The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) was
making some progress in increasing national participation in
sport and physical activity until the impact of the pandemic
reversed these gains. However, it needs to do more to reach key
groups who are less likely to be active including women, the
least affluent and Black and Asian people, according to a report
by the National Audit Office (NAO).
The government promised an increase in grassroots sport
participation as part of the long-term legacy of the London 2012
Olympic and Paralympic Games. Government set up an Olympic and
Paralympic Legacy Cabinet Committee in 2012 to oversee the
delivery of a variety of programmes for the legacy. Several
initiatives were set up, such as Sport England's1 £135
million ‘People Places Play' programme which sought to improve
local facilities, train local sports leaders, and encourage
adults to try Olympic and Paralympic sports. However, the
proportion of adults participating in sport at least once a week
declined in the three years following the Games. The Olympic and
Paralympic Legacy Cabinet Committee was disbanded in 2015 and
government attention to legacy waned.
The government shifted its approach in 2015 to focus on outcomes
of participation in sport and physical activity, such as physical
and mental wellbeing, through a new strategy ‘Sporting Future'.
It promised to target funding at tackling less active groups of
the population, believing this would deliver the biggest gains
for public spending. ‘Sporting Future' also committed government
departments to work more closely together on delivery and
funding, as maximising participation in sport and physical
activity contributes to a range of other departments' priorities
such as tackling obesity. While there was some increased
collaboration following the publication of the strategy, this has
not been consistent or sustained.
Activity rates increased nationally in the three years before the
COVID-19 pandemic, but progress with specific, less active groups
was mixed. The percentage of active adults increased from 62.1%
in the year to November 2016 to 63.3% in the year to November
2019. This is equivalent to 1.1 million additional active adults,
more than double the government's target of 500,000. Sport
England set itself activity targets for 2020 for two specific
less active groups: women aged 16-60 and lower socio-economic
groups. Immediately prior to the pandemic the number of people
from lower socio-economic groups increasing their activity levels
through Sport England funded programmes was on track, at 83% of
the target level. But for women aged 16-60, the rise was only 18%
of the target. Among less active groups which did not have set
targets, over-75s and disabled people experienced statistically
significant increases in activity levels prior to the pandemic,
but there was no such increase in Black or Asian ethnicity
groups.
The COVID-19 pandemic was highly disruptive for sports and
physical activity. The percentage of adults who were active fell
to 61.4% in the year to November 2021 - the joint-lowest level
for the year to November results since Sport England began
collecting these data in the year to November 2016. This fall has
exacerbated inequalities in activity for the least affluent,
Asian people and disabled people. DCMS is exploring what lessons
it can take from the pandemic.
Sport England's new strategy for grassroots sports and physical
activity, ‘Uniting the Movement', takes a more localised and
collaborative approach than before. It continues to focus on
encouraging activity among the inactive but also gives greater
prominence to addressing inequalities in participation. DCMS also
plans to publish a new strategy in summer 2022 to replace its
2015 strategy. This will include how it will work across
government to ensure greater joined-up working between the sector
and government departments. Both Sport England and DCMS are
developing how to measure the success of their new strategies.
To support the delivery of its strategic objectives for
participation in sport and physical activity, the NAO recommends
that DCMS sets out how it will lead the delivery of objectives
that it shares with other departments. It should also set out how
it will measure the success of its strategy. Sport England should
check that its distribution of funding supports its objective to
target lower socio-economic groups and do more to share its
insight and learnings with the sector.
, the head of the NAO, said:
"Grassroots participation in sport did not receive the
post-London Olympics and Paralympics boost hoped for at the time.
Since 2015 DCMS has refocused its approach on the benefits of
sport and physical activity, targeting the inactive.
"Overall activity levels were gradually increasing before the
pandemic but these gains were lost as facilities and clubs were
disrupted. In recovering the position, DCMS should also tackle
persistent inequalities in participation."
- ENDS -
Notes for Editors
-
The Department for Digital,
Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is the lead department for the
sports sector and is responsible for maximising participation
in sport and physical activity. It directs most of its spending
for this objective through Sport England, its arm's length body
created in 1996 to develop grassroots sport and get more people
active across England.
