Investment in public sport and leisure facilities and services is key to levelling up the health of the nation, tackling health inequalities and supporting climate change targets, a new report supported by the Local Government Association sets out.
The new report, Securing the Future of Public Sport and Leisure Services
published in partnership with the Association for Public Service Excellence
(APSE) and Chief Cultural and Leisure Officers Association (CLOA) evaluates the
current state of public sport and leisure services and sets out recommendations
to ensure the survival and development of the sector.
Councils are currently the biggest investor in sport, leisure, parks and
green spaces, spending £1.1 billion per year in England. They are unique in
what they offer for communities, providing lifelong opportunities for all to be
active while supporting national objectives and stepping in where the private
sector cannot afford to operat
Regular physical activity reduces the risk of serious illness and disease.
With obesity rates forecast to cost £9.7 billion per year by 2050, the delivery
of low cost and free facilities and social prescribing opportunities from
councils is key in responding to this crisis, addressing health inequalities,
and reducing the burden on the NHS and public health services.
However, the pandemic has hit sports and leisure provision hard, compounding
existing challenges facing the sector, including an ageing leisure estate and
lack of strategic coordination between health and leisure at a national level.
The report recommends that the new Office for Health Improvement and
Disparities take on a key role in ensuring the contribution of public leisure
services to the nation’s wellbeing is communicated to health partners and
included in strategies to promote good health, reduce obesity, promote physical
activity and prevent illness.
Public sport and leisure facilities also play an essential role in giving
children the best start in life. 72 per cent of schools rely on public swimming
pools to teach children vital life skills; however, many need costly
refurbishment. With councils under pressure to fund statutory services such as
adult social care, sport and leisure services are at risk of further cuts.
The LGA is calling for next month’s Spending Review to include £1 billion in
capital investment into the leisure estate to bring it up to modern design and
environmental standards. Nearly two thirds of the leisure estate is ageing and
past its replacement date. With public sport and leisure facilities currently
accounting for up to 40 per cent of a council’s carbon emission output, ageing
facilities are hampering both national and local efforts to meet net zero
targets and must be addressed as part of efforts to tackle the climate
emergency.
Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, Chair of the LGA’s Culture, Tourism and Sport
Board, said: “Councils have demonstrated, more than ever, that they are best placed to
deliver services at pace for their local communities, if empowered and
resourced to do so.
“Public sport and leisure facilities and services are a part of the social
infrastructure of the nation. With the right investment and Government support,
councils can do far more to maximise the benefits of sport and leisure services
and build on their existing work to level up their communities, from improving
health, to reducing emissions and driving regeneration.”
Paul O’Brien, Chief Executive of the Association for Public Service
Excellence said “Whilst COVID has hit sports and leisure services hard there
are longer-term systemic issues. We need to recognise public sport and leisure
as a public service in its own right – they are not in competition with or the
same as private provision. Public sport and leisure services aim to reach
everyone in our communities, young and old, disabled residents, and those
seeking support in elite sports. They are and remain a vital component in the
health of the nation but we must invest in the future of public sport and
leisure services.”
Debbie Kaye, Chair of CLOA said: “More than ever, communities need access to
a thriving public sport and leisure offer to live healthy, active lives. But
it’s under threat. CLOA joins the LGA and APSE to call for national leadership
to address the ‘perfect storm’ of financial challenge, ageing stock, climate
change targets and declining physical literacy.”
Cllr Dan Humphreys, District Councils’ Network’s Lead Member for Enhancing
Quality of Life, said: “The District Councils’ Network welcomes this timely and well-evidenced
report, and we were pleased to be able to contribute to it. We certainly join
the LGA, CLOA and APSE in calling for immediate further support to prevent
centre failures; instead the opportunities to harness the unique reach sport,
leisure and wellbeing facilities and services can have within communities
should be seized. This should build on the extensive experience that can be
drawn from district councils and their private sector partners in delivering
preventative wellbeing services. Our members are ready to address the
preventative health agenda through these services, and increase their social
value.
“Sport and leisure facilities and wider wellbeing services drive physical
activity, create better health outcomes, address health inequalities and build
community cohesion. They can be integral to the pandemic recovery, and beyond
in ensuring the health and wellbeing of all our communities. We are happy to
see that this report’s recommendations point a way forward to help achieve
this.”
