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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she plans to take to support local and combined authorities in producing up to date Playing Pitch Strategies.

This Government is committed to expanding access to community and grassroots sport. Sport has the power to bring people together, to boost physical and mental health and act as social hubs in our communities.

We believe that in order to deliver fundamental change on inactivity levels, sport and physical activity needs to be fully embedded into local systems, including health plans, so communities feel empowered to own outcomes. We are therefore committed to moving to a place-based approach to physical activity across Government Departments.

The Government is acting to support more people in getting onto the pitch wherever they live. In March, we announced that we would invest £98 million into grassroots sport facilities across the UK through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme this year. We will build on this with at least £400 million invested into community sport facilities in the four years from 2026/27.

In England, our delivery partner the Football Foundation plans their investment pipeline based on Local Football Facility Plans (LFFPs), which have been developed in partnership with local authorities, community Football Associations and other sport stakeholders. They are currently being refreshed to reflect the current landscape, with updated plans due to be completed in this year.