Written evidence submitted by Sport England
1. SPORT ENGLAND
1.1 Sport England is a Non-Departmental
Public Body (NDPB) sponsored by the Department for Culture Media
and Sport (DCMS), and charged with creating a world-leading community
sport system.
1.2 Our aim is to grow and sustain levels of
adult sporting participation, and to nurture those with talent
to achieve their potential. As part of our ambition, we are focused
on delivering the following strategic outcomes:
— Reduce "drop off" in participation
between the ages of 16 and 18 in nine sports.
— Increase participants' satisfaction with
their sporting experience.
— Improve talent development systems in
at least 25 sports.
1.3 We receive approximately £250 million
per annum—£135 million of Exchequer and £116 million
of Lottery funding. All of our investments and efforts are focused
upon our outcomes which, when met, will make a significant contribution
to the delivery of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic legacy.
2. DELIVERING
A LASTING
SPORTING LEGACY
2.1 The Government's legacy action plan,
published by the DCMS in June 2008, committed to using the 2012
Games to "make the UK a world-leading sporting nation".
Key ambitions include:
— Inspiring young people through sport:
offer all five to 16 year-olds in England five hours of high-quality
sport a week and all 16 to 19 year-olds three hours a week by
2012.
— Getting people more active: help at
least two million more people in England be more active by 2012
(one million through sport and one million through physical activity).
— Elite Achievement: aim for fourth
in the Olympic medal table and at least second in the Paralympic
medal table in 2012.
2.2 Through the investment of almost £880
million of funding over four years, and the continued provision
of expertise in sports development, Sport England is contributing
to two key aspects of the legacy plan.
2.3 Firstly, we have a target of getting
one million people playing more sport by 2012-13. Our definition
of sports participation is based upon sustainable, regular participation
which incorporates three sessions of 30 minutes, moderate intensity
sporting activity per week. The Government's additional target
of one million people being more physically active is being delivered
by the Department of Health.
2.4 Secondly, we are working alongside the
Youth Sport Trust to offer all five to 16 year-olds in England
five hours of high-quality sport a week, and all 16 to 19 year-olds
three hours a week by 2012. While the Trust leads on in-school
and curriculum-based activities, Sport England is responsible
for club and community activities outside the school gate. It
is only by linking the two that the five hour offer can be achieved.
2.5 We also have a significant role to play
in the development of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic venues.
Not only are we investing in the infrastructure and facilities
of the Olympic Park, we are also providing design and development
expertise, to ensure that the relevant venues are suitably adapted
for community use once the games are over.
3. MAXIMISING
THE SPORTING
LEGACY
3.1 We believe that a successful sporting
legacy will only be achieved if a strategic approach is taken
to investment and delivery, maximising the potential of all organisations
involved to deliver a single vision—to create a world-leading
community sport system. This requires:
— Building and maintaining a strong infrastructure
and network of governing bodies, facilities, clubs and providers—to
both provide opportunities and stimulate demand for sport.
— Ensuring opportunities for people from across
all sectors of society to take part in sports which are attractive,
convenient and accessible.
— Providing research and evaluation to
partners—allowing us to track the progress/success/impact
of our initiatives, and share best practice.
— Understanding the changing landscape
and the many different ways in which people want to consume sport.
3.2 Our focus goes beyond 2012. As we look
towards the golden decade of sport, we want to fundamentally change
the sporting behaviours of a nation—ensuring more people
are taking part and reaching their potential. We believe that
a true Olympic legacy should be judged over a much longer term,
as we begin to see the benefits of the considerable investment
made in sport in this country really take effect. If the right
investment has been made in the right places to deliver genuine
sustainability, we will see a community sport system developed
in this country which has the capacity to handle levels of participation
which far outstrip the current figures and targets that we have
in place today.
3.3 Sport England's role in delivering this
vision is to act as a national, strategic commissioner of outcomes,
establishing shared overarching goals relating to participation
and enabling partners to deliver those effectively. We add value
to the sport sector through our unique ability to look right across
the community sport landscape, identifying what works best, where
and why.
3.4 Our centres of excellence provide both
strategic and operational expertise on specific areas of development
(such as planning, research, coaching, talent development and
inclusion) in addition to regional and local knowledge, and connectivity
to delivery partners.
3.5 One example of this is in Rotherham
where we helped the local authority adopt a strategic approach
to developing their facility stock. Rotherham Council took the
decision to replace its ageing facilities with new purpose-built,
state-of-the-art leisure centres. They recognised that new sports
participants were turned off by the poor state of the facilities,
poor location and inaccessibility. Using Sport England's tools—such
as Active Places—and working with the Amateur Swimming Association—they
were able to understand consumer demand for sports facilities
in their area, and develop a carefully planned approach to all
sports provision. Their decision to rationalise and provide higher
quality facilities in the right places, resulted in more people
accessing leisure facilities.
3.6 The delivery of a participation legacy
will require not just shrewd investment in, and development of,
an effective sporting infrastructure—but also the delivery
of real behavioural change. We, and our partners, must ensure
that the awareness and understanding of the benefits of sport
are there for all to see, and the sports themselves must engage
with their existing, and future, participants in a way that many
of them have not done previously.
3.7 Simply "build it and they will
come" is no longer an appropriate way of addressing the challenge
of getting more people into sport. What is needed to meet 21st
Century demands for sustainable change is a requirement for sport
to put the customer first, understand their needs and create a
package that meets their needs. All of this will take time, and
it is important that steady progress is not only recognised, but
understood as we move ahead to 2012.
3.8 National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs)
3.8.1 We believe that the National Governing
Bodies of sport have the ability to make the greatest contribution
to our outcome of getting one million people playing more sport,
which is why they sit at the heart of our new strategy.
3.8.2 In December 2008, we announced our investment
of £480 million of Lottery and Exchequer funding over four
years (2009-13) in 46 NGBs. Included in this funding cycle, and
for the first time ever, are all Olympic and Paralympic sports,
including handball, goalball and wheelchair basketball, in addition
to sports which have a participant base of 75,000 or more.
3.8.3 We have given national governing bodies
greater autonomy over the development of their strategic plans
and the public investment made in them—recognising their
expert knowledge of their sport and participants.
3.8.4 The money each governing body has
received is an investment—with an expected return in the
form of delivery of outcomes and value for money. It is not acceptable
for initiatives and outputs to be delivered without a clear and
demonstrable impact on the participation levels in that sport.
It is this which will make the greatest contribution to our target
of one million people playing more sport by 2012-13.
3.8.5 Through the bi-annual measurement
of their performance, and annual publication of an overall rating
on a sport-by-sport basis, we are developing a sustainable culture
of delivery and accountability throughout community sport. Earned
autonomy and accountability now go hand-in-hand for the NGBs that
we fund.
3.8.6 If governing bodies are going to reach
their targets, each one will have to adopt a level of market awareness
not previously seen in community sport. Innovation is critical
if sport is to not only maintain its popularity and appeal in
uncertain economic times, but also provide the opportunities to
meet future levels of demand.
3.8.7 They must look beyond their traditional
models, networks and customers, pushing the boundaries of their
conventional offer. Pay and play models, without the tie of membership
fees or a structured, regular commitment, have increasing appeal
to the consumer, as do shorter and more convenient forms of traditional
sports. Those which have minimal or no cost associated with participation
are also seeing a rise in popularity, and it is essential that
other sports look at how they can adapt to the requirements of
the marketplace.
3.8.8 To support the NGBs, and learning
from the customer-focus of other sectors, Sport England has developed
a new piece of research that provides real insight into the satisfaction
levels of sports participants at every level. Increasing satisfaction
lies at the heart of sustaining participation because the quality
of the sporting experience on offer is a key factor in attracting
and retaining participants. All too often, people drop out of
sporting activity because of a poor experience they have had,
whether that is lack of available coaching, expensive memberships—or
a poorly run facility.
3.8.9 Our satisfaction survey enables NGBs
to understand the quality of the sporting experience they are
providing to their participants, as well as providing them with
information on the areas of greatest importance to their existing,
and potential, customers.
3.8.10 This is the first time sport has
taken a market based approach to attracting and retaining participants
and will prove invaluable to sports seeking to grow their numbers.
3.9 Children and Young People
3.9.1 Choice and engagement are key to encouraging
young people in sport and preventing them from dropping out at
the critical 16-18 point. We recognise how important it is to
ensure that young people develop a lifelong sporting habit at
a young age. To achieve this, sport needs to be seen as an intrinsic
life choice. In the same way sport must take a market-based approach
to reach out to more adults, governing bodies must understand
the specific needs and aspirations of young people, if we are
to make a generational step change.
3.9.2 As part of the Government's Five Hour Offer,
Sport England works in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust
to deliver the Government's PE and Sport Strategy for Young People
(PESSYP).
3.9.3 One programme in which we are investing
£13 million per year, is Sport Unlimited, which will provide
900,000 11-19 year olds access to high-quality taster courses
in an array of sports. We have already seen considerable success
in year one, with 177,000 young people completing the courses.
Success is attributed to the scheme being young person led, offering
a wide range of sports—from football to ultimate Frisbee—and
using social media to engage.
3.9.4 We are also investing £4 million
per year in 34 NGBs to deliver an additional half million new
5-19 club participants/volunteers by 2012-13.
3.10 Targeted Sport England investment
3.10.1 While our strategy, and therefore
our funding, is primarily focused upon NGBs, we recognise that
they cannot deliver the ambitious targets that they have been
set without assistance from other areas of the community sports
landscape. Local government, higher and further education and
the third sector, in addition to many individual projects and
community groups across the country, provide much of the investment
and opportunities required to grow participation at a local level.
We are conscious of the continued financial constraints within
which many of these are operating, and within our funding strategy
we have made up to £65 million available via open funding
streams and other lines of investment.
3.10.2 These include:
3.10.2.1 Launched in April 2009, we
have made available up to £30 million of lottery funding
per year through our Themed Rounds, which aim to both address
barriers and create new opportunities for participation in sport
in under represented. Our first two are already in place, focussed
upon encouraging rural communities and getting mums and women
from deprived communities to be more active.
3.10.2.2 £7 million for Small
Grants, and £3 million for Sportsmatch per annum to ensure
that the foundations of sport—the clubs and community groups—can
grow and sustain themselves.
3.10.2.3 £5 million for our Innovation
Fund invests in original projects that have the ability to change
or enhance the patterns of people's participation habits in a
way that has yet to be seen in the mass market.
3.10.2.4 In addition to our open funding
streams, we have invested £10 million of funding into specialist
National Partners (such as the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation,
Sporting Equals and sportscoach UK) to engage and attract those
areas and groups traditionally underrepresented in sport, and
which require specialist support.
3.10.2.5 To aid local connectivity,
something which we consider essential in ensuring that we achieve
our outcomes, we have invested £10 million (£200,000
each) in the County Sport Partnerships (CSPs), whose role it is
to lever more funding into sport, connect NGBs with local authority
and other local community initiatives and clubs and coaches to
support the sporting infrastructure.
3.11 Facilities
3.11.1 A world-leading community sport structure
has high-quality, well maintained facilities in the right places,
which are also well-managed and utilised effectively. The arbitrary
building of many more facilities in this country would not necessarily
provide the benefits that many people believe. There are many
impressive developments across England which simply do not address
the needs of the local community.
3.11.2 We now need to move the debate on beyond
the numbers and look at the needs of today's participants. If
a facility is not being used, it may be because it is poorly located
or doesn't offer the right facilities, and as a result is operating
at a growing deficit. It may be better for a local authority,
or other provider, to consider alternative options, for example
redeveloping or consolidating existing sports facilities or building
new ones fit for the needs of the 21st century.
3.11.3 As well as providing expertise, we
continually invest in facilities across England, including new
build and upgrades to community sports pitches, changing facilities,
tracks, stadiums and courts. £10 million has already been
allocated through our Sustainable Facilities Fund this year and
nearly £100 million is being invested via the 46 NGBs. In
many cases we also provide strategic advice as to the design,
location and sustainability of those projects, and no investment
is made without a clear justification as to the need for, and
suitability of, a facility.
3.12 London
3.12.1 In 2005, when London won the bid,
sports participation in East London was amongst the lowest in
the country. With high levels of social and economic deprivation,
poor transport infrastructure and a dearth of adequate sports
facilities, growing participation in East London was one of the
biggest challenges facing the legacy partners. However, our experience
to date is that those involved in maximising the opportunity to
grow participation are making steady progress and most understand
the need for a long-term approach.
3.12.2 Our involvement in the Olympic and Paralympic
host city has focused upon working with the Mayor to develop a
sports participation London-wide legacy strategy—"A
Sporting Future for London". This plan emphasises the importance
of Sport England's approach by linking the Mayor's investment
in sports projects with NGB plans, to ensure that it complements
activity already being delivered.
3.12.3 The Mayor has allocated £15.5
million over four years in the run up to the games and we are
working closely with our partners to ensure that this investment
achieves maximum impact.
4. THE USE
AND MANAGEMENT
OF THE
OLYMPIC PARK
AND VENUES
AFTER 2012
4.1 As well as investing over £50 million
in the park facilities, Sport England's role is to work with the
partners to ensure the design and development of the facilities
is both sustainable and accessible to the community once the Games
is over. Just as importantly, we must ensure that the park facilities
complement other facilities in the five host boroughs and genuinely
increase participation without displacing users from existing
sites.
4.2 Sport England is the only national body with
a strategic view of facility provision across the country. We
have over 20 years experience of investing in, and advising on,
the design and development of sports facilities that attract and
enable all sectors of society to play sport. Our unique role and
experience enables us to advocate excellent facilities and planning
models, sharing best practice and lessons learned. We advised
Manchester City Council on how the Commonwealth Games facilities
would meet the needs of the community without displacing users
from other providers, a model which provides a clear example of
successful planning for community use post-games.
4.3 We are directly investing National Lottery
funding in three Olympic and Paralympic Park venues:
— £40 million in the Aquatics Centre—ensuring
the 50-metre pools can be adapted in size and depth, allowing
elite training and children's swimming lessons to take place at
the same time.
— £10.5 million in the VeloPark—where
modifications post-games will create a superb hub for track, bmx,
off-road and road cycling.
— £900,000 in the white water centre
at Broxbourne—which will provide a challenging and enjoyable
experience for tens of thousands of community users every year.
4.4 In addition, we are supporting a number
of NGBs that have permanent stadia in the park to ensure that
their facilities are built to the governing body standard for
both club and elite development. One example is our support for
England Hockey's concerns regarding adequate hockey facilities
for competition post-games. We have now ensured that the specification
for Eton Manor provides hockey with a suitable post-games competition
venue for community and elite use.
4.5 To build and maintain sustainable community
facilities in the park a long term view is essential—and
we have been encouraged by the willingness of Olympic Park Legacy
Company (OPLC) to take that. Its introduction three years ahead
of the games, and the subsequent re-examination of the Legacy
Masterplan presents an opportunity to ensure the vision for the
park is focused not only on the requirements for games-time, but
also for the community post-2012.
4.6 We strongly believe that developing
a plan of how the facilities will operate across the five boroughs
not only during the games, but for five and 25 years after the
games is vital if we are going to grow and sustain participation
in East London. We have been working with each host borough to
assess the current standard, type and suitability of existing
facilities, developing a strategy, which focuses on how the park
facilities can best be developed to provide complementary provision
to the facilities they already have in place.
5. DELIVERING
AND MEASURING
PROGRESS TOWARDS
MEETING SPORTS
PARTICIPATION TARGETS
5.1 One million doing more sport
5.1.1 A major focus for Sport England is
to fulfil the Olympic and Paralympic pledge to get one million
people taking part in more sport by 2012-13.
5.1.2 Significant progress has already been made
towards meeting targets to increase grassroots participation in
sport, as demonstrated by the Active People Survey.
5.1.3 The survey provides by far the largest
sample size ever established for a sport and recreation survey
and allows for levels of detailed analysis and accuracy previously
unavailable. It identifies how participation varies across the
country and between different groups of the population.[17]
5.1.4 Latest data[18]
continues to show an increase in grassroots participation in sport:
— The third Active People Survey (December
2009) shows regular participation at 6.93 million—10% more
than recorded in the first Active People Survey in 2005.
— Between 2007-08 and 2008-09, 115,000
people played more sport.
— In London 54,000 people are playing more
sport since 2005.
5.1.5 Six months into the NGB funding agreements,
12 out of 33 sports with growth targets have seen an increase
in overall participant numbers, with six sports[19]
already meeting their growth targets for year one. In addition
to cycling and athletics, which have delivered a combined increase
of over 240,000 weekly participants, boxing, table tennis, canoeing
and netball have all met their year one target.
— Participation in athletics (including
running and jogging) has grown from 1.61 million adults in 2007-08
to 1.74 million adults in 2008-09, an increase of 128,000 participants.
— Cycling participation has grown from
1.77 million adults to 1.88 million adults, an increase of 113,000
participants.
— Participation in canoeing and kayaking
has grown from 43,500 adults to 62,900 adults, an increase of
19,000 participants. This appears to have benefited from a larger
number of people taking domestic canoeing or kayaking holidays
this summer.
— Tennis participation has increased from
487,500 adults to 530,000 adults, an increase of 43,000 participants.
Significant increases in participation occurred in the three months
since Wimbledon.
5.1.6 The Active People Survey also reports
on our aim to increase the numbers of young people (16-19 year
olds) participation in regular sport. While we have not witnessed
significant increases in participation amongst this age group,
results show that we have managed to reduce the numbers of young
people dropping out of sport.
5.1.7 In addition to the increase in adult
participation, evidence shows that in 2008-09 our School Club
Links enabled 1.5 million to take part in sport at accredited
clubs—an increase of 130,000 on the previous year. On average
schools had links with seven different clubs in 2007-08 compared
to five in 2003-04 and 32% of pupils participated in club sport
in 2007-08 compared to 19% in 2003-04.
5.1.8 It is worth highlighting that to build
a sustainable grassroots legacy, we must not only provide opportunities
for people to participate, but also change behaviour, which requires
sustained investment, innovation and resources over a long-term
period. The inspiration of the Olympic and Paralympics provides
a unique opportunity to raise the profile of sport and appeal
to a wider range of people, it is for all those in sport to capitalise
on this.
6. LOOKING AHEAD
6.1 While progress is undoubtedly being
made in putting in place the foundations of a world-leading community
sport system that will underpin a lasting sporting legacy, there
are challenges ahead of which we must be mindful.
6.2 The challenge of any mass participation event
such as the Olympics and Paralympics is not the boosting of grassroots
participation, but the sustaining of it. With our long-term definition
of legacy must come a long-term vision, which we must instil in
our partners, particularly those in whom we have made significant
investment.
6.3 The recession
6.3.1 The impact of the recession on the
grassroots sports participation legacy remains unclear.
6.3.2 Sport must be mindful of the economic challenges
faced by many of its customers. As referenced earlier, sports
with a higher cost of participation, such as golf, sailing and
snowsport, appear to be facing challenges in retaining participants,
and indicators also suggest that many people are opting to do
free leisure activities or switching from formal club settings
to informal, activities such as pay and play. For those sports
particularly affected, revising their offer to take account of
the changing economic environment could help them maintain and
even grow their participation base. Equally for other sports,
the economic downturn presents an opportunity to engage a new
demographic and reach out to new participants.
6.3.3 There are however some positive signs
with lottery sales, gym membership and sports that have low cost
barriers to entry such as cycling and running, experiencing strong
growth. Evidence from the past twenty years suggests that participation
can increase during times of economic downturn, perhaps due to
changing working patterns and more free time.
6.3.4 Longer term, two of the most significant
threats is reduced funding for sport facilities and provision,
through spending cuts at local authority level and within the
education sector, and the increase in non-domestic property rates,
water rates and the Community Infrastructure Levy. All of this
could have a direct impact on access to facilities and resources
available for sports activity and development throughout the country.
Both government and ourselves must assist local government as
much as possible in making the case for continued sports investment,
and providing the leadership and conditions for that investment
to provide maximum value.
6.3.5 Our role is to make sure that our
investment works harder, that is why we are encouraging NGBs to
take a market-based approach, why we are making sure local government
spend is aligned to NGB plans to maximise opportunity and avoid
duplication, and why we will be ruthless with our investment.
6.4 Conclusion
6.4.1 It must be remembered that enabling
and motivating people to take part in more sport requires mass
behavioural change which takes sustained time and effort, and
continued commitment from a range of partners.
6.4.2 The "decade of sport" presents
all those working in sport with the opportunity of sustained change—where
people of all ages and abilities are taking part, where people
are enthused to stay involved and introduce more people to their
sport and that those with talent are nurtured to achieve their
potential.
6.4.3 The progress being made is steady,
and we can expect that to change pace as more and more initiatives
and projects start to mature and deliver. What is needed now is
for the vision and the investment to be maintained and the transformational
change in sporting participation delivered.
6.4.4 With the vast majority of sporting
partners in support of and committed to our current strategy to
build a world-leading community sport system, we are confident
we will deliver. Through sustained funding and continued co-operation
between partners, the foundations are being built to deliver a
successful 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
January 2010
17 It also measures the proportion of the adult population
that volunteer in sport on a weekly basis; club membership; involvement
in organised sport/competition; receipt of tuition or coaching;
and overall satisfaction with levels of sporting provision in
the local community-in essence many of the component parts of
a world-leading system. In addition to providing NGB measurements,
it also provides the performance measure for the local government
indicator NI8 for sport and recreation, adopted as a priority
with Local Area Agreements for 82 upper tier local authorities. Back
18
The sports participation indicator measures the number of adults
(aged 16 and over) participating in at least 30 minutes of sport
at moderate intensity at least three times a week. Back
19
13 of the funded sports are either not moderate intensity or have
too small a sample size for their growth targets to be measured
through the Active People Survey. Back
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