ukactive have responded to the 2016 budget and in particular George Osborne’s announcement that a levy on sugar will get the next generation ‘fit for the future’, and welcomes the extra investment for children’s activity programmes.
Responding to the announcement that the Primary PE and Sport Premium will be doubled to £320m to spend from 2017, Executive Director Steven Ward said it was a chance to turn the tide on generation inactive.
Ward said that it was absolutely crucial that the extra funding be put to use to tackle the childhood inactivity crisis and focus on ensuring that every child in the UK has the opportunity for an active start to life.
ukactive Executive Director Steven Ward said: “I join every ukactive member in welcoming this opportunity to provide a fitter future for our children.
Today’s announcement from the Chancellor of a near half-billion pound boost to children’s activity is a once in a lifetime opportunity to get more children active and we need to grasp it with both hands.
Whilst recognising the good work that is already happening in schools thanks to the Primary PE and Sport Premium, this means going further than just getting children playing sport at school, by looking at building activity into lessons, on the walk to school, on the weekend, during the holidays and at home. From pre-natal to post-natal, right up to college age, we have an opportunity to get this right, right now and this injection of resources is our chance to do that.
We look forward to working with government, our stakeholders, members and partners to use this chance to look at the whole picture and to prioritise funding to projects and programmes that will have the biggest impact in getting the most children active.
There are 168 hours in a child’s week so we’d be naïve to think that by driving investment towards a small proportion of those hours via PE and school sport that we wouldn’t be making a mistake. We’ve got to look at the whole picture. The Chief Medical Officer called for 60 active minutes every day for every child – that now has to be our single minded goal.”
More People More Active More Often
