Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment the Government has made of the extent of variation between local authorities in their (a) per capita spending on physical activity services and (b) facilities for children and young people.

Information on local authorities’ total spending on physical activity services and facilities for children and young people is not collected centrally.

The decision on how much is spent on specific local public health services rests with individual authorities who are best placed to assess local population needs and priorities.

Local authorities are required to undertake Joint Strategic Needs Assessments and to develop Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategies which must inform local authority commissioning plans.