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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to sports facilities in Market Drayton.

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

The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.

The Government is also acting to support more people to get onto the pitch wherever they live through the delivery of £123 million UK-wide through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2024/25.

Funding from the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme continues to be invested in England through Sport England and our delivery partner, the Football Foundation, who plan their investment pipeline based on Local Football Facility Plans (LFFPs) which have been developed in partnership with local authorities and are in the process of being refreshed to reflect the current landscape. The existing LFFP for Shropshire can be found by visiting the Football Foundation’s website, and North Shropshire has benefitted from £152,070 of investment under this programme and the Swimming Pool Support Fund to date.

Should a constituent have an enquiry about prospective investment at a specific facility, they can get in touch with the Football Foundation directly via enquiries@footballfoundation.org.uk.