Government opens consultation process for new sports strategy

In response to today’s announcement, Emma Boggis, Chief Executive of the Sport and Recreation Alliance said,

“We’re very pleased that the new Government has seized an opportunity early in this parliament to make progress on a new strategy for the sector.”

She says the Alliance will be arguing strongly for a root and branch review of the government’s objectives, how sport can contribute to them and the best ways of supporting the sector to do so.

“It is important that the strategy is genuinely cross-government to reflect the wide ranging impact that sport and recreation can have. Our Ministers’ To Do List was aimed at a number of Government departments precisely for this reason.”

The Alliance CEO also believes that, given the huge footprint of the sector, the strategy needs to take in the wider delivery landscape, including the roles and responsibilities of local authorities, particularly in the promotion of physical and mental health and in educational settings.

The consultation already refers to two areas of the Alliance's work, in the shape of the outdoor strategy and the Mental Health Charter for Sport and Recreation but the broad activity of Alliance members should be more widely appreciated, she argues.

“Governing bodies and the clubs they support are a prized part of the fabric of almost every community up and down the country and this strategy must recognise the contribution they make to all kinds of areas of our life, from improving our health to building our communities,” she said.

The Alliance will be preparing its own response to the consultation and will be feeding back its thoughts and key messages to members at the end of August. It is also inviting its members to engage in one of a host of Alliance-led opportunities to inform the sector’s response to the consultation.

“We will be doing everything we can to actively engage with our members on the strategy and to gather as many views as possible. It’s vital that sport and recreation organisations have their say on this and we see a clear role for the Alliance as their representative body to help shape specific proposals based on evidence of what the sector knows works. At the Alliance we will be very active over the consultation period to make sure that everyone’s voice is heard.”

Alliance members will be consulted through a variety of means, including through established working groups and a re-arranged round of autumn divisional meetings where DCMS officials will be in attendance. Social media and online polling will also play a role in collecting information.

The dates for the following meetings and events are currently being organised and members will be notified of relevant meetings as soon as possible. We would also encourage members to share their own consultation responses with us to inform our thinking.