Sports: Young People
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to improve access to local sports facilities for young people during evening and weekend peak hours in areas experiencing elevated rates of youth violence.
Answered by Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
The Department works closely with Sport England to target grassroots investment toward high-need areas experiencing elevated youth violence. Through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme supported with £400 million of funding over the next four years, we are expanding peak evening and weekend capacity by funding floodlights and durable all-weather pitches that offer up to 80 hours of weekly use, alongside targeted partnerships with local Violence Reduction Units. To ensure funding accounts for operational realities, DCMS guides non-departmental public bodies like Sport England to allow outreach providers to include secondary costs, such as indoor venue hire, within grant applications, while enforcing Community Use Agreements to guarantee subsidised or free access for high-priority youth programmes.
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