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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what support her Department is providing to local authorities to promote participation in less popular grassroots sports in (a) Surrey Heath constituency and (b) Surrey.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone should have access to, and benefit from, quality sport and physical activity opportunities, regardless of who they are.

In England, the Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sports through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million.

Sport England's ten-year Uniting the Movement strategy reinforces its commitment to increasing participation in sport and physical activity for those from under-represented groups, including disabled people. Sport England has ensured that each of their programmes impact directly on disabled people and those with a long-term health condition, with initiatives like the 'We are Undefeatable' campaign and partnerships with Disability Rights UK, Activity Alliance, Aspire, and Sense.

The Government is also committed to supporting a wide range of grassroots sports. This is why we are taking a place-based approach to increasing sport participation that ensures communities can participate in the sports they enjoy and get active in ways that work for them.

To support this, in June, we 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. As part of this funding, 40% of projects across the UK will be required to benefit a sport other than football, including netball, basketball and rugby league. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans.