Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of primary school children who do not receive a minimum of two hours of sport and PE activity each week; and if she will make a statement.

The Department does not hold that information, as the Government does not set a target for how much curriculum time schools must dedicate to Physical Education (PE) or specify the sports and activities that must be taught in schools.

PE remains a compulsory subject at all four key stages in the national curriculum, and we have given schools the freedom to deliver a diverse and challenging PE curriculum that best suits the needs of their pupils.

The Chief Medical Officer has stated that children should be active for 60 minutes a day (of which 30 minutes should be during school time), and we are supporting this through a number of initiatives, including the primary PE and sport premium.

Since 2013, we have invested over £600 million to improve PE and school sport in primary schools through the primary PE and sport premium. In an independent evaluation, 84% of schools reported an increase in pupil engagement in PE during curricular time and in the levels of participation in extra-curricular activities. Research has also shown that primary schools are on average now delivering almost two hours of PE to pupils each week since the introduction of the premium.

But we know there is more to do, which is why we will also be doubling the premium from £160m to £320m per year from September 2017, using money raised by the sugar soft drinks industry levy.