Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson has called for the Government to hold urgent talks with leaders from the physical activity sector as the second national lockdown begins in England.<\/p>\n
The Chair of ukactive used her opening address<\/a> at the launch of the ukactive National Summit<\/a> to warn that any failure to act during the November lockdown to save gyms and leisure facilities \u201ccould be a tragic missed opportunity\u201d.<\/p>\n The message about the essential nature of fitness and leisure facilities was also shared by keynote speakers Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, and Jo Stevens MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.<\/p>\n Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson said: <\/strong>\u201cThere are many people all over the country who will have been thinking about how to get fitter and healthier, along with their families, and they would\u2019ve been looking to our sector to support them during this tough winter to do that.<\/p>\n \u201cIt does feel like such a misstep that the Government has not heeded our strong and continuous calls to categorise our sector as essential and acknowledge the astonishing safety standards that are our sector has sustained throughout this period.\u00a0I fear this will have severe repercussions for the nation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know from Sport England\u2019s recent Active Lives survey that activity levels fell sharply during the first lockdown.\u00a0Also, analysis from SAGE has warned us that health inequalities among some vulnerable and BAME groups will increase during a winter lockdown period.<\/p>\n She continued: \u201cI share the frustration of members who play an essential role for communities across the country and have proven their ability to make their facilities COVID-secure.<\/p>\n \u201cI share the real anxiety that this second national lockdown will lead to business failure and major job losses within the sector.\u00a0I fear the damage this lockdown will mean for the physical and mental wellbeing of the millions of people, of all ages and backgrounds, that depend on our sector.<\/p>\n \u201cI also fear the new lockdown measures \u2013 brought in to combat this crisis \u2013 could well fuel another crisis in inactivity and mental health, unless we see a plan for addressing this.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, I want to call upon the Government to urgently bring together a diverse set of leaders from across the sector during this period of national lockdown to have real dialogue on both the survival of the sector, and the full role it can play in our society\u2019s renewal.\u00a0It needs a strategy.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Government must develop the plans<\/a> that I shared \u2013 along with 150 sector leaders \u2013 with the Prime Minister in September.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need a recovery plan that brings together taxation and regulatory reform, alongside investment, that supports the sector to work its way out of this crisis.\u00a0Furthermore, we need a fundamental shift in how our sector is valued across Whitehall.<\/p>\n \u201cI have no doubt this can be achieved with sufficient will and energy from all sides, and this November lockdown is the moment to do just this.\u00a0Failure to do so could be a tragic missed opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n The opening speech was welcomed by former Health Secretary Lord Andrew Lansley, who chaired the first online National Summit seminars \u2013 titled “a new vision for physical activity” \u2013 in front of hundreds of sector leaders, policy makers and journalists. Other impactful speakers included Ben Page, CEO of Ipsos MORI; Debbie Weekes-Bernard, Deputy Mayor of London, and Rebecca Marmot, Chief Sustainability Officer at Unilever.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s National Summit runs weekly online throughout November, and focuses on the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on our communities and our way of life.<\/p>\n Shadow Secretary of State for DCMS Jo Stevens used her speech<\/a> to outline a five-point plan to increase the prominence of physical activity in society, including opening up existing community facilities for wider community participation, such as school sports facilities.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cWe must make sure that improving health and wellbeing is a consideration in decision making across Government departments.\u201d<\/p>\n And Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham threw his full support<\/a> behind the sector\u2019s campaign to receive a tailored financial package and essential status.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cThe level of financial support offered to the UK fitness and leisure industry hasn\u2019t yet been anywhere near enough.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve met with fitness providers in Greater Manchester who tell me they are really struggling. We\u2019ve seen a major bailout for the cultural sector but I think we need to make the case together to ensure a proper financial package for our gyms and leisure centres that are so critical to people right now.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s very little evidence that gyms and leisure centres are sources of transmission [of COVID-19] and we know that particularly during a time when people are under restrictions, they are such an oasis for people to escape to as areas so beneficial to people\u2019s mental health.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to look at how we keep gyms and leisure centres open all of the time, and not have any doubts about that.\u201d<\/p>\n ukactive is continuing to offer the latest evidence and impact insights to the Government, gathered from thousands of members, and will continue to drive public support and awareness of the essential and safe nature of facilities, under the Fit Together campaign.<\/p>\n National Summit seminars will run every Wednesday from 2pm throughout November, in partnership with Sport England, the City of London Corporation and the ukactive Strategic Partners Group, and are free to attend.<\/p>\n The series will continue on 11 November with \u2018 Measuring and creating effective interventions in health and wellbeing<\/a>\u2019, to explore existing evidence around the benefits of physical activity for our health, economy and social connectedness, and discuss how this research can be used to inform government decision-making.<\/p>\n For more information on the ukactive National Summit and to book your free place on each of the seminars, visit the <\/strong> National Summit website<\/strong><\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n