(Lancaster and
Fleetwood) (Lab)
What assessment he has made of the effect on health and wellbeing
of the closure of (a) swimming pools and (b) gyms during the
covid-19 outbreak. [908256]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture,
Media and Sport ()
Sport and physical activity are incredibly important for our
physical and mental health, as well as a vital weapon against
coronavirus. That is why we made sure that people could exercise
even during the height of the previous lockdown, and we opened up
grassroots sport and leisure facilities as soon as it was safe to
do so. From today, there are significant restrictions on some
sectors of the economy, including the closure of indoor and
outdoor leisure. Exercise outdoors, however, will be allowed with
our own households, on our own or with one person from another
household, which is different from last time. Of course, no
Government or Minister wants to see these kinds of restrictions
in place, but we believe they are necessary to help to get the R
number down and to get the virus under control.
Initiatives such as “Healthier Fleetwood” show that people in the
town I represent take seriously the poorer health outcomes that
we have in the town and are serious about making a difference,
but our swimming pool has been closed since the beginning of the
first lockdown and was not reopened when restrictions allowed it
to be. Wyre Borough Council and the YMCA, who run it, keep
telling me that they are concerned about the level of footfall
not being financially viable to reopen the pool. What
conversations has the Minister had with Treasury colleagues about
financial support for swimming pools in areas of deprivation?
I completely understand the challenges facing many leisure
facilities right across the country. Some of them have been able
to open, but some have not. Some are open, but we are aware that
they are in a precarious financial state. The Department for
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is working closely with
Sport England and the Ministry of Housing,
Communities and Local Government on the design of a £100 million
scheme to help leisure centres and leisure facilities. Further
details of this will be released shortly, and once the fund is
open, we urge leisure centres to bid for the money and urge
people to make the most of these precious facilities.
(Wirral South) (Lab)
I want to ask the Minister about the broader issue. Many people
in this country wanted the lockdown to come sooner than it has,
and perhaps the most compelling cases I have heard come from
those who work in the NHS, but those same people know that the
NHS cannot by itself make our country fully well. That requires
us all to live healthier lives. So while we live through the
frustration of closed gyms and swimming pools that have been shut
since March, as my hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and
Fleetwood () has
described, will the Minister explain what exactly he has done to
write a plan for our country’s wellbeing, starting with
explaining, now, precisely what is going to happen on 2 December?
Of course, through Sport England and other
bodies, we have provided financial support to the tune of more
than £200 million to help facilities during the coronavirus
crisis, as well as having a clear plan to open both elite level
sport and grassroots sport. Our intention is very much to get
back to opening as many sports facilities as possible, as my
right hon. Friend the Secretary of State outlined a few moments
ago. None of us wants these measures in place, but we have
pressed the pause button. Everybody can make an individual case
for a particular sport, but the problem is that if we take
individual parts away, the whole thing falls down. We are asking
everybody, unfortunately, for this temporary period to make
sacrifices and not do some of the things they would love to do,
to help to get the virus under control.
