Budget a ‘missed an opportunity’ to improve nation’s health

The sports and physical activity sector has described the Conservative government’s latest budget – announced on 6 March – as a “missed opportunity to improve the health and productivity of the nation”.

The National Sector Partners Group (NSPG), which is made up of some of the sector’s leading organisations, accused the government of failing to meet its own ambitions of supporting more people to be physically active.

In a strongly worded statement, the NSPG said: “Delivering his Budget, the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, said there can be no ‘solid growth without solid finances’, but we know there can be no growth without improved health too.

“The announcements will do little to move the dial on physical activity levels nor unlock the potential of our sector to contribute to wider Government policy priorities. The Budget was a missed opportunity to improve the health and productivity of the nation by supporting more people to be active.

“Given the Budget’s focus on increasing productivity, workforce and NHS efficiency, further measures designed to support the sport, recreation and physical activity sector to achieve these priorities – including targeted tax and regulatory reforms and wider investment – should have been much more prominent in this announcement.”