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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the financial challenges facing leisure centres; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing funding to support their (a) operation, (b) expansion and (c) long-term sustainability.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level with funding levels set by MHCLG as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement.

The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

Future funding of community sports facilities will be considered as part of the forthcoming Spending Review.