Sector leaders call on Government to use Budget to drive physical activity and make UK most active nation in Europe, as Sport England report shows £100bn social value

The National Sector Partners Group (NSPG) has issued the following statement, welcoming the findings of Sport England’s new social value report, published today (22 October).

Today’s publication by Sport England of its report, ‘Social value of sport and physical activity for England’, powerfully illustrates the indispensable role our sector plays in improving the health and wellbeing of our nation. The estimated annual social value of £107.2bn follows the Government’s own recent analysis of the economic impact of the sector, measured at £99.6bn.  

The figures show there is a wellbeing benefit of £8.6bn from children being involved in sport and physical activity, with £9.3bn in savings from the prevention of diseases in adults (including type 2 diabetes, cancer and prevention of other non-communicable diseases) and a further £1.3bn in savings from reduced GP visits and reduced mental health service usage.

Combined, these figures clearly show that sport, recreation and physical activity are integral to our future economic growth and critical to improving the physical and mental health and wellbeing of the nation.  

It is now important the Government builds on initial positive engagement with our sector and begins to set out how it plans to fully leverage the economic, social, and health benefits sport, recreation and physical activity provide.

As our #TakeTheLead campaign shows, making the UK the most active nation in Europe would unlock a further £1bn in healthcare savings, an additional £3.5bn in GDP and £71bn in wellbeing benefits.

Over the coming weeks and months, the Government will set out its economic and policy plans for this Parliament, starting with the Budget and one-year departmental budget settlements this month, and then the long-term mission strategies and multi-year spending plans in 2025.  

Firstly, it is important that – as a minimum – the Budget and one-year departmental settlements protect existing investment into sport, recreation and physical activity, and tax and regulatory decisions to support sector growth.  

Secondly, the Government’s developing plans for sport, recreation and physical activity as part of its Five Missions must be co-created with the sector if they are to succeed.

The NSPG believes the central focus should be on the following areas:  

• Commitment to a long-term, joined-up national plan for children and young people’s physical activity to help develop the healthiest and happiest generation.  

• Commitment to protect and enhance the quality and accessibility of community facilities, green and blue spaces, and all places that support physical activity levels – through both investment and regulatory reforms.

• Commitment to greater integration of the sector’s community programmes and services into the NHS, to ensure sport, recreation and physical activity is embedded into the health and care system, helping to manage and prevent illness and long-term conditions.

The Government has set out the challenges we face as a nation in terms of our economic growth, the state of our public services, and the pressure on the NHS. It has also spoken positively and optimistically about the role sport, recreation and physical activity can play in our national renewal, and today’s report from Sport England shows legitimate grounds for that optimism.  

We must now begin to understand how that conviction translates into strategy and policy, undertaken in full partnership with the sector.

The National Sector Partners Group (NSPG) is a coalition of leading bodies from across the sport and physical activity sector.

NSPG includes Active Partnerships, the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA), the Sport and Recreation Alliance, the Sport for Development Coalition, the Youth Sport Trust, and ukactive.

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