Sport England
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What's the social value of sport in your area?
We’ve published a local breakdown of the annual social value of sport and physical activity, presenting the figures by region, active partnership and local authority.
In October 2024 we announced that the overall social value of community sport and physical activity across England was £107.2 billion in 2022/23.
That figure consisted of a 'primary' value placed on the wellbeing of adults, children and young people taking part and volunteering in sport and physical activity (£96.7bn), and a 'secondary' value that calculated the wider savings to the health and social care system a year (£10.5bn).
We’ve now broken down these numbers locally so individuals and organisations can discover the social value of taking part or volunteering in sport and physical activity where they live.
Our chief executive Tim Hollingsworth said: "Our research makes it clear that sport and physical activity must be a major part of the government’s plans to deliver national growth.
"We create growth through health: active lifestyles turbo-charge wellbeing, prevent illness, relieve NHS pressure and boost economic growth. If we can protect and invest in opportunities to play sport and be active, particularly for communities and people that face the most barriers to taking part, we will be healthier, wealthier, and happier.
"That’s why our 10-year strategy Uniting the Movement is laser-focused on tackling inequalities in activity levels across the country."
The local data, which you can download below, shows the regions in England with the greatest combined social value in 2022/23 were the South East (£18.3bn), London (£16.2bn) and the North West (£13.8bn).
Meanwhile, the breakdown of the numbers across England’s 43 active partnerships is headed by London (£16.2bn), Greater Manchester (£5.2bn) and West Yorkshire (£4.3bn).
The figures can also be viewed by individual local authority area, again organised by the nine regions in England – East, East Midlands, London, North East, North West, South East, South West, West Midlands, and Yorkshire and the Humber.
Organisations can use this data, along with the research we published in October, to better understand the impact that being active can have on the lives of individuals and communities, the delivery of public services and our economy.
At a time when hospitals across the country are facing multiple issues during a challenging winter – including overcrowding and a “quad-demic” of high flu cases, norovirus, Covid and RSV – the overall research demonstrates the power of active lifestyles to boost the health and wellbeing of local communities..
Our October report revealed that people leading active lives relieve some of the pressure on the NHS by:
- preventing 1.3 million cases of depression, 600,000 of diabetes and 57,000 of dementia – saving billions a year
- saving £540 million on reduced GP visits and £780 million on reduced mental health service use.
It also introduced the wellbeing value (WELLBY) – the monetary value that can be placed on happiness, health and life satisfaction.
The overall research is part of a three-year project, led by Sheffield Hallam University, Manchester Metropolitan University and social value advisors State of Life, that we commissioned in 2023 to create an updated model of the social value of sport and physical activity in England.
The next two years of the project will provide further analysis that builds on our understanding of how the social value of sport and physical activity is generated and distributed between different people, places, activities and stakeholders.
Original article link: https://www.sportengland.org/news-and-inspiration/whats-social-value-sport-your-area
