The Department loaned £218 million in total to 83 sports bodies. Of this £124 million (57%) was loaned to the 13 clubs in the Premiership Rugby League, the top division of professional rugby union.49 We asked the Department whether it was appropriate to give so many loans to one professional sport. The Department told us that there had been no special treatment and it had used the same requirements for all applicants when awarding the loans. Applicants had to be financially solvent before COVID–19 and be able to repay the loans, they had to have exhausted all other commercial support, and they had to be important for the sustainability of their sector.50 We questioned whether clubs were financially solvent, given rugby’s financial problems at the time and the investment by CVC Capital of £200 million in 2019 in the Premiership Rugby League to keep clubs going but the Department assured us that there was an independent board responsible for deciding on loans to the sports sector, which included external members, and that this had assessed the clubs as being financially solvent. The Board had also received information after the loans had been made to keep them abreast of the performance of its loans to the League.51 45 Qq 16, 20, 24–27, 39, 105, 125 46 Qq 119 – 121; Letter from DCMS Permanent Secretary, 25 February 2025 47 C&AG’s Report, para 2.22 48 Qq 3, 44–46 49 C&AG’s Report, paras 1 and 7 1.8 50 Qq 95–98; Letter from Director General for Policy at DCMS, 25 February 2025 51 Qq 96–101, 116; Letter from Director General for Policy at DCMS, 25 February 2025 15