Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has made a recent assessment of the effect on people's wellbeing of (a) community outreach aspects and (b) other (i) non-sporting and (ii) non-physical benefits of sport.

Sports and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health and have been shown to treat, manage and prevent a range of conditions including heart disease, cancers, diabetes, stress, depression or anxiety. It can also bring communities together and tackle issues such as loneliness.

Sport England’s Active Lives Adult and Children surveys provide information not only on activity levels but also on social outcomes such as physical and mental wellbeing too. The latest reports can be found here.

In September last year, Sport England published research (undertaken by Sheffield Hallam University) on the social impact and the economic importance of sport and physical activity in England. The findings of this research show that for every £1 spent on community sport and physical activity in England, an economic and social return on investment of £3.91 is generated. In addition, the combined economic and social value (SROI) of taking part in community sport and physical activity in England in 2017/2018 was £85.5 billion.

Furthermore, last month Sport England published its new strategy Uniting the Movement which sets out their 10 year vision to transform lives and communities through sport and physical activity. The strategy seeks to tackle the inequalities we have seen in sport and physical activity and provide opportunities to people and communities that have traditionally been left behind, helping to remove barriers to activity.