A dispute has erupted between government departments after the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) proposed ending its entire £60 million contribution to physical education (PE) in schools from 2026/27. The Department for Education (DfE) is also planning to cut a further £60 million from its own PE budget, despite concerns over rising childhood inactivity and obesity.
The proposed cuts, which were reported by the Guardian, threatened to undermine Prime Minister Keir Starmer's commitments to improve access to sport for schoolchildren. However, ministers are understood to have overruled the DHSC cuts, and the department now intends to restore the funding. Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, is expected to mediate in the row.
The DHSC contributes about a fifth of PE funding, with the DfE providing the rest, aside from a small amount from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The cuts come as fewer than half of children meet the chief medical officer's activity guidelines, and government figures show a significant decline in PE hours in secondary schools, particularly among 11-14-year-olds, who are also seeing the fastest growth in obesity.
The Youth Sport Trust warned that nearly one in five students have had PE lessons cancelled this academic year, and 71% of young people surveyed want to be more active at school. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has proposed replacing the sports premium with a PE and school sports partnership network from next year, mandating two hours of weekly physical activity and requiring schools to publish their sports offerings.
A government spokesperson said the new partnerships programme aims to target funding where it is needed most, including for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and disabilities. Health Secretary Wes Streeting had previously stated his department's commitment to tackling childhood obesity, but the proposed cuts had raised questions about that commitment.
