Active Partnerships: Bringing sport and physical activity to the heart of devolution.

England is experiencing the biggest shift in local governance for a generation. Through devolution and local government reorganisation, more powers, funding and decision-making are moving to Mayors, Strategic Authorities, unitary councils and neighbourhoods.

T

he new Sport England Devolution Policy Position Statement helps us all to place sport and physical activity at the heart of this shift. Active Partnerships across the country are working to make that a reality locally.

Sport England describes Active Partnerships as playing “a critical role as system change convenors across strategic authorities.”

Active Partnerships are described in this way because they bring together leaders and resources across sectors to connect national ambition, regional priorities and local delivery so that sport and physical activity can help places deliver on growth, health and community priorities.

Sport and physical activity are one of the most powerful and underused tools available to local leaders. It helps with key devolution priorities such as:

• Driving economic growth – through a fitter, healthier workforce, with physical inactivity associated with 1 in 6 deaths in the UK and estimated to cost the UK £7.4 billion annually (including £0.9 billion to the NHS alone).

• Solving local transport challenges – through inclusive active travel, every £1 invested in wheeling, cycling and walking infrastructure returns on average £5.62 in wider economic, health and environmental benefits.

We also know it empowers young people and improves employment prospects, builds cohesive communities, supports environmental sustainability and helps people manage long-term health conditions.

Sport and physical activity contribute directly to the priorities that devolved authorities are responsible for.

Active Partnerships are uniquely placed to help make this happen. Working across every part of England, they bring together local government, health, education, transport, business, voluntary organisations, sport and communities around the priorities that matter locally.

Active Partnerships are:

• Navigators – helping partners understand changing systems, structures and opportunities

• Connectors – building partnerships across sectors and communities

• Coordinators – aligning investment, insight, evidence and delivery

• Convenors – bringing partners together to tackle inactivity and inequalities through whole-system approaches

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Our ask is simple, as Sport England’s strategically backed “system change convenors”, we want Mayors, Strategic Authorities, local authorities, health partners and national organisations who aren’t already doing so, to work with Active Partnerships to embed sport and physical activity into the decisions, investments, and partnerships that shape healthier, stronger communities and more prosperous places.

What the network’s partners say.

David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, describes how he and his team work closely with the local Active Partnership, North Yorkshire Sport:

“North Yorkshire Sport is one of our trusted local partners because the team has a deep understanding of the unique needs of our communities across York and North Yorkshire. They are helping ensure that our Movement, Activity and Sport Fund is making a meaningful and lasting impact, reaching the places that need it the most and increasing participation at all stages of life.

“We’re also pleased that they are leading the delivery of the Mayor’s Active Travel Fund, with our strategic partnership helping people build movement into their everyday lives through more opportunities for walking, wheeling and cycling.

“We’re united around a common aim of reducing health inequalities across the County and helping local people to be more physically active. Together we are creating happier, healthier and thriving communities.”

South Yorkshire’s Active Lives Commissioner, Ed Clancy OBE, said:

“In South Yorkshire, it still matters too much where you’re born when it comes to how long and how well you live – and that’s not acceptable.

“We’ve set ourselves a clear ambition: to become the healthiest region in the country. But we’ll only get there by working together. That’s why partnerships with organisations like Sport England, the Yorkshire Sport Foundation and the wider Active Partnership network are so important – they help us join the dots and turn good ideas into real change.

“Being active isn’t just about sport, it’s about helping people stay well, giving our children the best start in life, and strengthening our communities. Through devolution, we’ve now got the tools here in South Yorkshire to tackle health inequalities head on. And by working closely with our partners, we’re making that count – creating a region that’s healthier, fairer and better for everyone.”

The value and expertise that Active Partnerships contribute have long been leveraged in devolved areas like Greater Manchester, a region with a long history of advocacy, leadership and impact on addressing inactivity and inequalities – and for the role of Greater Manchester Moving, the local Active Partnership in their movement for movement.

Caroline Simpson, Group Chief Executive for Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue and Transport for Greater Manchester said: “After nearly thirty years of working on this agenda together, Greater Manchester partners have developed a mature approach that works for this region and its people.

“Active Lives for All is our shared mission, and the role that the Active Partnership plays to lead, support and connect our movement for movement is key. GM Moving in Action, our shared system-wide plan, is fully embedded within the Greater Manchester Strategy – helping to create better outcomes for local people.

“I’d encourage combined authorities and local authorities across the country to build closer working relationships with their local Active Partnerships, to unlock the potential of physical activity. We all know that physical activity matters when it comes to health and wellbeing, and through working together, we’ve seen the powerful impact that embedding movement, physical activity and sport into a wide range of strategies and policies can have when it comes to improving transport, employment, social cohesion and the climate.”

“Inactivity rates for adults and children are falling, and together we are tackling health inequalities through movement, physical activity and sport. As a Combined Authority, our partnership with GM Moving is one that we truly value.”

The relationship between the Active Partnership and devolved authorities has been nurtured and enabled thanks to support and co-investment from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, NHS Greater Manchester, and Sport England.