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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of clubs in the Vanarama National League and National League North and South which are unable to fulfill their fixtures; and whether he has had discussions with the National League on supporting those clubs.

Government has already facilitated a unique promotional deal with the National Lottery who provided a £10 million cash injection to the Vanarama National League and National League North and South in October 2020. Further support is available to clubs in these three divisions through the Sports Winter Survival Package: this will allow them to both survive and finish their seasons if they choose to do so. Sport England, as administrators of the Sport Winter Survival Package, are working with any club that wishes to access support through the scheme. I discussed the support package with the National League on 29 January 2021.