Following the publication of the 'Levelling up' White Paper, the Sport for Development Coalition spoke to four social policy commentators on what they think the Government's plans mean for the sector.
Matt Leach, CEO of Local Trust: "I know from both Local Trust’s work in neighbourhoods across the country, and my own involvement in supporting youth football within my own local community, the extent that sport brings people together. It helps form connections; to one another, to a place, to a certain time. It can provide a sense of shared identity and make us feel like we belong. And that feeling of connection and belonging contributes to building social capital, something that is fundamental to healthy, happy life. Indeed, research commissioned by Local Trust demonstrates how neighbourhoods that are both deprived and lack the essential infrastructure and institutions that support social capital – places to meet, organisations to bring people together, the sort of stuff that is fundamental to most sporting activity – suffer from worse social outcomes than other similarly deprived places.
"The Levelling Up White Paper highlights social capital as one of the six main pillars of a successful economy. But it also recognises that where social capital is weak, turning that around will require long-term investment, and that – ideally – residents should take the lead in making that change. The White Paper is low on delivery detail, but promises a Community Spaces and Relationships Strategy later in the year setting out its plans. Sport can and should play a part in shaping that Strategy, highlighting its potential as a builder of social capital, a catalyst for reclaiming neglected spaces, an incredibly powerful way of mobilising and involving local people, and – most importantly – a means of instilling a shared sense of pride in local place."
Read Matt's blog on levelling up and communities.
Nancy Hey, Executive Director, What Works Centre for Wellbeing: "I’ve been a Southampton FC supporter for as long as I can remember, suffering their defeats and enjoying the boost to my happiness with each good result. But it’s not just my happiness that is affected. When I sit in the stands at St Mary’s, I share the experience with those around me, many of whom are from different backgrounds and parts of the country. Similarly, when I go to an exercise class or watch my daughter play rugby I’m acutely aware of the bridging capital that sport provides, helping social connections develop and improving wellbeing. At the What Works Centre for Wellbeing we have found the evidence supports this. We know that, when done well, physical activity, play and sport improves mood, purpose, agency, resilience, physical and mental health. Whether it’s young people doing sport and dance, families enjoying outdoor recreation, mums undertaking a cycling programme or people volunteering in sport the benefits to wellbeing are multivarious.
"Because wellbeing is one of the Levelling Up White Paper’s two overarching missions and measures of success, sport’s impact is far from restricted to the ‘Pride in Place’ mission in which it is mentioned. We would encourage sport for development organisations more than ever to use the evidence of what works and measure the impact you have on individual and community wellbeing. At the same time, we continue to build the evidence base and have just published an invitation to tender for a review of social capital, specifically neighbourhood belonging, social support networks and community cohesion. During the pandemic my football club, like many others, reached out to its supporters to check how they were doing. Wellbeing is just that, how we are doing, and sport plays an important role in that, and therefore too in Levelling Up."
Theo Clay, Policy Manager, NPC (New Philanthropy Capital): "The Levelling Up White Paper laid out an ambitious vision for tackling inequalities across the country. The 12 Missions covering everything from healthy life expectancy to pride in local areas had something for everyone, though there was much less detail on the route to achieve these ambitions. For sport for development organisations, there were some interesting points, for example the funding for new facilities including 60 grassroots football pitches. The National Youth Guarantee – where every young person will have access to regular out of school activities by 2025 will likely include sport. There will also be a consultation on how much of the £880million of the Dormant Assets Scheme will go to various causes, including sport. We are still concerned, however, that too much of the funding is going on buildings, and hard infrastructure, and too little on services and programmes which can actually tackle social issues – our analysis suggested this might be as little as 2% of total levelling up funding. Narrowing the gap between these ambitions and the reality of health inequalities in this country will require more than just new facilities, and we will be pushing for social programmes, including sport, to be part of future allocations."
Read blog from Theo and Leah Davis on levelling up and social needs.
Jill Rutter, Policy and Research Manager, Spirit of 2012, and Associate Fellow, British Future: "The Levelling Up White Paper is an impressive programme of work that aims to reduce place-based inequalities across the UK, including disparities in people’s ability to take part in sport. Its success will be measured through 12 long-term targets which include reducing inequalities in healthy life expectancy and wellbeing, and increasing people’s pride in the places they live. In contrast to previous policies on regeneration, the economic and social aspects of levelling up are put on an equal footing. It is for this reason that the role that sport forms a component of the levelling up plans. The White Paper combines existing policy commitments − for example, £205million for multi-use sport pitches and £22million for public tennis courts – with new announcements. Among the latter is the intention to bring more major sporting events to this country, with UK Sport commissioned to undertake a feasibility study for an Olympic bid in the 2040s. Grassroots sport relies on volunteers and there is a new commitment for a National Youth Guarantee, which includes giving every young person the chance to volunteer. This is a welcome opportunity to increase the number of people who volunteer in sport.
"Yet the White Paper brings no extra public funding. It is also uncertain how many of its ambitions that are not already backed up by a programme of work will survive a new Prime Minister, particularly one who is keen to balance the Treasury’s books. So if we want the White Paper to fulfil its aims, we need to engage with the proposals and make sure our voices are heard. Above all, we need to show that there is a mandate for change, and sport can play a significant part in levelling up."
