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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of (a) a National Lido Strategy and (b) a National Lido Fund.

T​he Government has made no assessment ​on the potential merits of a National Lido Strategy or a National Lido Fund. The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to and benefits from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.

Sports facilities, such as swimming pools and lidos, provide important community hubs for people of all ages to be active and connect people to the places in which they live.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, and the Government continues to encourage local authorities to invest in leisure facilities. We are committed to supporting Local Government, recognising the significant financial challenges faced by the sector and by ensuring that funding goes to the places that need it most through the Local Government Finance Settlement.

We will continue to engage with Swim England, ukactive, and other key stakeholders to explore how we can work towards securing a vibrant future for swimming pools and lidos, enabling them to continue delivering their full potential for public health, economic growth, and the wellbeing of our communities. Last month, the Culture Secretary announced that following the Spending Review, at least £400 million is going to be invested into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities in communities right across the UK, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We will work closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans.