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 assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of extending eligibility for heart screening to amateur athletes.

The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount.

National Governing Bodies (NGBs) are responsible for the regulation of their sports and for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm. NGBs are independent of Government, but the Government expects NGBs to make the health and safety of players their top priority.

Sport England, DCMS arm's-length body for grassroots sport, works closely with Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), an organisation which aims to prevent young sudden cardiac deaths through awareness, screening, research, and supporting affected families. Sport England is helping increase awareness of CRY in the community sports sector, including through Buddle, its online site for clubs and community organisations.

The Department for Health and Social Care has responsibility for preventative healthcare strategies. The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is an independent scientific advisory body which advises ministers and the NHS in the four nations of the UK on all aspects of screening. It is currently reviewing a submission received via its annual call process to consider Sudden Cardiac Death screening in young people aged 14-35 engaging in sport. More information on the annual call process can be found here: UK NSC annual call.