Dear Colleague letter received from Minister Andrew on Saturday 23rd March 2024:
Dear Colleague,
DCMS SWIMMING POOL SUPPORT FUND
As you will be aware, sport and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health. For this reason this government is committed to ensuring everyone, no matter their age, background or ability, should be able to play sport and be active. The Government sport strategy 'Get Active' sets out our ambition to see 2.5 million more adults and 1 million more children being classed as active in England by 2030.
To support us in reaching these targets, at last year’s Spring Budget we announced over £60 million of support for public swimming pools. In November, I wrote to you to confirm the recipients of over £20 million of urgent resource funding under Phase I of the Fund. The Secretary of State also wrote recently to all MPs to summarise the role this funding plays as part of our wider programme of facilities investment across the UK.
I am therefore delighted to inform you of today’s public announcement of the capital funding awards under Phase II of the Fund. Swimming pools across England will be receiving a share of £40 million of Exchequer funding, alongside a further £20 million of National Lottery funding provided by Sport England for the same purpose. This exceptional investment of over £60 million in decarbonisation will make 325 leisure centres with pools across 264 Local Authorities more energy efficient, boosting the long term energy and financial resilience of the public leisure sector. This will in turn protect the over 45 million visits these sites receive each year; and support more people of all ages across England to have access to public swimming provision and maintain an active and healthy lifestyle for years to come.
Awards were made taking into account a range of criteria, and together with Sport England we have prioritised reaching as many Local Authorities as possible. I was also keen to make sure that Local Authority prioritisation was taken into consideration, recognising the value of local knowledge and feedback from the first Phase of the Fund. The full list of facilities receiving funding is attached and is available on the Sport England website here.
This announcement means that DCMS and Sport England combined will have invested over an extra £80 million in England’s swimming pools in 2023/24 across 442 facilities. We also provided an unprecedented £1 billion of public money to ensure the survival of the grassroots, professional sport and leisure sectors during the pandemic. This demonstrates the government’s commitment to deliver on our ambitions, and of providing a rich and varied facilities offer across the country. We also continue to encourage partners from across the public and private sectors to work together to ensure that provision is accessible, sustainable and reflects the needs of the community.
Thank you for your continued support for this programme, including the work you do with your local councils to help them fulfil their responsibility of providing access to pools and leisure centres.
Rt Hon Stuart Andrew MP
Minister for Sport, Gambling and Civil Society
Details of funding:
HADLEIGH POOL & LEISURE
£103,500
Pool Covers & Replace Fluorescent Lighting with LED Lighting
