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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the [i] FA and [ii] other football bodies the use of [a] schools and [b] multi-use sports facilities by local youth football clubs for training and playing matches.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, including children and young people, have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.

In 2026/27, we will invest £85m across the UK via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities (MSGF) Programme, building on the £98m being invested through the programme in 2025/26. This supports communities, including children and young people, to get active through funding artificial grass pitches, floodlights, changing pavilions and other facility improvements.

Last year, the Government announced a new PE and School Sport Partnerships model and a new Enrichment Framework for schools to ensure all young people have equal access to high-quality sport and extracurricular activity. A national network will be developed to build strong partnerships between schools, local clubs and National Governing Bodies to identify and break down barriers to sport for children who are less active. I recently met with colleagues in the Department for Education and the Department for Health and Social Care to discuss this, as we move towards introducing this new approach.