Sport England investment to give equal access to activity across the country
Sport England has announced unprecedented investment into local communities to drive equal access to sport and physical activity.
The £250m of investment into up to 100 local places across England will help tackle inequality and support more people to be physically active, Sport England said.
The announcement was made following research, published by Sport England, that revealed the most active place in England has almost double the activity levels (81%) of the least active place (43%); lifespan could vary by nine years depending on where someone lives; and people living in some poorer neighbourhoods are twice as likely to have a disability or health condition.
To tackle the multi-faceted problem, Sport England is expanding its Place Partners programme to see up to £190m of National Lottery and Exchequer funding invested in up to 80-100 new places across England.
An additional £35m will be invested to strengthen work with Sport England’s existing Place Partners, with up to £25m being made available to create a Universal Offer for other parts of the country to help tackle inactivity and the associated inequalities that stop people moving more.
“This will include taking the learning and impact we have from existing places we are investing in to support others and ensures that every area of England can access some support,” Sport England explained in a statement.
This new way of working is one of the biggest shake-ups of sports funding in decades. It directly supports the government’s recent Get Active strategy, which set ambitious targets of getting 2.5m more adults – with 1.4m of these being from least affluent households – and 1m children active by 2030 to tackle the disparities in activity levels across society.
“Targeted local investment and resources will help to increase activity levels, decrease inactivity and breakdown the barriers and inequalities that prevent people from playing sport or being active,” Sport England said.
This place-based systemic work will see Sport England partner with 80-100 new places through a network of existing 12 Place Partners and up to 43 Active Partnerships across England, to foster relationships with local organisations and leaders and overcome the specific barriers to physical activity that exist in their communities.
The programme will see Sport England invest in places using evidence-based strategies to ensure the greatest resource is targeted to the places with the highest inactivity levels and other social need indicators.
Since 2017, Sport England has tested this place-based approach of working with ‘Local Delivery Pilots’ in 12 of the country’s most disadvantaged and least active communities. This includes schemes such as Free Bikes in Birmingham, ‘Beating the Streets’ in Burnley through a partnership with Intelligent Health, getting school kids moving in Calderdale and rehabilitating patients in South Tees to improve their chances of recovery after surgery.
Sport minister Stuart Andrew, MP, said: “Our new sports strategy sets out an ambitious aim to get 3.5m more people active by 2030 and this £250m investment from Sport England will help make that a reality.
“Keeping active is essential for our mental and physical health and wellbeing, so it is crucial we continue to break down barriers for people to stay fit and healthy.”
Sport England CEO Tim Hollingsworth said: “Access to sport and physical activity in England is still not close to being a level playing field. Where a person lives and the environment around them has a huge impact on how likely they are to be physically active. Too often, people in low-income communities don’t have access to the same facilities or opportunities as wealthier areas.
“This is manifestly unfair – and must be addressed as a real priority. That is why our expanded Place Partnership programme will unashamedly see us target our resources and efforts on communities that need the greatest levels of support and experience the greatest levels of inequality. We will invest most in those that need it most so that everyone has an equal chance to access the very real benefits of playing sport and be physically active.”
Lisa Dodd-Mayne, executive director of Place at Sport England, said: “This is an important moment in our delivery of Uniting the Movement, our long-term strategy, which has tackling inequalities at its heart.
“We want to ensure that a wide range of local spaces where people can be active – be it a facility, park or outdoor space – are the right spaces that meet the needs of the community.”
