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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase the participation in sport for women of all ages.

Sport England’s latest Active Lives survey data shows that men are more likely to be active than women and that boys are more likely to be active than girls.

We are dedicated to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, have access to high quality sport. We want to protect time for physical education and support grassroots clubs in expanding access whilst also breaking down the barriers that exist and prevent women and girls from being active.

High-quality, inclusive facilities help clubs to get more people active and by backing these clubs, the Government will support more women and girls to get onto the pitch wherever they live.

The Government has set out its support for grassroots facilities, including through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities programme which provides funding to build and improve grassroots facilities to support a range of sports, and a commitment to support the Football Association’s ambition to double their number of gold-standard (3-star) community clubs by EURO 2028. This will deliver more opportunities for women and girls to get on the pitch.

Beyond funding, the Government’s commitment includes supporting girls and boys across the country to get more access to sport and physical activity, a review of the curriculum to protect time for PE, and legislation to be brought forward to limit the number of kit items schools can require.