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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid -19 outbreak on the development of women’s sport at the (a) professional and (b) grassroots level.

I am keen that we continue to maintain the focus on women’s sport and build on the fantastic progress made in recent years. I am working closely with sports bodies on the return of top level sporting events, and there are a number of major women’s sporting events coming up in the UK to look forward to, for example the women’s Rugby League World Cup next year and the UEFA Women’s Euros in 2022.

However, we need to continue championing and raising the profile of women’s sport. That is why on 29 May I wrote to the Football Association, the Rugby Football Union, the Rugby Football League, the Lawn Tennis Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board to ask about their plans for promoting women’s sport at the elite level, increasing women and girls participation and ensuring covid-19 does not have an impact on either of those things. I will be considering their responses with interest.

At grassroots level, Covid-19 has brought new challenges to the way people are able to engage in physical activity. I welcome initiatives like Sport England’s “Join the Movement” campaign which is encouraging everyone to stay active during the lockdown. The latest data from Sport England on activity levels during lockdown shows that 33% of women are doing at least 30 minutes of activity on five or more days in the last week, and that women are doing more walking and home-based physical activity.