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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will made an estimate of the number and proportion of children aged 11 who can swim 50 metres unassisted.

Sport England’s Active Lives Survey for Children and Young People collects annual data on the engagement in, and attitudes to, sport and physical activity. The release of the 2022-23 Active Lives data for Children and Young People is scheduled for 7 December.

The Active Lives Survey captures swimming capability based on whether children can: swim; tread water; swim 25 metres unaided; and swim 200 metres unaided (the latter capturing years 7-11 only).

The survey informs us that in the academic year 2021/22:

• Over 3 million infant and junior children could swim

• 2.7 million could tread water

• 1.8 million could swim 25 metres unaided

• 1.5 million secondary school children could swim 200 metres unaided