Welsh Government
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Fresh approach to be developed to get Wales active

Welsh Assembly Government Heritage Minister, Alun Ffred Jones, yesterday announced that a new action plan would be developed to meet the challenge of boosting levels of physical activity in Wales.

The Minister made the announcement in a statement to the National Assembly today on sharing the success of the Olympics. It comes in response to a recent Audit Committee report that highlighted areas for improvement in work to encourage people in Wales to become more active.

Alun Ffred Jones said:

The achievements of our Olympians and Paralympians will doubtless inspire many young people to participate in sport, but we all know that in Wales, as in many other countries, a lot of people are still not managing to get the exercise needed to help them stay fit and healthy.

Addressing this issue is a challenge and changing behaviour of individuals cannot be achieved with one magical scheme or intervention. With our partners, the Welsh Assembly Government has already developed a range of programmes to meet the needs of different groups in the community, but we need to be better coordinated and spot where the gaps are.

The new action plan, which will build on the existing strategies in place, will be produced by March 2009. The plan will be an important element of the Assembly Government’s broader public health strategic framework “Our Healthier Future”. A steering group of senior officials will meet to formulate the action plan, with the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) as the lead official.

The Minister also paid tribute in his statement to the hard work and determination of all those involved in this summer of sporting success: the athletes, their families, coaches, the governing bodies of sport and the Sports Council for Wales. He said that a review will now examine how we can build on these achievements and further improve Wales’ performance on the national and international stage. The review into delivering performance and excellence in Welsh sport will be carried out in conjunction with the Sports Council for Wales and other key partners.

Related Links

http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/cultureandsport/sportandactiverecreation/?lang=en

http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/health/improvement/?lang=en

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