CIMSPA responds to the Government’s announcement on lockdown in England

CIMSPA, like many across the sport and physical activity sector, is extremely disappointed that gyms and leisure facilities will be forced to close during the upcoming lockdown in England, starting on Thursday 5th November.

While we understand the need to minimise social contact in order to reduce the spread of coronavirus, gyms and leisure centres have been shown to be extremely safe environments. The latest ukactive data shows a rate of just 2.88 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 gym visits in the UK between 5-11 October (and just 0.99 cases per 100,000 visits across the UK since the sector re-opened in July). This is a testament to the huge efforts made by businesses and the workforce to make the sector Covid-secure.

Leisure is an essential service, supporting the nation’s physical and mental health, bringing communities together and saving the NHS £9.5bn every year. Throughout the pandemic, exercise has been promoted as an essential daily activity and, especially during the winter months, access to gyms and leisure facilities is vital in helping many millions of people to maintain their physical and mental health.

Tara Dillon, CIMSPA CEO, said:

“We will work closely with the Government and our sector partners to find ways of allowing gyms and leisure facilities to safely remain open. However, if they are forced to close for a month or more this will put a severe strain on the finances of many providers, especially in the public sector, many of which were already struggling due to reduced operating capacity under the current guidance.

“The extension of the furlough scheme will help individual workers, but there is a very real danger that we will see more leisure facilities being permanently closed and tens of thousands of jobs being lost. It is essential that the Government steps forward with an enhanced financial support fund to protect this sector which has a crucial role to play in the nation’s health, during the pandemic and beyond.”

CIMSPA is supporting the cross-sector petition to ‘Save Community Sports Clubs and Leisure Facilities with a Sports Recovery Fund’.