An additional 3.5 million adults and children will be encouraged to improve their health and get more active following the launch of a new government initiative.
The National Physical Activity Taskforce comes as part of the Government’s new sports strategy, which sets out a blueprint to improve the nation’s health and fitness.
Intended to reach people of all ages and backgrounds, it aims to achieve 2.5 million more active adults and over one million more active children by 2030.
The latest Sport England Active Lives Survey indicates that a quarter of adults in England are currently deemed to be ‘inactive’, with more than 11 million doing less than 30 minutes of activity a week, while 53 per cent of children and young people are not meeting official guidance of at least 60 minutes of activity a day.
Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson CBE, former Chair of the LGA’s Culture, Tourism and Sport Board, said councils have been working hard to prioritise public sport and leisure facilities, in spite of current financial challenges, and it was encouraging to see this was recognised by government.
However, more needs to be done to integrate sport and recreation services into health systems and to invest in sport and recreation at grassroots and community level.
“Embracing new ways of working at national and local level will be key to ensuring all communities have the same levels of access to achieve healthier lifestyles,” he added.