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Written Question
Sports: Facilities
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her letter to the hon. Member for Warrington North dated 5 March 2024, reference INT2024/01623/DC, what funding her Department has invested in grassroots sport facilities in each parliamentary constituency since 2021.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

We are committed to ensuring that every child, no matter their background or ability, has the opportunity to play sport and be active.

Between 2021 and 2025, the UK Government is delivering a historic level of direct investment of over £400 million to build or upgrade thousands of grassroots facilities across the UK.

This includes £327 million across the whole of the UK between 2021 and 2025, including £25 million for the Lionesses Futures Fund. All projects are publicly available and can be found by financial year here.

We are also investing £21.9 million to renovate over 3,000 tennis courts across Scotland, England and Wales between 2022 and 2024. Completed projects are publicly available to see here.

In England, we have provided £60 million via the Swimming Pool Support Fund in 2023/24 to support public swimming pool providers with immediate cost pressures, and investment to make facilities sustainable in the longer-term. Phase one projects can be viewed here, with phase two projects to be announced in due course.

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport also wrote to all MPs in early March, detailing the amount of funding and the different projects supported by the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, the Park Tennis Court Renovation Programme, and the Swimming Pool Support Fund, in their constituency.


Written Question
Playing Fields: Standards
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help improve the quality of sports fields in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is committed to delivering world class sports facilities across the country, so that everyone can take part in sport and physical activity. 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.

Over £363 million has been invested through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme since 2019 to provide new and improved football and multi-sport grassroots facilities across the whole of the UK. Funding is delivered via The Football Foundation’s partnership with the English FA and Premier League.

So far, Romford has received investment of £10,491 for three projects through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, as well as £2,500 through the Park Tennis Court Renovation Programme and £174,828 through the Swimming Pool Support Fund. All projects can be viewed here on gov.uk.


Written Question
Badminton and Tennis: Rural Areas
Wednesday 28th February 2024

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 the provision of (a) tennis and (b) badminton courts in rural areas.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Supporting grassroots sport is a key government priority and we recognise the role of high quality accessible facilities in encouraging people to take part in sport and ensuring participation rates continue to grow. Our new strategy ‘Get Active’ sets out our ambition to build a more active nation, with a target to get 3.5 million more people classed as ‘active’ by 2030 including 1 million more children.

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. Building on their 12 local delivery pilot areas, Sport England is expanding their place-based work so that at least 75% of their investment is committed to areas with the lowest levels of physical activity and social outcomes, including rural areas.

Since 2020, Sport England has invested over £17 million in projects which facilitate participation in grassroots badminton.

In partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the Government is currently renovating public park tennis courts across England, Scotland, and Wales. Between 2022 and 2024 the UK Government has invested £21.9 million, with a further £8.4 million from the LTA Tennis Foundation.

This funding will bring around 3,000 courts in local parks up to playable standard by September 2024. Since the start of the programme, over £100,000 has been invested in South Holland and the Deepings constituency, with four tennis courts at Ayscoughfee Gardens renovated and improved directly as a result of investment from the Programme.


Written Question
National Physical Activity Taskforce
Tuesday 20th February 2024

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.


Written Question
Culture and Sports: Finance
Tuesday 16th January 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to provide financial support for (a) art, (b) music, (c) heritage, (d) sport and (e) other local cultural offerings.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

His Majesty’s Government provides funding opportunities for arts, music, heritage, sports and other cultural organisations through a range of sources, including direct Government funding, through arm’s-length bodies like Arts Council England, and indirectly through local authority funding.

We have delivered significant support for heritage, including the High Street Heritage Action Zones, a heritage-led regeneration programme administered by Historic England. With a budget of £95 million, this programme focuses on fostering growth in historic high streets throughout England. HM Government also supports the upkeep of listed places of worship via the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which allocates up to £42 million per year. This scheme provides grants for the reimbursement of VAT incurred during the maintenance of the nation's listed churches. Arm’s-length bodies, like Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, provide further support to the heritage sector through various grants, including the Repair Grants for Heritage at Risk programme..

We are committed to supporting the arts, music, and wider cultural sectors, including through our arm’s-length body, Arts Council England. Through its current investment programme, more than £444 million of public money is being invested each year in arts and culture across England. This is an increase from £410 million in the previous portfolio, and will support 985 organisations across England – more than ever before. In addition, through Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grant funding, in 2022/23 over £105 million of awards went to individuals and arts organisations across the country.

For sport, Government support is delivered alongside National Lottery funding through the UK Sports Councils, and UK Sport provides funding to support potential Olympic and Paralympic athletes. We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s-length body, Sport England, which receives over £100 million in public funding each year. In addition, direct Government financial support worth over £350 million is being delivered through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, Swimming Pool Support Fund, and the tennis court refurbishment programme.


Written Question
Sports: Coventry
Wednesday 25th October 2023

Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what funding her Department allocated to projects to support grassroots sports facilities in Coventry in each of the last five years.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Over the last five years, DCMS has provided over £1.26m of funding to support grassroots sports facilities in Coventry, to improve access and increase participation.

Over £1.26m has been invested as part of the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, via the Football Foundation, to seven clubs/organisations (The Futures Trust, Firefighters Jfc, CM Sports FC, Coventry Saracens Junior FC, Coventry Copsewood Junior FC, Coventrians RFC, Firefighters Jfc). This funding went towards a range of improvements - from a new full-sized third generation artificial grass pitch to new goalposts and changing rooms.

Spencer Park in Coventry has also received funding through the Park Tennis Court Renovation programme. £78,000 has been used to improve the public tennis courts there.


Written Question
Sports: Rural Areas
Monday 23rd October 2023

Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)

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 support sports clubs in rural areas.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

We know that active people are fitter, happier and healthier - which is why in our new Sport Strategy - 'Get Active’ - we set out an ambitious strategy to boost our national health by getting 3.5 million extra active people by 2030. This includes bold targets to reach communities with the lowest levels of physical activity.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through our Arms Length Body, Sport England. Since 2019, we have invested over £773,000 in the Penrith and Borders area supporting projects such as the refurbishment of the Hunsonby Community Centre, the Wigton Baths Trust and the Castle Park tennis project. A further £50,000 has been invested in the area as part of the Multi-Sports Grassroots Facilities Investment programme, providing funding for new goalposts, floodlights and improving grass pitch surfaces.

Building on their 12 local delivery pilot areas in areas such as Withernsea, Sport England is expanding their place-based work so that at least 75% of their investment is committed to areas with the lowest levels of physical activity and social outcomes.

Sport England are using a range of data sources to inform this approach, including physical activity data from the Active Lives Surveys as well as wider social data including IMD, community need and health inequalities data. These datasets help to identify a range of communities, including rural communities, across England that need support to become more active.


Written Question
Sports: Children
Tuesday 19th September 2023

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact on the health of people under the age of 18 of having access to free sports facilities for at least two hours a week.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

We know that active people are fitter, happier and healthier - which is why in our new Sport Strategy - 'Get Active’ - we set out an ambitious strategy to boost our national health by getting 3.5 million extra active people by 2030. This includes bold targets to reach communities with the lowest levels of physical activity.

As part of this strategy, we have set up a new National Physical Activity Taskforce to ensure we meet these targets, and will work closely with Sport England to track and measure the impact of our interventions. This will include measuring the progress made in tackling inactivity annually through the Active Lives Children survey, and in real time by seeking new sources of data that allow us to monitor progress.

Schools play a key role in allowing all children to have high quality opportunities to take part in PE and sport. In July we published an update to the School Sport and Activity Action Plan. This builds on the announcement we made in March that set out new ambitions for equal access to PE and sport and guidance on how to deliver 2 hours of quality PE a week, alongside over £600 million funding for the Primary PE and Sport Premium and the School Games Organiser network.

The Department for Education will be introducing a new digital tool to support schools with their reporting requirements for their PE and sport premium spend. This will hold schools accountable for how they use their PE and sport premium funding allocation to measure and improve the quality of PE and sport they provide.

Alongside this, the government is also investing over £300 million in grassroots football, tennis, swimming pools and multi-sport facilities across the UK by 2025 to increase participation and ensure physical activity should be accessible to all, no matter a person’s background or location. The historic level of direct investment to build or upgrade thousands of grassroots facilities across the UK and support swimming pools in England, will also increase access for thousands more young people.


Written Question
Domestic Visits: Blaenau Gwent
Monday 24th July 2023

Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when a Minister from his Department last made an official visit to Blaenau Gwent constituency.

Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and I both live in Wales and serve Welsh constituencies. We have a consistent presence in Wales as we conduct many visits, events and meetings in Wales on a regular basis.

Details of Ministerial visits and meetings are published on the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales’ website and in Quarterly Ministerial Transparency Returns. In addition, visits and meetings conducted in support of the Wales Office priorities are published in the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales Annual Report and Accounts.

The UK Government has provided extensive support to Blaenau Gwent. A typical household in Wales has received almost £2000 in UK Government support to help with the cost of living. This includes around 194,000 payments delivered in Blaenau Gwent through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. During the Covid-19 pandemic over 10,000 jobs were supported through the furlough scheme, around £19 million was claimed through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and around £34 million was given to businesses through government-backed business loans.

The UK Government has also supported innovation within Blaenau Gwent with around £680,000 awarded by Innovate UK since April 2019. Blaenau Gwent has also received around £48,000 through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme to level up local sports facilities. Blaenau Gwent will also benefit from UK Government funding to refurbish public tennis courts across the UK.

Our Semiconductor Strategy targets UK strengths, including compound semiconductors. As the home of the world's first compound semiconductor cluster, South East Wales, including Blaenau Gwent, is well placed to benefit from the Semiconductor strategy and the funding announced.

In addition, Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, the local authority for the Blaenau Gwent constituency, is receiving over £28 million from the UK Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Blaenau Gwent is also receiving over £9 million from the Levelling Up Fund for a new High Value Engineering (HiVE) training and education facility based in Ebbw Vale. This is in addition to the £90,000 awarded to the Queen’s Ballroom in Tredegar through the Community Ownership Fund. Blaenau Gwent is also benefitting from the £1.2 billion Cardiff Capital Region City Deal, including a £2 million investment in Apex Manufacturing and a £1.7 million investment in Pulse Plastics.

This Government is investing in Wales like never before; over £790 million in four City and Regional Growth Deals covering the whole of Wales, £585 million for local authorities to invest through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, including over £100 million for the Multiply adult numeracy programme, £330 million in capital investment through the Levelling Up Fund and £3.2 million to preserve community assets through the Community Ownership Fund. Wales will benefit from two Freeports backed by £52 million, the British Business Bank’s new £130m Regional Investment Fund, and from Project Gigabit which will enable hard to reach communities to access lightning-fast gigabit capable broadband.


Written Question
Domestic Visits: Vale of Glamorgan
Monday 24th July 2023

Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when a Minister from his Department last made an official visit to Vale of Glamorgan constituency.

Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and I both live in Wales and serve Welsh constituencies. We have a consistent presence in Wales as we conduct many visits, events and meetings in Wales on a regular basis.

Details of Ministerial visits and meetings are published on the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales’ website and in Quarterly Ministerial Transparency Returns. In addition, visits and meetings conducted in support of the Wales Office priorities are published in the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales Annual Report and Accounts.

The UK Government has provided extensive support to Vale of Glamorgan. A typical household in Wales has received almost £2000 in UK Government support to help with the cost of living. This includes over 277,000 payments delivered in Vale of Glamorgan through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. During the Covid-19 pandemic around 16,000 jobs were supported through the furlough scheme, around £33 million was claimed through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and over £69 million was given to businesses through government-backed business loans.

The UK Government has also supported innovation within Vale of Glamorgan with around £570,000 awarded by Innovate UK since April 2019. Vale of Glamorgan will also benefit from UK Government funding to refurbish public tennis courts across the UK.

In addition, Vale of Glamorgan Council, the local authority for the Vale of Glamorgan constituency, is receiving over £14 million from the UK Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The Vale of Glamorgan will also benefit from the £1.2 billion Cardiff Capital Region, including a £36.4 million investment in a green energy park at the former Aberthaw power station.

This Government is investing in Wales like never before; over £790 million in four City and Regional Growth Deals covering the whole of Wales, £585 million for local authorities to invest through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, including over £100 million for the Multiply adult numeracy programme, £330 million in capital investment through the Levelling Up Fund and £3.2 million to preserve community assets through the Community Ownership Fund. Wales will benefit from two Freeports backed by £52 million, the British Business Bank’s new £130m Regional Investment Fund, and from Project Gigabit which will enable hard to reach communities to access lightning-fast gigabit capable broadband.