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 (a) Professional Footballers Association and (b) Premier League on (i) measuring and (ii) analysing the impact of concussion substitutes in football on rates of dementia in former football players.

Although I have discussed pitch safety with the PFA, I have not had any specific discussions with the PFA or Premier League on concussion substitutes or heading restrictions.

The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount, and I encourage sports organisations to do all they can to protect their players from harm.

My department has recently worked with sporting bodies and health experts to develop a single set of shared concussion guidelines for grassroots sport across the UK, published in April 2023. We continue to encourage sports governing bodies to adapt the guidelines to their own sport where appropriate.