Ready, set, go: the journey to a healthy Britain

As the Olympics Games kick off, we explore how both local and central governments can reduce barriers for those who want to get active.

Seeing Olympic athletes racing across our screens is the perfect way for many to get inspired to get involved in physical activity.

Back in the summer of 2012, the London Olympics prompted a flurry of local and central government funding to encourage the next generation to get active.

In 2013, the UK government announced additional funding for primary schools in England, initially for two years, but subsequently extended it.

The Primary PE and Sport Premium provides £320 million per year to make additional and sustainable improvements to the quality of the physical activity and sport offered through their core budgets.

There are differing views on the topic of whether the Olympics actually makes a long-lasting difference to adults participating in physical activity.

However, the Olympics page said that some studies found increases in the percentage of adults participating in sport in the immediate aftermath of the Games in England: numbers peaked around the Games in 2012.

They said the numbers dropped slightly after 2014, but the overall participation remained at a higher level than before the Games-related sport participation efforts started.

The studies finding an increase in participation also show that the positive effects were more significant in terms of increasing the frequency of participation of active people than attracting new participants. They added the positive effects have been stronger among ethnic minority groups, which shows a positive contribution in terms of social inclusion.

As another Olympics rolls around (albeit this time across the pond in Paris), it serves as a reminder to both local and central governments to step up to reduce the inequalities that stop people from accessing opportunities to exercise.

A recent study from The Fields Trust suggested that 2.3 million children in Britain under the age of nine live more than a ten-minute walk from the nearest playground, which contributes to their ability to exercise.

In April this year, however, Sport England found that two million more adults are getting active on a regular basis through sport and physical activity than in 2016, despite the impacts of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis.

On the other side of the coin, they said that one of the biggest issues in levels of exercise in the UK is the disparity between different demographics.

A person’s age, sex, gender, ethnicity, socio-economic group, whether they have a disability or long-term health condition, and the place they live in are all significant factors impacting the relationship with sport and physical activity.

We have highlighted some of the initiatives that are pushing for physical activity to be accessible for everyone.

Fighting the gender gap

One of Sport England’s campaigns, Let’s Get Out There, was introduced with the aim of getting more women active outdoors.

Launched at the start of May this year, the campaign features editable assets, photos and social copy for organisations to use and make them specific to your own audience, sport, physical activity or local area.

Research by countryside charity CPRE shows that women, in particular those from culturally diverse backgrounds, face greater barriers to accessing and enjoying outdoor spaces.

This could be due to a lack of access or awareness, or not knowing what to expect from the exercises.

Their social media campaign using the hashtags #ThisGirlCan and #LetsGetOutThere to encourage women around the UK to get involved and post about their journeys.

Organisations like Canal UK and the walking group Blaze Trails have supported the project.

Making funding application easier

Sport England’s new Movement Fund launched in April, and aims to simplify funding applications and will help those with the greatest need secure investment to support people to live active lives.

It is worth £160 million over the next four years, and will offer crowdfunding pledges, grants and resources to provide physical activity opportunities.

When the fund was launched, Tim Hollingsworth, chief executive of Sport England, said: “We know that choosing the best fund to apply for can be confusing, which is why we’ve worked hard to create a single application form that allows us to do the hard work and best assess your suitability.

“But while the method of application may have changed, our intention to unashamedly prioritise funding for people and communities who need it most, has not.

“Whether it’s a crowdfunding pledge or a grant, the Movement Fund is here to help our mission to tackle deep-rooted inequalities and unlock the advantages of sport and physical activity for everyone, to become a reality.”

Empowering local governments

If councils are not dedicated to tackling inactivity, it becomes a lot more difficult for people to get active.

The Local Government Physical Activity Partnership was established in 2017 with the aim of empowering local government agencies to work collaboratively to improve the social and economic value of public physical activity service provision.

The group came together to create an environment for positive debate and discussion about the key strategic issues facing local councils focussed on supporting physical activity. As well as this, they wanted to provide reflective and perhaps at times provocative think pieces for the wider sector to consider.