By Huw Edwards, CEO of ukactive
For far too long, when Westminster engages in sport or physical activity announcements, all too often they feel like photo opportunities in desperate need of a strategy. Much of the work our sector and representative organisations undertake in Westminster, is trying to link up policy discussions, initiatives and projects that are scattered across various Whitehall departments which, while driven by good merit and intention, are developed in isolation.
The sector, of course, deserves much better and it is clear to see how the impressive Creative Industries Industrial Plan could be replicated for sport and physical activity, with such a strong emphasis on investment streams, workforce and skills development, planning and regulatory reform, and crucially, sector and Government governance and engagement.
That said, notable announcements in recent weeks could provide the platform for the Government to begin to articulate a compelling case for the growth and development of our sector across the rest of this parliament. Some details on investment priorities have been communicated following the Spending Review. Furthermore, the recently published NHS 10-Year Plan, alludes to the role of physical activity, without the detail or implementation plans that will no doubt need to follow. This is especially the case with the proposed Neighbourhood Health Centres, which seem to be an obvious partnership with our sector.
However, that’s no substitute for a clear plan and let’s be clear that our Government – indeed, any Government – will not be able to address the major problems caused by the twin forces of an ageing society and an ever-sicker nation, without a significantly stronger relationship and credible plan for working with the sport and physical activity sector.
The recent welfare reforms debate directly talked to this. As The Times analysed, “We have promised people a level of support our worsening national health has now rendered unaffordable. Britain is becoming sicker. This is partly simply because we are getting older as a population and partly also because we eat badly and do not exercise enough. A quarter of us now report having a life-limiting disability and far more are suffering from multiple illnesses at the same time; almost a million people now have five or more health conditions, up 40 per cent since Covid.”
In this context, the sector can, and should, play a much greater role in both maintaining good health and helping address poor health, and the Government must recognise and acknowledge its role in unlocking that greater role.
In particular, it is vital that, with its commitment to a new physical activity strategy in the 10-Year Plan, that the Government breaks away from the policy orthodoxy of that past that has not delivered a happier, healthier nation, and invests in plans that match the moment and are fit for the future.
This is crucial for two reasons: firstly, it will show that the Government understands what is driving activity levels in the country – notably gyms, pools, and leisure centres – and secondly, provide the required focus on what is, in effect, a growing market failure in the national provision of swimming pools – with 75% of closures in the past 15 years happening in the past five years.
There remains sufficient time in this parliament for the Government to deploy the sector to have a positive impact on our collective economic and health goals. The new NHS 10-Year Plan could be a catalyst for this. However, the sector needs to see some clear indications that the ambition is there to do this – and soon.
To read ukactive’s public statement in response to the 10-Year Plan, click here.
