- London Sport welcomes report from CMS Committee, recognising urgent need for stronger investment to tackling inactivity.
- Report highlights growing pressures on community sport, including funding instability, rising costs and unequal access to facilities, particularly impacting deprived communities and marginalised groups.
- Committee backs London Sport’s More Ball Games campaign, recommending new laws to remove unnecessary “No Ball Games” signs and unlock space for children’s play.
- Recognition of impact of the Opening School Facilities Fund and calls on the Government to reinstate support to make better use of existing assets.
Today, London Sport has welcomed the publication of the eagerly awaited report from the Government’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee ‘Game On: Community and School Sport’, following a year-long inquiry from the Committee – which invited London Sport’s Chief Executive, Emily Robinson, to give evidence in the House of Commons alongside sector leaders in 2025.
London Sport described the Committee’s report as a “significant and timely intervention” that reflects the scale and seriousness of some of the many challenges facing community, whilst highlighting the great value and health benefits delivered by the sports sector for the country.
Following its comprehensive assessment, the Committee clearly recognises more must be done to tackle barriers limiting participation in sport and physical activity across London and the UK, including insufficient and unstable funding for school sport, rising delivery costs, limited access to facilities, ageing infrastructure, and persistent barriers to participation being among some of the key issues raised.
These challenges continue to disproportionately impact people living in deprived communities and underrepresented groups, reinforcing inequalities in access to sport and physical activity.
The report also highlights the need for greater urgency from government to fully realise these benefits. The Committee’s report states:
“The benefits are clear; the evidence is overwhelming. What is missing is urgency. Only a decisive national commitment – backed by stable funding, better facilities and a coherent, cross-government strategy – will deliver the active, healthier nation we need”
London Sport strongly supports this call for a more coordinated, cross-government approach, particularly the integration of sport and physical activity into health, education and community policy.
The organisation also welcomes the Committee’s endorsement of practical, scalable solutions to increase participation, including support for London Sport’s More Ball Games campaign.
The report recommends that Government legislate to require local authorities and housing associations to remove unnecessary “No Ball Games” signs, helping to unlock public spaces for children’s play and informal activity, a key barrier identified through London Sport’s work across the capital.
In addition, London Sport is encouraged by the Committee’s recognition of the value delivered by the Opening School Facilities Fund, which London Sport helped deliver as part of the Active Partnership Network. The fund demonstrated how opening up existing school facilities can provide a cost-effective way to increase access to sport and physical activity for children, young people and local communities.
Emily Robinson, Chief Executive of London Sport, said:
“The Committee’s report is a significant and timely intervention at a critical moment for community sport and physical activity.
It rightly highlights both the scale of the challenges we face and the enormous opportunity that exists if we act with urgency. We know that sport and physical activity deliver great value for money for our health, our communities and our economy, but unlocking those benefits requires stable investment and long-term commitment.
We are particularly pleased to see recognition of the importance of unlocking the spaces around us – including support for our More Ball Games campaign – which shows how small, practical changes can remove barriers and open up opportunities for children and young people to be active.
We welcome this report. The evidence is clear. The solutions are known. What is needed now is decisive action to create a more active, healthier and fairer nation”.
London Sport continues to engage local authorities and housing associations on the rollout of its ‘More Ball Games’ campaign, providing a toolkit for those interested on how best to remove the restrictive ‘no ball games’ signs.
London Sport as part of the wider Active Partnership network will continue to engage policymakers and decision makers over the coming months on how best to tackle inactivity and inequalities in our communities.
-ENDS-
For more information on London Sport, visit www.londonsport.org.
Media Contacts
Ed Butler: [email protected]
Notes to editors
- The Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s Game On: Community and School Sport report was published today on Monday 20 April.
- London Sport is a charity working to help Londoners live longer, healthier and happier lives through physical activity.
- London Sport’s strategy, Let’s Move London, focuses on tackling inactivity through place-based approaches, system leadership and reducing inequalities.
- London Sport’s Manifesto was published ahead of the upcoming local elections, calling on borough leaders and councillors to embed physical activity into the fabric of everyday life.
