can include the rationalisation of multiple older facilities into a modern, better located facility. In the same period from 2015-2023, 245 local authority swimming pools opened.
Data is stored by facility type (e.g. pool, health and fitness gym, or sports hall) rather than “leisure centre.” From 2015, approximately 261 local authority owned sites which had one or more pools, main halls, or health and fitness gyms, closed either fully or partially (where a facility within the site, including a pool or gym, may have closed). By region the figures are as follows:
East Midlands: 26
Eastern: 21
London: 26
North East: 29
North West:41
South East: 43
South West: 21
West Midlands: 29
Yorkshire and the Humber: 25
At the same time, new facilities were constructed at 242 comparable sites.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many local authority swimming pools have closed in each year since 2015.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is clear on the importance of ensuring public access to swimming pools, as swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing this access lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities. We have also confirmed an additional £60 million support package for swimming pools in 2023/24, which is targeted at addressing cost pressures facing public swimming pool providers and helping make facilities sustainable in the long-term.
276 local authority swimming pools have closed since 2015. The breakdown per year is as follows:
2015: 40
2016: 36
2017: 31
2018: 23
2019: 31
2020: 38
2021: 26
2022: 28
2023: 23
These numbers should be considered in the context of facility provision within the local area. Facilities may close for a number of reasons: this can include the rationalisation of multiple older facilities into a modern, better located facility. In the same period from 2015-2023, 245 local authority swimming pools opened.
Data is stored by facility type (e.g. pool, health and fitness gym, or sports hall) rather than “leisure centre.” From 2015, approximately 261 local authority owned sites which had one or more pools, main halls, or health and fitness gyms, closed either fully or partially (where a facility within the site, including a pool or gym, may have closed). By region the figures are as follows:
East Midlands: 26
Eastern: 21
London: 26
North East: 29
North West:41
South East: 43
South West: 21
West Midlands: 29
Yorkshire and the Humber: 25
At the same time, new facilities were constructed at 242 comparable sites.