New strategy to tackle inactivity

20 May 2016 02:10 PM

More than one in four people in England (28 per cent) do less than 30 minutes of physical activity a week. But research shows that those who do the least activity stand to benefit the most, even if it’s just small changes like gentle jogging, swimming or playing rounders in the park. 

As well as continuing to support people who already play sport, there will be a much greater emphasis on groups who are typically much less active such as women, disabled people and those from lower-socio-economic backgrounds. 

Read the new strategy Towards an Active Nation.

The strategy will help deliver against the five health, social and economic outcomes set out in the Government’s Sporting FutureOpen in a new window strategy. 

Key features of the new strategy are:   

• Dedicated funding to get children and young people active from the age of five, including a new fund for family based activities and 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

• Working with the sport sector to put customers at the heart of everything they do, and using the principles of behaviour change to inform their work

• Piloting new ways of working locally by investing in up to 10 places in England – a mix of urban and rural areas

• Investing up to £30m in a new volunteering strategy, enabling more people to get the benefits of volunteering and attracting a new, more diverse range of volunteers

• Helping sport keep pace with the digital expectations of customers – making it as easy to book a badminton court as a hotel room

• Working closely with governing bodies of sport and others who support people who already play regularly, to help them become more efficient, sustainable and diversify their sources of funding.     

Click here for full press release