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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what funding her Department provides to support the growth of grassroots rugby league.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Since 2019, Sport England has provided over £34 million of support to programmes which facilitate participation in grassroots rugby league.

The Rugby Football Union (RFL) is the National Governing Body for rugby league and receives £11 million of funding from Sport England across up to five years to help deliver strategic objectives, including tackling inequalities and improving access to sport.