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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment her Department has made of (a) the governance structures in men's rugby union and (b) their alignment with the requirements for government funding allocations.

The governance of rugby union is a matter for the Rugby Football Union (the national governing body for rugby union), which is independent of government.

The revised Code for Sports Governance sets out the levels of transparency, diversity and inclusion, accountability and integrity that are required from sporting governing bodies, including the RFU, who seek – and are in receipt of – DCMS and National Lottery funding from UK Sport and/or Sport England (DCMS’ arm’s-length bodies). This is kept under review.

We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England – which annually invests over £250 million of National Lottery and government money. Sport England has awarded the RFU £13,859,000 for the period 2022-27 as one of Sport England’s long-term system partners to support grassroots rugby union.