Physical activity needs to be seen as a priority

Tom Walker, Editor

In March, Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted a reception to celebrate grassroots sport – and, crucially, to outline fresh investment into the facilities that underpin it. An additional £10 million has been committed this year, including at least £5 million earmarked for cricket and tennis facilities. The message from the government was clear. Starmer emphasised the need to work more closely with local communities and the sector itself to better understand what facilities are required – and to ensure funding is targeted where it can have the greatest impact, helping more people from all backgrounds to get active.

The Prime Minister also confirmed a further £10 million investment for 2026/27 to develop new delivery models. This includes at least £2.5 million for the Lawn Tennis Association to develop covered courts, and at least £2.5 million for the England and Wales Cricket Board to support the development of all-weather, multi-sport domes. Additional funding will also be made available to trial innovative approaches to facility delivery. In this issue, we explore what that means in practice. Turn to page 52 for more on the ECB’s ambitions for cricket domes, while from page 58 you can read how the synthetic turf sector is testing the next generation of playing surfaces. If, however, the government is serious about building a preventative health system with physical activity at its core, it must go further. According to its own Keep Britain Working review last year, the full economic impact of ill health – including sickness absence ad reduced productivity – is £212bn per year.

To tackle that, any investment is welcome – but prioritisation is essential. Without it, as ukactive CEO Huw Edwards argues on page 28, the economic and health consequences will continue to mount. Sport and physical activity isn’t just a nice to have. It is essential to both the nation’s health and its economy.

Tom Walker, Editor