Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether investment in local swimming facilities is accommodated in the pre-approved interventions for the Plan for Neighbourhoods.

The new £1.5 billion Plan for Neighbourhoods will deliver up to £20 million of funding and support over the next decade into 75 communities across the UK, laying the foundations to kickstart local growth and drive-up living standards.

We are putting power in the hands of local people to address deprivation and regenerate their local area and unleashing the full potential of places that have for too long been overlooked.

The 75 communities will set up Neighbourhood Boards bringing together residents, businesses, and grassroots campaigners to draw up and implement Plans for how they will spend the up to £20 million of funding, whether that is repairing pavements and high streets, setting up community grocers providing low-cost alternatives when shopping for essentials, or neighbourhood watches to keep people safe.

We have doubled the number of interventions that communities can spend the money on and we are focusing on three long-term aims - building thriving places, strengthening communities and empowering people to taking back control instead of sticking plaster policies. We are giving local people their say by strengthening our consultations to make sure local people have a voice on how the funding is spent.

The pre-approved interventions have been drafted broadly to give flexibility to boards as to how and what they can deliver, providing examples where possible to indicate ideas for spend, but it is not exhaustive. Investment in local swimming facilities would fall under the category of ‘Funding for local sport and activity facilities, events, teams and leagues, to foster community engagement and connection’.