Memorandum submitted by Local Government
Association
KEY POINTS
— The Local Government Association
(LGA) welcomes the opportunity to give written evidence to the
Culture, Media and Sport Committee inquiry into Community Sport.
A request was sent out to a number of LGA advisors from Local
authorities in England and Wales to seek comments for inclusion
within the LGA submission to this inquiry.
— The inquiry was announced on the
16 March 2005 with a deadline for written submission to be received
by Friday 1 April. Due to the short timescale a full and detailed
response has not been possible, however the Association wishes
to raise a few key points for consideration.
— Living in a healthy, prosperous and
active community is a key issue for local people and therefore
for local government. The LGA and its members are willing to work
with government to find real, long term solutions to improve sport
participation.
— The association would wish to seek
a new commitment by central government to a clear focus of working
together with local government and other partners to improve participation.
Key to this would be for central government to:
— Develop long term, properly resourced
approaches to increasing participation rates and supporting community
sport.
— Develop clear messages of the
benefits of sport, consistently presented over a long period of
time.
— Resource and support the "hub"
club principals of working together towards multi-sport clubs
that link with Education and Health.
— Provide a clear role to local
authorities to operate as the essential link between schools and
the voluntary sector/club sport to break down the artificial barriers
relating to the sports provision in local government areas and
have a total community based approach.
— The traditional product-led "sports
development" approach needs to be reviewed with a more needs-based
approach based on an understanding of personal and social circumstances.
— Start to seek innovative opportunities
to increase and widen the base of participation in sport eg ensuring
that projects such as Building Schools for the future (BSF) for
example considers the wider local need to supply facilities for
community sports.
— Continue to identify areas to
reduce bureaucratic burdens in community sport. The Making a difference
project, led by the Cabinet Office and DCMS, has already identified
improvements to be introduced over the next six months.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
ASSOCIATION
1. The Local Government Association (LGA)
was formed on 1 April 1997 and represents the local authorities
of England and Wales—a total of just under 500 authorities.
These local authorities represent over 50 million people and spend
around £78 billion pounds per annum. The LGA is a voluntary
lobbying organisation representing local government. Local authorities
do not have to join but nearly all local authorities in England
and Wales are in membership.
THE LGA VISION
2. The recognition that exercise through
participation in sporting activities makes people healthier is
nothing new, however the facts show that we are becoming an increasingly
sedentary nation. For example obesity in England has tripled over
the last 20 years and continues to rise. The National Audit Office
estimated that, in 1998, obesity accounted for around 18 million
days of sickness absence and 30,000 premature deaths[8]—Britain
is becoming ever more unhealthy.
3. The LGA, in its manifesto for local communities[9],
outlined its vision for building strong and healthy communities
and the important role that local government plays. It is clear
that by promoting a healthier and active lifestyle there can be
considerable benefits to both the individual and society as a
whole. Sport participation also provides a focus for social activity,
an opportunity to make friends, develop networks, reduce social
isolation and increase self-confidence.
4. Grassroots sport plays and important
role in activating communities and individuals to access sporting
activities. It is a key avenue in getting people interested in
sports, nurturing talent and improving general health and well-being.
5. The LGA has welcomed a number of various
central government or NDPB led initiatives. Government, however,
needs to acknowledge that short term initiatives, without proper
long term funding provisions do not result in long term change.
Community sport provision now needs a real long term vision and
approach in order to tackle participation rates.
6. With the Olympic bid as a backdrop, central
government and partners need to work together to promote the benefit
of sport participation at all levels to ensure that this unique
opportunity is fully exploited. Community sport provision should
play a vital role in the development of a sustainable legacy for
sport.
7. Local authorities are already taking
action to improve participation rates within their communities
and help meet the government target. For example, authorities
have:
— Set pricing policies to allow easy
access by all parts of the community.
— Targeted approach to disadvantaged
communities in particular.
— Enabling local clubs to improve and
develop and help them seek funding and support them in targeting
priority groups.
— Supported and provided facilities
located within disadvantaged communities, providing easy access
to sport and leisure opportunities.
— Employed outreach staff, linking
with schools, health providers, etc to promote the benefits of
sport and the opportunities for taking part.
8. A number of informative case studies
of what local authorities, often together with partners or community
organisations, are already doing to improve participation rates
through community sport provision are outlined in Appendix A.
8 National Audit Office (1998). Back
9
Local Government Association (2004), Independence, Opportunity,
Trust: a manifesto for local communities, London: LGA. Back
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