18 Acknowledged

Sport England did not have a target for other less active groups, such as the...

Conclusion
Sport England did not have a target for other less active groups, such as the over-75s, disabled people or those in Black or Asian ethnic groups. Prior to the pandemic, between November 2016 and November 2019, activity levels among the over-75s and disabled people saw statistically significant increases of 7.1 and 3.6 percentage points respectively. But there was no statistically significant improvement in activity levels in Black or Asian ethnicity groups between November 2016 and November 2019.28 The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated some of the existing inequalities in activity for the least affluent, Asian people and disabled people.29 We asked Sport England what more it could do to support those from Black and Asian ethnic groups to participate in sport and physical activity. Sport England said the results of the Tackling Racism and Radical Inequality in Sport report, published in 2021, found these groups can feel unwelcome in the sports sector, and that there had been some high-profile examples of this within certain sports. It acknowledged 25 C&AG’s report, paras 8, 12, 14 26 Q 58; C&AG’s report, paragraphs 10, 1.12, 2.10 and 2.11 27 Q 58 28 Q 59; C&AG’s report, paras 2.12–2.13 29 C&AG’s report, para 11 14 Grassroots participation in sport and physical activity that it needed to work with organisations and community groups to understand how to engage with those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups and ensure that the sector was much more inclusive going forward.30
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's observation and states that Sport England will write to the Committee by June 2023 to outline the barriers for less active groups and the actions being taken to support them, noting that addressing inequalities will be a key pillar in the new sport strategy.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government Acknowledged
4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: June 2023 4.2 Sport England will write to the Committee to set out the headline barriers for the least active groups, and the action they are taking to support people to be active in the way that best works for them. 4.3 The barriers to getting active and taking part in different forms of sport and physical activity are complex, multi-faceted and personal. Barriers to activity are often driven by specific social, cultural and economic factors. 4.4 The appropriate action to address inequalities in activity are therefore equally multi- faceted, with action varying from one demographic group to another and from person to person. 4.5 Sport England will continue to support people to be active where they are able to exert specific influences to contribute to behaviour change, and cross-government working will be crucial. This will be a key pillar throughout the government’s new sport strategy.
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age 3.6 yrs
Report published 08 Jan 2023