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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the finding in the 2022 Nuffield Health Healthier Nation Index that almost half of the female population have done no vigorous exercise in the past 12 months.

I am absolutely committed to supporting women's sport at every opportunity including pushing for greater participation. I recognise the impact that the pandemic has had on women’s sport. Sport England’s latest Active Lives data, published in April this year, shows that men (63%) are still more likely to be active than women (60%).

There are some fantastic initiatives that exist to encourage women to take up sport and physical activity, for example Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign, which has already inspired millions of women and girls to get active regardless of shape, size and ability. This Girl Can has also been working with ukactive and the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) to provide resources and training to help leisure and fitness facilities ensure their spaces are safe and inclusive for all women.