Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what further support he plans to provide to safeguard (a) public gyms, (b) leisure centres and (c) indoor sports courts due to restrictions in place during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government recognises the extreme disruption the necessary actions to combat Covid-19 are having on sectors like public leisure. We are working intensively alongside the Department for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport to understand the long-term challenges facing the sector.

The Treasury has already announced unprecedented support during this pandemic for individuals and businesses, to protect against the current economic climate; including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, bounce-back loans and a year-long business rates holiday for all eligible businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. Where eligible certain public leisure services may further have benefited from the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Fund; and the Discretionary Grant.

The Government has also provided a comprehensive package of support for councils to help with their response to Covid-19. Over £3.7bn in additional grant funding has been announced for councils in England, which can be used flexibly across all their services, including public gyms and leisure facilities. On 2nd July, the Government also announced an income guarantee scheme which will reimburse local councils for 75% of eligible irrecoverable income from sales, fees and charges, above 5% of planned income for 2020/21.

We will continue to monitor the impact of government support with regard to supporting public leisure as we respond to this pandemic.