Women’s and Girls’ Sport: Greater Manchester

This Government believe in the power of grassroots sport, which is why we announced investment of more than £400 million in the future of grassroots facilities. Our ambition is for girls to have equal access to any facility that we fund, doubling access to priority slots for women and girls over this Parliament.

I am delighted to see sport for women and girls growing in prominence and recognition across the country. To ensure that we meet the ambition of women and girls in these spaces, we need the facilities and infrastructure to support them, hone their talent, and pave the way for the next generation. What steps are being taken by this Government to provide women and girls with access to high-quality sports facilities, including in my area of Greater Manchester?

We support all aspects of sport for women and girls, and we are working alongside the sport sector and local leaders to develop a place-based approach to funding. We launched our women’s sport taskforce to drive a decade of change in women’s sport. We will ensure that we deliver facilities that each area needs, so that women and girls can participate in sport in Greater Manchester and across the UK.

I call the shadow Minister.

I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

Sport England’s role as a statutory planning consultee promotes participation in grassroot sports, including by girls and women, by protecting vital playing fields across the country from development, including in Greater Manchester. However, this Labour Government are aiming to bulldoze protections, and concrete over grassroots provisions for young people. How will removing the protections in place for playing fields help to improve participation by girls in grassroots sport?

The hon. Gentleman refers to a consultation being carried out by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and I have spoken to my ministerial counterpart. I remind the hon. Gentleman that it is this Government who have announced £400 million for grassroots facilities.

No commitment there to stop the concreting over of sports pitches. Alongside the National Lottery, the regulated gambling sector provides more than £400 million of crucial sponsorship to British sports, whether that is horseracing, the Betfred Super League, Sky Bet EFL, William Hill’s sponsorship of Scottish football, or direct funding for grassroots programmes. After Labour’s short-sighted £1 billion tax raid yesterday, which will fuel the illegal black market, will the Minister tell the House how her Department will fill the black hole in funding for British sports, and say what impact assessment it has made on that and on job losses across the sector?

The Chancellor set out the Budget yesterday. We believe that we have made fair choices. The Minister responsible for gambling will have heard the hon. Gentleman’s question, and I will relay it to her.