Select Committee on Health Written Evidence


Memorandum by the Football Foundation (WP 77)

INTRODUCTION

  A unique partnership funded by the FA Premier League, The FA and the Government, the Football Foundation is the UK's largest sports charity. Our mission is to improve facilities, create opportunities and build communities. We are:

    —  Putting in place a new generation of modern facilities in parks, local leagues and schools.

    —  Providing capital/revenue support to increase participation in grass roots football.

    —  Strengthening the links between football and the community, harnessing potential as a force for good in society, promoting health, education and social inclusion.

  In particular, football can play an important role in promoting improved health outcomes by:

    —  Encouraging participation in physical activity—helping people meet the Chief Medical Officer's "At least five a week" message.

    —  Engaging people who the NHS finds hard to reach—enabling communication and interaction with excluded groups on health issues.

    —  Promoting positive attitudes to health and well-being—encouraging people to look after themselves and seek help when they need it.

  The Football Foundation supports the objectives and broad themes of the Public Health White Paper and we welcome this opportunity to contribute to its scrutiny.

Will the proposals enable the Government to achieve its public health goals?

  The Football Foundation welcomes the explicit recognition in "At least five a week" that regular participation in physical activity has major health benefits, including leading to a lower risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer.

  We also welcome the recognition in the White Paper that: "Football and other sports have a huge reach and engagement, and a strong community base." (Choosing Health: making healthier choices easier, page 90, paragraph 51). We consider that the Public Health White Paper does contain initiatives, which will help meet the objective of increasing participation in physical activity. Encouraging initiatives include:

    —  The establishment of a Physical Activity Promotion Fund to roll out evidence-based physical activity interventions, building on the LEAP Programme.

    —  Regional Physical Activity Co-ordinators to manage delivery of activity interventions.

    —  A commitment to build on the successful partnerships already established between health services and football clubs, including a pledge to publish a guide for PCTs and sports clubs to encourage good practice and foster links on health improvement work.

Are the proposals appropriate, will they be effective, do they represent value for money?

  The proposals in the White Paper relating to football and physical activity do have the potential to deliver significant improvements to the health of the nation and therefore are appropriate. The Football Foundation is involved in a number of existing initiatives, which demonstrate that real benefits can be delivered by linking health and football. Some examples of the 1,140 projects funded to date are:

    —  Kidderminster Harriers Football in the Community scheme—the Foundation has provided a grant of £72,396 to establish a healthy lifestyle football project for local children. Working in association with the Worcestershire Health Authority, County Council, Local Education Authority and the British Heart Foundation, Kidderminster Harriers coaches visit schools and provide football-coaching sessions, passing on the benefits of regular exercise, healthy living and good diets, involving up to 6,000 local children.

    —  Fit Through Football—the Foundation provided a grant of £148,920 to help the Middlesbrough FC Football in the Community Programme to deliver a comprehensive healthy lifestyle programme, embracing positive lifestyle messages, drug awareness information, citizenship classes, physical activities, literacy and numeracy education as well as after-school coaching clubs. By providing positive messages, alongside regular football sessions, the club hope to promote health, as well as encourage and stimulate future football participation. The scheme will offer additional community benefits by addressing such issues as crime reduction and anti-social behaviour.

    —  Dads Against Drugs (DADs) —the Foundation provided a grant of £95,000 to a Hull group to fund a project co-ordinator over the next five years to continue their expanding work, which includes running regular annual football and drugs education events. DADs has proved particularly effective in targeting youngsters at risk, using innovative approaches to combating drug abuse, such as primary school five-a-side tournaments and drug awareness project and sponsoring a comic to tour primary schools talking to children aged 7-11 to increase drug awareness.

    —  Northumberland Primary Care Trust—the Foundation provided a grant of £3,080 for the PCT to undertake a football project aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles, increasing participation in sports and improving the levels of understanding about the dangers of smoking amongst young people and encourage them to quit. The project is linked to initiatives such as Positive Futures and the Government's Teenage Pregnancy Strategy.

  The White Paper recognises the potential of projects such as these and offers the opportunity to extend and embed them in England's public health system. However to do so will require additional investment and a willingness on the part of Primary Care Trusts to engage with the football community. The decision in the Spending Review of 2004 to extend Government Funding of the Football Foundation is a welcome start and the White Paper makes clear that the Department of Health recognises the potential of football to make a difference.

  This recognition now needs to be turned into action and we await the Implementation Plan with interest. For our part we are committed to developing further relationships with local NHS bodies and we hope to work closely with the Spearhead PCTs to ensure that the contribution that football can make is maximised. In return we urge the Government and the NHS to prioritise the funding of public health projects involving sport, harnessing the power of football to help promote better health for the nation.

Do the necessary public health infrastructure and mechanisms exist to ensure that proposals will be implemented and goals achieved?

  Traditionally the NHS has not interacted with other organisations with a stake in improving public health as well as it could have. For example, links with local football clubs have not in the past been optimised. There are indications that this is changing (see examples above) and the Football Foundation is committed to playing a part in facilitating this. We are also hopeful that some of the initiatives announced in the White Paper will help to develop structures, which enhance the interaction between sport and traditional health providers.

January 2005





 
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