Playing Fields:
Community Access
(Twickenham) (LD)
3. What steps she is taking to help increase community access to
playing fields.(900889)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and
Sport ()
The Government are committed to ensuring that every community has
the facilities it needs to make sport and physical activity
accessible to all, with over £320 million being invested by 2025
to develop thousands of state-of-the-art community football
pitches and multi-use sports facilities across the UK.
Udney Park playing fields in Teddington, in my constituency, have
gone to rack and ruin over the past decade as successive
developers have bought the site and, quite rightly, failed to
build on it. The Udney Park Community Fields Foundation, led by
Jonathan Dunn, has campaigned tirelessly to bring those fields
into community use, because we desperately need more sports
fields in my constituency. Now the site is back on the market,
will the Minister join me, local sports groups and the local
authority in backing the community’s bid for the site? Will he
also put in a friendly word with relevant Ministers on the bid to
the community ownership fund?
I commend the hon. Lady for her commitment to improving sports
facilities in her local area, and I commend all the volunteers,
like Jonathan Dunn, who do a tremendous amount of work. Frankly,
without them we would not have so many people being physically
active. The Football Foundation and Sport
England are always ready to discuss potential
investments, and I would be happy to provide the hon. Lady with
those contacts. Of course, I will raise this issue with my
colleagues in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and
Communities.
Sports Facilities:
Devon and Cornwall
(Torbay) (Con)
5. What recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on
developing new sports facilities in Devon and
Cornwall.(900891)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and
Sport ()
As I mentioned a moment ago, the Government are investing in
facilities up and down the country. I am pleased to say that the
multi-sport grassroots facilities programme has invested, through
the Football Foundation, more than £766,000 since 2022 across
Devon and Cornwall, supporting 79 projects so far with
equipment.
Groups such as the Torquay athletics club do great work in
coaching and encouraging young people across Torbay to
participate in sport, yet there are no synthetic 400-metre track
and field athletics facilities suitable for high-level training
in our bay. What opportunities does the Minister see for getting
such a facility in Torbay to address that need?
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important issue. It is
vital that communities have access to the right facilities, in
order to help us meet our target of having more than 3 million
more people being active by 2030. Sport
England has provided more than £20 million to
support grassroots projects in the region. I would be happy to
share a full list of the available funds that are open for him to
have a look at. Let me also add my thanks to his constituents for
the work they are doing in getting people more active.
Access to Sport: Women
and Girls
(Harrogate and Knaresborough)
(Con)
12. What progress she has made on increasing women and girls’
access to sport.(900900)
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport ()
Women and girls should have exactly the same access to sport as
boys and men. That is why we supported the recommendations in
Karen Carney’s excellent report. It is why we are investing £600
million to boost equal access to sport, and why we recently
announced £30 million for the Lionesses Futures Fund to deliver
30 pitches across the country with priority access for women and
girls, with further opportunities for 8,000 women and girls.
We have had fantastic success with women’s football, particularly
the Lionesses, including Harrogate’s Rachel Daly, who has been a
great inspiration locally, but what steps is my right hon. and
learned Friend taking to ensure that sports with a smaller
following can sustain a competitive grassroots environment for
girls?
I recognise Rachel’s success as the top scorer in the women’s
super league last year. We support sport at every level.
Sport England’s This Girl Can
campaign, funded by the Government, inspires millions of women
and girls to get involved in all sports. The School Games
programme, also funded by the Government, encourages children to
take up sport and get active.
