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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to protect people's access to public swimming pools.

We recognise the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities and swimming pools, which are great spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and play an important role within communities.

This is why throughout the pandemic we provided the £100 million National Leisure Recovery Fund which ensured the survival of leisure centres and swimming pools during the pandemic, and supported their reopening after the pandemic.

We also recognise the impact rising energy prices will have on businesses of all sizes. Ofgem and the Government are in regular contact with business groups and the leisure sector to understand the challenges they face and explore ways to protect consumers and businesses. The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to invest in leisure facilities.