Recommendations & Conclusions
10 items
1
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Sport in our communities
Rejected
The impact of successive lockdowns on activity levels was not as bad as initially feared but the Committee is concerned about the consequences of the final lockdown from December 2020 onwards which has not yet been covered by an Active Lives survey. The Government and Sport England must renew their …
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The impact of successive lockdowns on activity levels was not as bad as initially feared but the Committee is concerned about the consequences of the final lockdown from December 2020 onwards which has not yet been covered by an Active Lives survey. The Government and Sport England must renew their efforts on encouraging people back into sport to pre-empt any further drops in participation during ‘Lockdown 3’. We recommend that the Government initiate a sporting equivalent of the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ campaign, entitled ‘Work Out to Help Out’, to incentivise volunteers and participants to get involved, participate in organised sport and support the sporting infrastructure, both in England and across the UK.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the intent to encourage sports participation but rejects the specific 'Work Out to Help Out' campaign with financial incentives. It instead highlights existing campaigns and facility investments, though the Department for Health and Social Care will launch a pilot in January …
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
2
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Sport in our communities
Deferred
The proportion of children and young people not achieving the minimum amount of daily activity recommended by the Chief Medical Officer is of significant concern. Before the end of this year, the Government should initiate a nation-wide communications campaign, similar to that of the ‘5 A Day’ campaign, to emphasise …
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The proportion of children and young people not achieving the minimum amount of daily activity recommended by the Chief Medical Officer is of significant concern. Before the end of this year, the Government should initiate a nation-wide communications campaign, similar to that of the ‘5 A Day’ campaign, to emphasise the importance of children and young people engaging in at least 60 minutes of moderate activity every day.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees on the importance of encouraging children and young people's physical activity and intends to consider a nation-wide communications campaign as part of its refreshed sport strategy and updated School Sport and Activity Action Plan in the coming months.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
3
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Sport in our communities
Accepted
Year on year, we continue to see persistent gaps in activity levels between different demographics. This issue has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and certain groups in society continue to be disproportionately impacted. We acknowledge the support provided through Sport England’s ‘Tackling Inequalities Fund’ but support must be focused, …
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Year on year, we continue to see persistent gaps in activity levels between different demographics. This issue has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and certain groups in society continue to be disproportionately impacted. We acknowledge the support provided through Sport England’s ‘Tackling Inequalities Fund’ but support must be focused, as a matter of priority, on ensuring that activity levels among, in particular, women, disabled people and people from a BAME background recover and improve in the long-term. We recommend that the Government reconsider our previous recommendation to ring-fence further funds to ensure that the progress that was being made in physical activity levels within these groups is not set back by Covid-19, both by encouraging participation and by attracting leaders and volunteers from a range of communities and backgrounds across the UK.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the intent to tackle participation inequalities, citing substantial existing funding to Sport England and the Tackling Inequalities Fund (TIF). It confirms an additional £20 million investment for TIF in 2021/22, directly addressing the call for further targeted funds.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
4
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Sport in our communities
Accepted
Community and grassroots sport is heavily reliant on a relatively small volunteer workforce who have worked tirelessly through the pandemic to keep their clubs going. This shrinking workforce is one of the biggest challenges facing community sport post-pandemic. Sport England has placed an important focus on the issue in its …
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Community and grassroots sport is heavily reliant on a relatively small volunteer workforce who have worked tirelessly through the pandemic to keep their clubs going. This shrinking workforce is one of the biggest challenges facing community sport post-pandemic. Sport England has placed an important focus on the issue in its new ten-year strategy, Uniting the Movement, but the sports groups affected by the declining number of volunteers need help now. In addition to our proposed ‘Work Out to Help Out’ scheme, we recommend that the Government should set out, in its response to this Report, how else it will work with Sport England over the next 18-months to encourage people to volunteer across the community and grassroots sport sector and reduce drop-out rates among existing volunteers. (Paragraph 26) Funding and facilities
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees on the value of encouraging sports volunteering and states it will continue to support Sport England's existing ambitions and strategies, such as 'Uniting the Movement'. It highlights ongoing work including research into innovative volunteering practices and Sport England's involvement in wider consultations, …
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
5
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Sport in our communities
Accepted in Part
Many National Governing Bodies and other sports groups and organisations were not financially stable enough to fully support themselves through the economic shock that was caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. There is a balance to be found between 30 Sport in our communities ensuring enough money is spent to improve …
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Many National Governing Bodies and other sports groups and organisations were not financially stable enough to fully support themselves through the economic shock that was caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. There is a balance to be found between 30 Sport in our communities ensuring enough money is spent to improve participation and support community and grassroots sport, and ensuring organisations can be more financially resilient in an emergency. We recommend that the Government work with Sport England, UK Sport and the National Lottery to review and revise the current funding models to enable sports organisations to accumulate greater reserves and, as a result, have more of a cushion to support themselves with should another situation like the Covid-19 pandemic occur.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees that current funding models for sports organisations should be reviewed to ensure sustainability and will reflect on this in the new sport strategy, considering lessons from Covid-19. It also highlights Sport England's existing strategy to diversify investment approaches and support partners, rather …
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
6
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Sport in our communities
Acknowledged
Even in normal circumstances, volunteers in grassroots and community sport dedicate a significant amount of time to applying for funding. Organisations such as Sported and StreetGames play an important role in supporting their members to complete applications but the extensive administrative burden associated with these applications seems unnecessary, and has …
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Even in normal circumstances, volunteers in grassroots and community sport dedicate a significant amount of time to applying for funding. Organisations such as Sported and StreetGames play an important role in supporting their members to complete applications but the extensive administrative burden associated with these applications seems unnecessary, and has only increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. To reduce the administrative burden on volunteers across the sport sector, we recommend that the Government work with governing and funding bodies to introduce a standardised application methodology for grassroots and community sport funds.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees on the need for simplified funding access and points to Sport England's strategy, which aims to simplify funding processes. However, it notes this may not lead to complete standardization as recommended, expressing a hope for improvements rather than a firm commitment.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
7
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Sport in our communities
Accepted
School facilities have the potential to help solve the facilities crisis currently facing community and grassroots sport. Renting out school facilities at a fair, affordable rate not only benefits the sports groups but also creates an additional revenue stream for the schools. In its response to this Report, we recommend …
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School facilities have the potential to help solve the facilities crisis currently facing community and grassroots sport. Renting out school facilities at a fair, affordable rate not only benefits the sports groups but also creates an additional revenue stream for the schools. In its response to this Report, we recommend that the Government set out the ways in which it intends to encourage schools across the country to make their facilities more available to community and grassroots sports clubs at a fair rate.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees on the need to use school facilities for community sport and outlines existing initiatives, including a £1.5 million programme for 230 schools and a further £10.1 million investment announced in 2021, to help open school sports facilities outside school hours.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
8
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Sport in our communities
Accepted in Part
We welcome the introduction of the Community Ownership Fund but, at a time where many community groups have faced unprecedented challenges, we are disappointed that the bidding process did not begin in June 2021 as the Government promised it would. Access to facilities has long been an issue for grassroots …
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We welcome the introduction of the Community Ownership Fund but, at a time where many community groups have faced unprecedented challenges, we are disappointed that the bidding process did not begin in June 2021 as the Government promised it would. Access to facilities has long been an issue for grassroots and community sport and we are concerned that the fund, in its current format, will not go far enough. We were also not persuaded by the Minister’s argument that ringfencing money for sports groups would not be a good thing. In the short-term, we recommend that the Government set out the ways in which it will support community sport groups which are successful in applying for match funding through the Community Ownership Fund. In the longer term, we recommend that the Government ringfence money, either from the Community Ownership Fund or elsewhere, to enable sports clubs and teams to purchase and upgrade their own facilities. (Paragraph 49) Sports governance
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Government response AI summary
The government commits to working with successful Community Ownership Fund (COF) applicants to implement their bids. It notes the COF can help establish or buy at-risk sports grounds, but explicitly states that 'purchasing and upgrading sport clubs’ own facilities is out of scope'.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
9
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Sport in our communities
Rejected
The evidence submitted to our inquiry about the performance of National Governing Bodies during the pandemic has been genuinely mixed. Lessons must be learned from the way funding and information was disseminated down to the grassroots during the Covid-19 pandemic. We recommend that Sport England conduct an audit of how …
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The evidence submitted to our inquiry about the performance of National Governing Bodies during the pandemic has been genuinely mixed. Lessons must be learned from the way funding and information was disseminated down to the grassroots during the Covid-19 pandemic. We recommend that Sport England conduct an audit of how National Governing Bodies communicate with their grassroots clubs and develop best practice guidance for all NGBs.
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Government response AI summary
The government states that Sport England's remit does not extend to regulating National Governing Bodies, rejecting the audit recommendation. It highlights existing efforts by Sport England to enhance communications capability and provide resources, such as the Digital Marketing Hub and Club Matters website.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
10
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Sport in our communities
Accepted
The lack of diversity in the upper echelons of sports governance is striking. We acknowledge the work being undertaken by Sport England and UK Sport to Sport in our communities 31 address the issue, including the recently completed review of the Code for Sports Governance, but we are concerned that …
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The lack of diversity in the upper echelons of sports governance is striking. We acknowledge the work being undertaken by Sport England and UK Sport to Sport in our communities 31 address the issue, including the recently completed review of the Code for Sports Governance, but we are concerned that governing bodies are still experiencing such a lack of diversity seven years after the original Code was first launched. We recommend that Sport England and Sport UK should be required to publish, at least annually, information about the diversity of candidates for all advertised roles in their organisations and the boards that make those appointments. (Paragraph 58) 32 Sport in our communities
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Government response AI summary
The government details changes to the Code for Sports Governance, requiring publicly funded sports bodies to publish detailed diversity and inclusion action plans for their boards, senior leadership, and wider organisations by summer 2022. UK Sport will also publish its own annual diversity and inclusion …
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport