Co-ordination: a strategy for
participation
143. We recommended in our previous Report on preparations
for the Games that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
should publish a joint plan "as soon as possible" on
implementation of Sub-objective 4.4 of the Programme Objectives
for the Games, namely to achieve the maximum increase in UK participation
at community and grass-roots level in all sport and across all
groups. We also recommended that the Department should work with
the then Department for Education and Skills and with LOCOG and
sponsors to address the lack of sports facilities open to schoolchildren,
particularly in the areas of London in which the Games will be
held.[271]
144. We are
disappointed that, fifteen months after publication of our initial
Report on preparations for the Games, no comprehensive plan for
maximising participation in sport has been published.
A draft strategy was drawn up and was subject to consultation;
but the Central Council for Physical Recreation told us that it
was "simply a repackaging of existing Sport England commitments,
within existing spending plans" and that it was in any case
withdrawn.[272]
145. The Minister for the Olympics and London announced
five "legacy promises" in June 2007, one of which was
"[to inspire] a new generation of young people to take part
in volunteering, cultural and physical activity".[273]
The Government is now preparing a Legacy Action Plan, which will
set out how each of the promises will be delivered. The Department
for Culture, Media and Sport told us that the Plan would provide
detail on some of the major programmes which Sport England would
deliver in order to meet the ambition of increased participation
in community sport.[274]
We note that the Mayor of London included as one of his five London
2012 legacy commitments an undertaking to increase opportunities
for Londoners to become involved in sport.[275]
146. Various other plans are being developed. According
to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, there is to be
a five-year Plan for Community Sport, to be published by Sport
England, describing how Sport England will deliver sport to 2013,
along with key partners, and how it will seek to boost volunteer
activity in community sport.[276]
Sport England made no mention of this Plan in either written
or oral evidence. The London Development Agency, on behalf of
the Mayor of London, is commissioning a Sports Legacy Plan for
London "to bring together the collective efforts of the GLA/LDA,
Sport England, Youth Sport Trust, UK Sport, London Councils, the
Pro-Active partnerships and other key delivery agents".[277]
We also note the understanding by the Central Council for Physical
Recreation, expressed in its memorandum submitted in November
2007, that a sports legacy strategy would be released on 11 December
2007.[278] Nothing
of that description has appeared.
147. There appears to be no shortage of activity
in developing plans for participation. In fact, the
profusion of commitments, promises and plans for using the potential
of the Games to increase participation in sport being developed,
whether real or rumoured, is bewildering; but none of what is
proposed amounts to a single, comprehensive, nationwide strategy.
Mr Sparkes, Chief Executive of British
Swimming, spoke of his personal concern that no-one appeared to
have "actually picked up the legacy ball for sport"
or begun to knit together the efforts of the various governing
bodies to provide a sport-wide strategy for maximising participation
in the light of the 2012 Games.[279]
Likewise, Business in Sport and Leisure was not convinced that
a firm strategy or direction had been set by the Government.[280]
We share those concerns. We
have yet to see what is in the Legacy Action Plan; but it will
need to do more than describe Sport England programmes if it is
to provide a strategy for using the opportunity of the Games to
build participation. Whatever strategy document is produced, it
will need to define the roles of each of the many partners involved,
including local authorities, Government departments and their
agencies, Regional Development Agencies, Sport England, operators
of leisure facilities, and individuals. It will also need to set
expectations and suggest ways of meeting them.
148. Our view is that, ultimately, any lasting success
in increasing participation is likely to be achieved not just
through a burst of interest in sport in the lead-up to and during
the Games in 2012, but through a change in behaviours and lifestyles.
We are under no illusions about the difficulty of bringing about
such changes. Nor is Sport England, which recognises that a sustained
effort will be needed and that a strong infrastructure will first
need to be in place. The Chief Executive of Sport England cited
Canada as perhaps the best example of a country where an increase
in participation had been achieved (from 21% to 41%), albeit over
a 20-year period. She said that the increase in participation
in Canada had been achieved by "a sustained campaign combining
investment in the opportunity, in facilities and their club structure
together with constant stimulation of demand for sport, [through]
PR, reminding people about sport, reminding people about the value
of sport".[281]
149. The Chief Executive of Sport England also told
us that "the Olympics are an opportunity and not a guarantee"
and that:
"[…] what the Olympics adds is an element
of momentum, it is an element of heightened aspirations and particularly
for community sport, which depends so crucially on partnerships,
it is a very good way of persuading people to make decisions simultaneously
[…]What the Olympics can do if we use it intelligently is
to provide a focus where people will say, "If we're not going
to do it now then there's never going to be a right time to do
it so let's close out the decision."[282]
She pointed out that there would "be a profile
for sport over the period between now and 2012 which it is unlikely
to have in normal times"; while not enough on its own to
make a lasting impact upon participation levels, she maintained
that the profile in itself presented an opportunity.[283]
150. We agree
with Sport England's assessment of how the 2012 Games might help
to increase participation in sport at grassroots and community
level. Increasing participation in sport cannot be a quick fix.
Spin-offs from the 2012 Games alone cannot bring about the fundamental
change in behavioural patterns needed. The Games can, however,
provide an opportunity to promote the image of health through
sport and can generate a higher level of commitment of public
sector funding and private sector sponsorship for sporting events
and facilities. The Games will also provide a window during which
the public is more receptive to efforts by Government and local
authorities to increase participation.
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