PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Grassroots Sport - 26 February 2026 (Commons/Commons Chamber)
Debate Detail
Contributions from Lisa Nandy, are highlighted with a yellow border.
Lincoln Jopp
Spelthorne
Charlie Dewhirst
Bridlington and The Wolds
Lisa Nandy
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
I feel all warm and happy after that lovely little exchange. This Government believe in the power of grassroots sport and that everyone should have access to quality sport and physical activity. The hon. Member will know that we recently committed a further £400 million to grassroots sport facilities so that every child and young person have the chance to live out their dreams.
Lincoln Jopp
I thank the Secretary of State for that answer. In Spelthorne, we love our sport. I was playing walking cricket last week with the cricket club. I have been in the ring at the boxing academy and I have been to the dance academy. We also have Spelthorne FC, Staines & Lammas FC and Ashford Town (Middlesex) FC. I am inviting my hon. Friend the Member for Windsor (Jack Rankin) to come and watch Windsor and Eton play against my Ashford Town (Middlesex) team, and we look forward to a fantastic game. However, the jewel in our crown is the year 11 girls football team at Thamesmead school, which is in the last 32 of the country. Will the Minister wish them the huge amount of success that we all hope they will achieve when they play the Beacon academy from Kent—
Mr Speaker
Come on, finish! I call the Secretary of State.
Lisa Nandy
We have just announced the first allocations of the £400 million that we are investing in grassroots sport, but I would pay a lot of money to see the hon. Gentleman at a dance academy. May I take the opportunity to wish Thamesmead—both teams actually—the best of success in what should be a fantastic competition.
Charlie Dewhirst
Swimming is not just a sport, but a very important life skill, particularly for those of us who represent coastal communities. Unfortunately, over 1,600 swimming pools across the country are now more than 40 years old. The previous Government committed £80 million to renovating those swimming pools. What are the plans of the Secretary of State or Minister to continue the legacy of the previous Government and improve our swimming facilities?
09:39:17
Lisa Nandy
I thank the hon. Member for that question, and many hon. Members will thank him for it, as they have raised it with me and the Sport Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley South (Stephanie Peacock), consistently over recent years. The Sport Minister is working very closely with her counterpart at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to address this issue. We have made more funding available, but we now need to ensure that it gets to the right places, so that every child can access good swimming provision in their local area.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
09:40:10
Mr Louie French
Old Bexley and Sidcup
I refer hon. Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. On behalf of those on this side of the House, I congratulate everyone at Team GB for an incredible winter Olympics performance. Like many across the House, I was glued to the excellent coverage during recess, and was pleased to see online that the Sport Minister was in Milan supporting the team. We all know that the true value of Team GB’s success is their ability to inspire the next generation of athletes, so what steps is the Secretary of State taking to secure the legacy of these games in both the elite and grassroots facilities required for sports to succeed?
09:41:14
Lisa Nandy
The Sport Minister has just told me that more than 4,000 people have expressed an interest in the skeleton following Team GB’s fantastic performance, which really shows the power of these games. It was an absolute privilege to be out in Milan cheering on Team GB during the most successful winter Olympics ever.
The shadow Minister is absolutely right; we now must ensure that the lasting legacy of the games is in bringing forward the next generation. As well as committing future funding so that our athletes can succeed and we can bring people through from grassroots sport, as we have just discussed, one thing I discussed with the team in Milan was recognising in our honours system the people who helped those incredible athletes to get to where they were along the journey. It must not be just about the people who have succeeded and won medals; it is about time—it is long overdue—that our honours system recognised the ordinary men and women in grassroots sport who have helped people go on to do extraordinary things.
The shadow Minister is absolutely right; we now must ensure that the lasting legacy of the games is in bringing forward the next generation. As well as committing future funding so that our athletes can succeed and we can bring people through from grassroots sport, as we have just discussed, one thing I discussed with the team in Milan was recognising in our honours system the people who helped those incredible athletes to get to where they were along the journey. It must not be just about the people who have succeeded and won medals; it is about time—it is long overdue—that our honours system recognised the ordinary men and women in grassroots sport who have helped people go on to do extraordinary things.
Mr French
I thank the Secretary of State for that answer, and I am sure we all echo her comments. She will be aware of the widespread concerns regarding the Government’s plans to water down the powers of Sport England and the much-needed protection for grassroots pitches. Before Christmas, leading sports figures led by former Lioness Jill Scott and Fields in Trust wrote an open letter highlighting their concerns for people’s health and wellbeing and for sport more generally if the Government allow pitches across the country to be concreted over. What action is the Secretary of State’s Department taking to try to force the Government to U-turn on this bad policy decision?
09:41:51
Lisa Nandy
This Government believe that we need a much more sensible and lighter-touch system of regulation in this country. In principle, that is something that Members on both sides of the House should be able to agree with. What we do not want is a reduction in the grassroots facilities that are available to communities. The Sport Minister has been working with the Housing Minister, the hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich (Matthew Pennycook), and Sport England—they met recently to discuss this—to ensure that we proceed in a sensible way that sees no reduction in the amount of facilities that are available.
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