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LGA - Councils respond to Sport England strategy to tackle inactivity 19 May 2016

Councillor Ian Stephens, Chair of the LGA Culture, Tourism and Sport Board, responds to Sport England's strategy on grassroots sport and tackling inactivity.

"The LGA has been at the heart of the campaign for more investment in grassroots sport and physical activity. Councils are still one of the biggest investors in sport and absolutely critical to the successful implementation of any national sport strategy.

"From providing multi sports facilities, organising keep fit classes, to supporting volunteers, councils are often the first port of call for people who want to get active. Councils also bring together health, schools, voluntary sports clubs, National Governing Bodies of Sport, County Sports Partnerships and the private sector to forge partnerships, unblock barriers to participation and make the local sports system deliver better.

"With increasing financial pressures on health budgets and the crisis around rising obesity, the role that sport and physical activity can play in addressing these challenges is immense and I welcome the sport strategy's focus on getting more people active.

"Sedentary lifestyles are a contributing factor to the child obesity crisis we are facing. Unless we act now, the number of obese adults in the country is forecast to soar by a staggering 73 per cent to 26 million people over the next 20 years.

"That is why offering training to at least two teachers in every secondary school in England to help them better meet the needs of all children, irrespective of their level of sporting ability is also well-timed.

"The emphasis on exploring new ways of working locally by investing in up to 10 specific areas to pilot new approaches to getting people active is also positive and an opportunity for councils to bid for funding."

Note to editors

Sport England's strategy report on new priorities for investment in grassroots sport and tackling inactivity is available here: http://www.sportengland.org/news-and-features/news/2016/may/19/sport-england-triples-investment-in-tackling-inactivity/

The LGA's response to the Sport England consultation is here:
www.local.gov.uk/web/guest/culture-tourism-and-sport/-/journal_content/56/10180/7774690/ARTICLE.

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