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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an estimate of the number of people that played grassroots sport in England in (a) 2010, (b) 2019 and (c) 2023.

The Government tracks activity levels through Sport England’s Active Lives surveys. Two surveys run annually: Active Lives Adult, and Active Lives Children and Young People. These surveys measure the activity levels of people across England and allows the Government to collect accurate data on what and how much sport and physical activity different groups are participating in. You can find out more about the surveys on Sport England's website.

• 2009/10

• Active People survey - 15.2 million people took part in sport and wider physical activity for an average of at least 30 minutes a week.

• Children and young people - Sport England only started collecting data in 2017.

• 2018/19

• Active Lives Adult survey - 28.6 million took part in 150+ minutes of activity a week.

• Active Lives Children and Young People survey - 3.3 million doing an average of 60+ minutes per day.

• 2022/23

• Active Lives Adult survey - 29.5 million took part in 150+ minutes of activity a week.

• Active Lives Children and Young people survey - 3.5 million doing an average of 60+ minutes per day.

It’s important to note that comparing data on a consistent basis across this time is not possible as the methodologies and metrics employed changed to reflect changes in the Chief Medical Officers’ (CMO) guidance.

Since 2010, the CMO guidelines on physical activity changed from five separate sessions of 30 minutes of at least moderate intensity physical activity in a week to at least 150 minutes of moderate equivalent intensity physical activity a week. In addition to this, Sport England’s remit has extended to include recreational activities and active travel.

Sport England does not record the number of volunteers in amateur football.