The Sport for Development Coalition responds to UK Government’s new sports strategy as part of the National Sector Partners Group:
“As an alliance of leading bodies across sport, recreation and physical activity, the National Sector Partners Group (NSPG) passionately believes that improving the health and wellbeing of this nation must be a central priority for this and future governments. This is essential if we want to create sustained economic growth, support the NHS, and strengthen the fabric of our communities across all ages and backgrounds. The role of sport, recreation and physical activity will be integral to this.
“The Government’s new sports strategy, ‘Get Active: A strategy for the future of sport and physical activity’, shines a spotlight on the essential nature of sport and physical activity in people’s everyday lives, and importantly recognises the many programmes and initiatives that contribute to this ambition to improve our national health and wellbeing.
“The collective responsibility to improve the health, wellbeing and economic productivity of the nation sits across Whitehall so we welcome the creation of a new Government taskforce to oversee the implementation of the strategy, with industry representatives collaborating with key departments centrally.
“The inclusion in the new strategy of participation targets provides clarity around the Government’s ambitions for a more physically active population and to reduce existing inequalities. We look forward to seeing how these ambitions translate into clear, sustainable delivery plans that focus on the growth and development of the sector.
“Only by developing and supporting a programme of delivery in conjunction with all of our partner organisations and making full use of all aspects of the sector, will this strategy be able to deliver on its ambitions and unlock the full potential of the sector. We believe with the necessary resources and working collaboratively with the sector, we can become one of the world’s most active nations and improve outcomes across society.
“We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with the Government to develop and implement legislative changes and national initiatives to realise these ambitions together.”
About the NSPG
The National Sector Partners Group comprises:
- Active Partnerships
- Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA)
- Sport for Development Coalition
- Sport and Recreation Alliance
- ukactive
- Youth Sport Trust
Through our collaborative work as sector partners, we aim to engage decision-makers to improve the operating landscape for the sector and embed sport, recreation and physical activity as a key contributor to wider public policy objectives.
As part of wider work through the National Sector Partners Group (NSPG), in 2022 we published Unlocking the Potential which sets out how sport, recreation and physical activity can be integral to successfully delivering a number of key Government priorities including Levelling Up, driving economic growth, achieving Net Zero and supporting the NHS. The report also proposes a range of systemic interventions including access to investment, tax and regulatory changes and wider policy reform which the NSPG believes are key to maximising this role.
