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03 Aug 2021
Experts tell UK government to launch 'Work Out to Help Out' campaign
By Tom Walker
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The MPs also want the government to ensure children are educated on the benefits of exercise
Photo: Shutterstock/BAZA Production
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A cross-party DCMS Committee in the UK has called on the government to launch a Work Out to Help Out campaign to incentivise people to get involved in organised sport and physical activity.
The recommendation was one of a number made in a cross-party DCMS Committee report Sport in our Communities, published this week.
The committee calls on the government to launch a sports equivalent to the Five-a-day campaign before the end of the year, to educate children on the 60 minutes of activity per day recommended by the Chief Medical Officer.
It warns of the yet unknown impact of the third lockdown on people’s fitness and urges the Government and Sport England to pre-empt consequences with a Work Out to Help Out campaign.
The call was made just over six months after HCM editor, Liz Terry MBE, launched a Parliamentary Petition calling for such a scheme. The petition attracted more than 230,000 signatures and was debated in Parliament on 22 March 2021.
DCMS Committee Chair Julian Knight MP said: “This last 18 months has left the already perilous finances of grassroots sport in tatters.
“Community sports clubs nurture Olympic medallists and bring joy to people young and old, we cannot let them go to the wall. That is why delays to support schemes such as the Community Ownership Fund are so disappointing and unhelpful.
“Today we’ve made recommendations to the Government on how to better protect the spaces we exercise in and put grassroots sport and activity on a more sustainable financial footing.
“The Government must also play its part in getting people active again following the pandemic or risk consequences for public health in the future.”
Knight said the committee was concerned by the latest data from Sport England, which showed that 100,000 fewer children met the recommended level of activity in 2020 than in 2019.
To access and read the full DCMS Committee report, click here.
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