Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support sports clubs engaged in (a) swimming, (b) surfing, (c) angling, (d) canoeing and (e) other water sports who have impacted by water pollution and sewage discharges.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to improving the quality of our coastal and inland waters for the benefit of the environment and everyone who uses it. The Environment Agency takes over 7,000 samples each year at England’s 424 designated bathing waters, which are used to determine the annual bathing water classifications. These classifications are displayed on signage at bathing waters and online on the Environment Agency’s Swimfo website, to allow bathers to make informed decisions before entering the water. Defra welcomes applications for bathing water designations in England for both coastal waters and inland waters such as lakes and rivers. Anyone, including swimming clubs, can apply to designate a site as a bathing water by following the application guidance available at: Designate a bathing water: guidance on how to apply - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Government is clear that the amount of sewage discharged into our waters is unacceptable. We have taken a series of actions to require water companies to improve how they manage wastewater. For example, we have set ambitious targets through the Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan to reduce the use of storm overflows. This will drive the largest infrastructure programme in water company history: estimated at £60 billion capital investment in 25 years. To support these targets in the near term, water companies have committed to £180m of new funding over the next year to help tackle sewage spills. This is a new investment committed by water companies to deliver enhanced maintenance programmes to improve the sewer network and is expected to prevent more than 8,000 sewage spills polluting English waterways.
These measures will benefit swimming, surfing, angling, canoeing and all other water sports.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many publicly accessible (a) swimming pools and (b) lidos have been opened in each year since 2010.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
A total of 537 pools and lidos have opened since 2010. This figure does not include education ownership facilities such as school swimming pools. The breakdown of openings since 2010 is as follows:
2010 - 4 lidos and 70 pools
2011 - 4 lidos and 46 pools
2012 - 4 lidos and 47 pools
2013 - 3 lidos and 32 pools
2014 - 1 lidos and 26 pools
2015 - 3 lidos and 61 pools
2016 - 3 lidos and 47 pools
2017 - 0 lidos and 22 pools
2018 - 2 lidos and 32 pools
2019 - 3 lidos and 29 pools
2020 - 0 lidos and 20 pools
2021 - 0 lidos and 27 pools
2022 - 2 lidos and 37 pools
2023 - 3 lidos and 9 pools
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many swimming pools have been maintained by the (a) Royal Navy and (b) Royal Marines in each year since 2010.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Navy maintains three swimming pools across its estate under the Future Maritime Support Programme. The remainder of the swimming pools across the Naval estate are maintained by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the (a) number and (b) value was of grants made to grassroots sport in (i) Suffolk and (ii) Suffolk Coastal constituency since 2010.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to levelling up access to community and grassroots sport - physical activity should be accessible to all, no matter a person’s background or location. As part of this commitment, the Government is delivering an historic level of direct investment to build or upgrade thousands of grassroots facilities across the UK. The total of this investment is £409 million. This includes:
£327 million to provide up to 8,000 new and improved multi-sport grassroots facilities and pitches across the whole of the UK between 2021 and 2025.
£21.9 million to renovate over 3,000 tennis courts across Scotland, England and Wales between 2022 and 2024.
Over £60 million via the Swimming Pool Support Fund in 2023/24 to support public swimming pool providers in England with immediate cost pressures, and provide investment to make facilities sustainable in the longer-term.
In total, Suffolk has received over £1.9m in funding through these programmes:
Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme: Over £1 million has been awarded through 38 grants since 2021. Over £74k has been invested into Suffolk Coastal specifically through 16 grants. All funded sites are listed on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/multi-sport-grassroots-facilities-programme-projects-2021-to-2025
Swimming Pool Support Fund: Over £900,000 has been awarded to 7 individual facilities across 5 Local Authorities in the Suffolk region by March 2025. All funded sites are listed here on Sport England’s website: https://www.sportengland.org/news-and-inspiration/swimming-pool-support-fund-helps-facilities-prepare-future
Funding for football and multi-sport projects awarded in England prior to 2021 were delivered by the Football Foundation, funded through Sport England. Sport England’s funding to the Football Foundation is available on their website, along with all awards made by Sport England to football clubs since 2009: https://www.sportengland.org/
Further details of local authorities and swimming pools/leisure centres awarded funding from Phase I and Phase II of the Swimming Pool Support Fund are available on Sport England’s website at:
https://www.sportengland.org/news/swimming-pool-support-fund-keeps-leisure-centres-afloat
Sport England has also invested an additional £85 million into projects which facilitate participation in grassroots football. For a breakdown of the projects funded across this period, Sport England publishes an updated register of grant awards on a quarterly basis, with awards dating back to 2009 listed in full.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the impact of sewage discharges on sports clubs engaged in (a) swimming, (b) surfing, (c) angling, (d) canoeing and (e) other water sports.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
In our Sport Strategy, ‘Get Active’, we set out our unapologetic ambition to build a more active nation and our vision to ensure the sector can thrive in the years ahead. Outdoor recreation on our nation’s coastline and in our rivers, lakes and canals are vital to the participation landscape.
We recognise the need for water sport participants to have access to consistent and up-to-date data about bathing water quality. DCMS is working with relevant water based National Governing Bodies and the Outdoors For All Coalition to understand the barriers to accessing and participating in green and blue spaces.
Designated bathing waters and water quality monitoring in England remain the responsibility of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Environment Agency (EA). DEFRA is a permanent member of the National Physical Activity Taskforce, which ensures that we deliver coordinated policy in this area.
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, when he plans to publish the list of successful new bathing water sites following the consultation which closed on 10 March.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra plans to publish the outcomes of the consultation on the designation of 27 proposed bathing sites by the start of the 2024 bathing season, which begins on 15 May.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the guidance entitled Designate a bathing water: guidance on how to apply, published on 3 July 2023.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The updated bathing water guidance for England, published in July 2023, makes applying for bathing water designation clearer and more streamlined for applicants.
The main changes to the designation guidance were:
Defra engages with a range of stakeholders on bathing waters and welcomes views on the application guidance.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which leisure centres have been recipients of the funding under the Swimming Pool Support Fund.
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 swimming pools, as swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing access to leisure facilities lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities.
In 2023/24, the Government provided over £60 million in additional funding to support operating costs and help improve energy efficiency of facilities through the Swimming Pool Support Fund, delivered via Sport England. In total, the Swimming Pool Support Fund (£60 million exchequer, £20 million of Sport England National Lottery funding) will fund 442 individual facilities and 788 individual pools across 269 Local Authorities by March 2025.
Further details of local authorities and swimming pools/leisure centres awarded funding from Phase I and Phase II of the Swimming Pool Support Fund are available on Sport England’s website at:
https://www.sportengland.org/news/swimming-pool-support-fund-keeps-leisure-centres-afloat
Asked by: Andy Carter (Conservative - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many direct grants her Department has made to support (a) swimming pools and (b) leisure centres since 2010; and what the total value was of those grants.
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 swimming pools, as swimming is a core life skill and a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing access to leisure facilities lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities.
In 2023/24, the Government provided over £60 million in additional funding to support operating costs and help improve energy efficiency of facilities through the Swimming Pool Support Fund, delivered via Sport England. In total, the Swimming Pool Support Fund will fund 442 individual facilities and 788 individual pools across 269 Local Authorities by March 2025. Further details can be found on Sport England’s website at:
We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s length body, Sport England - which receives £323 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year. Between 2010 - 2023, before the SPSF, Sport England provided over £98 million of support to more than 500 programmes to facilitate participation in grassroots swimming up and down the country. Sport England publishes data on all grant recipients as part of its register of grants awards, which is updated on a quarterly basis with awards dating back to 2009. Please find the information on Sport England’s website at:
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, how many grants her Department has made to (a) leisure centres and (b) swimming pools in (i) Lincolnshire and (ii) the East Midlands since 2010; and what the total value was of those grants.
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 swimming pools, as swimming is a core life skill and a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing access to leisure facilities lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities.
In 2023/24, the Government provided over £60 million to Local Authorities in additional funding to support operating costs and help improve energy efficiency of facilities through the Swimming Pool Support Fund, delivered via Sport England. In total, the Swimming Pool Support Fund (£60 million Exchequer, £20 million of Sport England National Lottery funding) will fund 442 individual facilities and 788 individual pools across 269 Local Authorities by March 2025.
As part of the Swimming Pool Support Fund:
Further details of local authorities and swimming pools/leisure centres awarded funding from Phase I and Phase II of the Swimming Pool Support Fund are available on Sport England’s website at:
We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s length body, Sport England - which receives £323 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year. Sport England publishes data on all grant recipients as part of its register of grants awards, which is updated on a quarterly basis with awards dating back to 2009. Between 2009 - 2023, in addition to the Swimming Pool Support Fund, Sport England provided over £2.1 million of funding to Lincolnshire and over £15 million to the East Midlands to support leisure centres and swimming pools. Across the East Midlands, just over £7 million of this is related to the Sport England Covid-19 Leisure Recovery Fund. There is more detail on Sport England’s website at: https://www.sportengland.org/about-us.