17 Sep 2021

New Secretary of State for DCMS appointed

New Secretary of State for DCMS appointed news article image

Lisa Wainwright MBE, Sport and Recreation Alliance CEO, said: “At this important time as both the nation and our sector recovers from COVID-19,  we look forward to working closely with the new Secretary of State to ensure the Alliance, its members and the wider sector can help get people back to being active, improve the health and wellbeing of the nation and contribute to wider government priorities including levelling up.

“Given the important contribution the sector can make to delivering the Government’s agenda, we are keen to progress this work with the new Secretary of State and her team at the earliest opportunity.

“The challenges that have presented themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic are still present and with a Comprehensive Spending Review coming later this Autumn, the need to invest in sport and recreation to support the nation's physical and mental health to recovery remains a clear priority.

“From her previous roles, we understand that the Secretary of State has a strong background and understanding in the area of mental health, and we hope to work alongside her to showcase sport and recreation as a vehicle to improve the wellbeing of our society.

“We also know that the Government has long had a focus on improving the health of our children and tackling obesity and we will aim to continue and enhance our collaboration to achieve on priorities such as these in the years to come.

“The power of sport and recreation provides huge social, economic and health benefits for communities across the UK. Over the coming weeks we will be working alongside members and sector partners to push for the best possible outcome at the 2021 Spending Review.”

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