§ Mr. WyattTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what plans she has to provide the funding to refurbish and repair the United Kingdom's swimming pools; [26885]
2 what plans she has to ensure that every major city in the United Kingdom has an Olympic-size swimming pool. [26886]
§ Mr. CabornSwimming has benefited from substantial lottery funding over recent years. Up to September 2001, the sport had received £383 million in project development costs, making swimming the largest single beneficiary of Sport England lottery funding among sports to date.
Sport England has worked closely with the Amateur Swimming Association to identify areas of need, and has agreed in principle to fund the development of eight new 50 metre pools in England. Funding has already been made available for 50 metre pools in Leeds, Liverpool and Loughborough.