Covid-19: Leisure
Centres
(Barrow and
Furness) (Con)
What steps his Department has taken to support local leisure
centres during the covid-19 outbreak.
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 and are a vital weapon against
coronavirus. The Government recognise the integral role local
leisure centres play in providing vital facilities within their
communities, and last year the Government announced a £100
million national leisure recovery fund to support public sector
leisure centres to reopen. Applications to the scheme have now
closed, but I am pleased to say that over 99% of local
authorities that were eligible for the scheme have applied, and
funding decisions are currently being made and will be announced
shortly.
[V]
Dalton community leisure centre in my constituency is badly in
need of support. It is a fantastic organisation—a community-run
charity with a devoted team led by Bernard McPeake—but covid has
hit it very hard, with losses running into the hundreds of
thousands of pounds. It supports 17 schools and the national
leisure centre recovery fund offers a ray of hope. What comfort
can my hon. Friend offer organisations like Dalton that they will
be supported by this scheme?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight the pivotal role
played by Dalton community leisure centre, and indeed leisure
centres up and down the country, in sustaining physical and
mental health in their communities. That is precisely why we
announced the fund. I cannot pre-empt the award that my hon.
Friend will be getting locally at this moment in time, but of
course we know it will make a real impact for the reasons he
articulated. Also, as we have said before, reopening sports
facilities overall will be an absolute priority when the time
comes to begin easing some of the current restrictions.
