Active Lives 2023-2024: Sport, recreation and physical activity sector challenges Government to match ambition and demand

The National Sector Partners Group (NSPG) has issued the following response to the Active Lives Adult Survey from Sport England, published today (24 April).

The latest Active Lives Adult Survey shows a continued and steady increase in physical activity levels across the country and is a further reminder of the essential role the sport, recreation and physical activity sector plays in supporting the nation’s physical activity levels. However, despite the headline numbers, much more needs to be done to ensure more people can reap the benefits of engaging in physical activity and ensuring our sector can play its fullest role in driving this uptake.

As evidenced by the National Sector Partners Group (NSPG), the UK is currently 11th out of 15 comparable European nations for activity levels, and small increases such as this are not enough to make the UK the most active nation in Europe, with all the associated health and economic benefits that this would bring.

Our sector is responsible for generating £107.2bn in social value in England each year, including £10.5bn in secondary value by reducing cases of disease and relieving the huge pressure on health and social care every year. Studies show that physical activity helps to prevent 20 chronic conditions, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, many types of cancer, MSK conditions, depression and anxiety, and dementia.

However, the new findings show that significant inequalities remain in physical activity levels across demographics, and an alarming decrease among younger people aged 16 to 34. It is clear the current policy approach is failing to deliver meaningful increases in physical activity.

The outcome of the Government’s upcoming Spending Review, due to be announced in June, is pivotal to ensure the sport, recreation and physical activity sector can drive up these levels and provides the Government with an opportunity to demonstrate the value it places on the nation’s health and wellbeing and reducing the pressure on the NHS

The NSPG remains committed to working at pace with this Government to ensure it delivers an ambitious and practical strategy for increasing physical activity levels among people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds, for the sake of the nation’s health, wellbeing and economic growth.

Tara Dillon, CEO of CIMSPA said:

“It’s encouraging to see that adults’ overall activity levels are the highest on record and we welcome these statistics from the Active Lives Adult Survey.

“As shown in the report, tackling inequalities amongst our communities unfortunately continues to be an ongoing challenge and there is more work to be done, but we are dedicated to addressing it – our local skills work is vital to this challenge with bespoke local skills plans to support the workforce in meeting the needs of their respective communities.

“This report shows that the sport and physical activity sector plays an important role in our daily lives, and it’s imperative that this government recognises the contribution that our sector and its workforce make to the success of our society.

“I am extremely proud of the hard work and dedication that our sector workforce has given to encourage our nation to become more physically active, which will ultimately contribute towards a healthier, and more economically active country.

“I look forward to seeing how we can continue collaborating with neighbouring sectors and the outcome of the upcoming Spending Review to continue this momentum.”

About the National Sector Partners Group

The NSPG is formed of:

• Active Partnerships
• The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA)
• The Sport for Development Coalition
• The Sport and Recreation Alliance
• ukactive
• The Youth Sport Trust

Through our collaborative work as sector partners, we aim to engage decision makers to improve the operating landscape for the sector and embed sport, recreation and physical activity as a key contributor to wider public policy objectives.