The letter requests an urgent support package from the Government to allow the sport and activity sector to continue providing programmes and warns that failure to provide this will risk fuelling physical inactivity and related illnesses for a generation.
It has been sent during the Great British Week of Sport and highlights the vital contribution of the sports and physical activity sector.
The signatories call on the Government to deliver a “Sports Recovery Fund” at the Comprehensive Spending Review, as part of the Better Health campaign. The fund would help protect existing jobs and facilities so that the sector can:
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Support programmes and facilities that address the health inequalities highlighted by COVID-19, particularly inactivity among women, lower socio-economic groups, BAME communities and people with disabilities.
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Expand the innovations across the sector that we have seen during COVID-19 – making opportunities digital and increasing accessibility across the country.
Sport and physical activity can be an essential element of the UK’s recovery from the pandemic. Improved physical wellbeing can help to reduce the burden on the NHS, and provides a positive impact on mental wellbeing for the many millions of active people. The letter calls on the Government to put sport and physical wellbeing at the heart of the nation’s renewal.
For more information and to read the full letter, please click here.
