Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Swimming Pools, Leisure Centres and Sports Grounds

Thursday 15 June 2023 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Local authorities are responsible for providing access to public leisure centres and sports grounds, but the Government continues to encourage them to invest in these community spaces.
  • The Government is delivering 60 million through the swimming pool support fund to address cost pressures, including 20 million for initial costs and 40 million for future resilience.
  • Criteria for the swimming pool support fund will be released soon to allow eligible facilities like Elswick swimming pool to apply for funding.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Chi Onwurah Lab Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West
Culture, Media & Sport Local Government
Context

The questioner is concerned about the sustainability of public facilities like Elswick swimming pool, which faces financial difficulties due to rising energy costs and income loss.

Question

Whether her Department is taking steps to support the sustainability of local (a) swimming pools, (b) leisure centres and (c) sports grounds. The Minister says that money is available but Elswick swimming pool has received none despite facing a crisis. Can he tell me what he is doing to ensure it survives and thrives?

Answer from Stuart Andrew

Local authorities are responsible for providing access to public leisure centres and sports grounds, but the Government continue to encourage them to invest in those really important community spaces. That is why we are delivering £60 million through the swimming pool support fund to address cost pressures facing many public swimming pools and to invest in energy efficiency measures. The hon. Lady's particular pool can apply for this money when criteria are released very shortly.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific issue of Elswick swimming pool not receiving any support was not directly addressed with a concrete action plan or timeline.

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Q2 Chi Onwurah Lab Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West
Housing Energy Environment
Context

Elswick swimming pool faces financial difficulties due to rising energy costs and income loss, leading the questioner to seek assurance on its survival.

Question

Elswick swimming pool is a wonderful enabler of physical and mental health, serving communities with high levels of deprivation. It could do more if social prescribing were enabled but faces an absolute crisis because of rising energy costs and cost of living crisis hitting income. The Minister says money is available, but it has received none. Can he tell me what he is doing to ensure Elswick swimming pool survives and thrives?

Answer from Stuart Andrew

£60 million through the swimming pool support fund is available, including £20 million for initial costs and £40 million for future resilience. Criteria will be released soon so that Elswick swimming pool can apply.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific issue of immediate financial assistance to Elswick was not addressed with a concrete action plan or timeline.

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Q3 Jeff Smith Lab Manchester Withington
Housing Local Government
Context

It has been three months since the £60 million swimming pool support fund was announced, and no money has reached affected facilities yet.

Question

The £60 million swimming pool support fund was announced three months ago. No one has received any money so far. According to the Local Government Association, £23 million is revenue funding which works out to only £25,000 per pool and will not arrive until September. The rest is capital, allocated through a yet-to-be-determined bidding process in December. Why is it taking so long when our swimming pools are at risk of closure?

Answer from Stuart Andrew

We have been working hard to ensure that the money goes to the right places, addressing specific issues. It is right that we use the money wisely and target those that need it.

Not addressed: The question about delays in support distribution was avoided by discussing general principles without providing a timeline or concrete actions for immediate relief.

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