The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture,
Media and Sport ():...On top of that, we
continue to invest heavily in sport and physical activity through
our arm’s-length body, Sport
England which receives over £100 million a year in
Exchequer funding, along with over £200 million from the players
of the National Lottery. We are continuing to support the sector
now as we face the challenges of increased energy costs. Our
energy bill relief scheme has limited energy costs for swimming
pools, leisure centres, gyms and sports clubs throughout the
country to half of what they could have been with wholesale
prices as they are. That support will continue over the winter
until March next year...
...We have also provided business rates relief for those
providing these essential services in the private sector, which
will remain in place until March 2024. Throughout the
implementation of the energy bill relief scheme, officials in my
Department and I have been working closely with partners in the
sector, such as ukactive, and with colleagues in local
government, such as the Local Government Association, to monitor
the scheme’s impact and make sure that we are fully aware of the
situation facing the leisure sector. Their feedback and the
insights they have been providing and sharing with us are so
important for ensuring that support can be continued where it is
needed most. I take this opportunity to thank them all, as well
as the staff at Sport
England who have supported us with the review...
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