Youth Activities

Our national youth strategy was co-produced with young people and has committed to investing over £500 million to ensure young people have somewhere to go, something to do and someone who cares. Access to youth activities is a key part of that.

In Swanscombe and in much of my constituency, less than 50% of young people are physically active. That is only slightly lower than the national average, which is highly alarming. Under the previous Government, community sports facilities such as Swanscombe Pavilion in my constituency crumbled, with no resources to bring them back to life, reducing the available space for young people to be active. That is why I am particularly pleased to hear about the £400 million, which has been mentioned today, that the Government committed to grassroots sport facilities last June. Will the Minister provide an update on how that vital funding will be allocated, and will she agree to meet me to discuss this further?

The Government recognise that grassroots facilities are at the heart of communities up and down the country, which is why we have committed £400 million to transform grassroots facilities across the UK. I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss how we will be rolling that out. We recognise that too many children and young people are less active than they should be, which is why we have campaigns such as “Let’s Move!”, which aims to support children to enjoy being active in sport, play and everyday movement. I was pleased to see one of those sessions in action myself before Christmas.

This week I met Paul Skivington from the UK Para jiu-jitsu team. Paul, who lost his leg in a motorbike accident, has been very active in inspiring the country by competing on the world stage of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Paul wants to get more disabled children involved in sports. What are the Government doing to incentivise more young disabled people to take part in sports, especially Brazilian jiu-jitsu?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this important point. Everyone should have the opportunity to play sport and be physically active. We are committed to tackling persistent inequalities, especially for disabled people, an aim that is reinforced by Uniting the Movement, the 10-year strategy of our arm’s length body, Sport England. It ensures that its programmes directly impact disabled people through partnerships with a range of both disability and martial arts organisations and initiatives such as We Are Undefeatable, a campaign that supports the 15 million people who live with one or more long-term health condition in England to get active. I met Activity Alliance to discuss this issue a few months ago, and would be delighted to discuss it with my hon. Friend.

Last July, I wrote jointly with other Members to the Government to seek support for Gympanzees to open the UK’s first fully accessible exercise, play and social centre for disabled children and young people. I have had no response. Will the Secretary of State meet me and representatives of the charity to discuss how her Department can support this innovative project?

I will get to the bottom of why the hon. Lady has not had a reply—I apologise for that. I would be delighted to meet her to discuss the matter further.

It is important that we improve access to youth activities for young people, particularly because of the rise in their anxiety, depression and mental health—important issues. The rise in suicides among our young people worries me greatly, too, as I know it worries the Minister, and indeed us all. What is the Department doing in conjunction with the Department of Health to address young people’s mental health issues and get them access to support?

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. It was a pleasure to meet him yesterday to discuss a different issue. This is exactly why we have launched our national youth strategy—supporting young people with their mental health is an absolutely key part of that. I know how important that is, both as a former teacher and from my constituency.