REWIRING THE STATE

What does it mean for sport?

Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s plan to “rewire the state” could mark one of the biggest changes to the way sport and physical activity is funded and delivered in England for a generation. SportsNation Editor, Tom Walker, looks at the plans and outlines the threats and opportunities presented by the proposals

The new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has outlined his vision for devolution in England. Published in July, the Cabinet statement – titled Rewiring the State – promises a major transfer of powers, resources and functions from Whitehall to elected mayors and local authorities, under a new principle of “devolving by default”. Sport is explicitly included – a move that could radically change the way sport is funded and delivered. The government says local people, including young people, should have greater control over cultural and sporting investment in their regions.

Power to the people

The “rewiring” plans – the details of which are expected to be confirmed later this year – are likely to examine whether the responsibilities and funding of arm’s-length bodies should remain national, transfer to local leaders or return to government departments. This could include funding currently controlled by Sport England.

According to the statement, decisions taken closer to communities should be better informed by local participation levels, health inequalities, demographics, transport networks and facility needs. This could mean that a mayoral authority could combine physical activity funding with health, employment, skills and active-travel budgets rather than treating sport as a self-contained policy area.

That discretion would be reinforced by fiscal devolution. From 2028, mayors are expected to receive a share of locally generated income tax, alongside greater retention of business rates. Proposed Good Growth Funds could also give regional leaders another means of investing in long-term infrastructure and regeneration.

The statement also proposes greater pooling of funding for preventative services and the alignment of Integrated Care Board boundaries with strategic authorities. Sport and physical activity could therefore become a more established part of local prevention: not simply a leisure service, but an intervention supporting healthier ageing, mental wellbeing, rehabilitation and reduced pressure on health and social care.

Welcoming the changes

Sport England has welcomed the direction of travel. Chair Chris Boardman said the organisation supports giving communities greater influence because of what can be achieved when investment is guided by decisions made locally.

“We welcome the Prime Minister’s ambition to give communities greater influence over decisions about sport and physical activity in their areas,” Boardman said.

“This is an approach Sport England strongly supports because we know what can be achieved when local people shape local investment. During my time working with the Prime Minister in Greater Manchester, we established one of the country’s first partnerships to put communities at the heart of decisions about how investment could best improve people’s lives. That same principle has since become central to Sport England’s approach.

“Today, we work – through Place Partnerships – in more than 90 places and have formal partnerships with mayoral strategic authorities across England, combining local knowledge and leadership with national evidence, expertise and accountability. That means we’re not starting from scratch. We have several years’ experience of working in this way and look forward to helping the Government build on that experience as these proposals are developed. Together, we can ensure local communities have a stronger voice while helping more people enjoy the benefits of an active life.”

Policy

Another organisation to have backed the plans is Yorkshire Sport Foundation. Chief executive Carl Hawkes pointed to work in the region as evidence of the positive impact of including physical activity in decision-making at a local level.

“This is really welcome news and something we’ve been working towards for some time,” Hawkes said. “In Yorkshire, we’ve already seen first hand what becomes possible when sport and physical activity are genuinely embedded into local decision making, through our partnerships with South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire Combined Authorities. Giving communities greater control over how investment is directed is exactly the right approach, and we’re excited to see this momentum building nationally.”

A balanced approach is needed

The strongest version of reform would not simply replace national grant programmes with regional ones. It would create a clear division of responsibilities. Central government could set national outcomes, guarantee minimum standards and ensure fair distribution between places with different tax bases and needs.

This could mean that Sport England would retain functions such as evidence, evaluation, technical expertise, national campaigns and coordination. Mayors and local partnerships could then shape investment around their communities.

It is easy to see how, without that balance, devolution can carry its own risks. Sporting provision could become vulnerable to local political priorities and short electoral cycles. The Cabinet statement says individual cultural funding decisions should remain outside political interference, but does not explicitly provide the same safeguard for individual sporting awards.

Regions with stronger institutions, better data and greater capacity may also move quickly, while others struggle. A postcode lottery could deepen if wealthier areas can raise and retain more revenue, while places with the highest inactivity levels and poorest facilities have the weakest tax base.

There is also a danger that sport funding is absorbed into larger health, growth or regeneration budgets without clear physical activity outcomes. Local leaders facing acute pressures in social care, children’s services and homelessness may find it difficult to protect leisure centres, playing fields and community programmes, even when they offer long-term preventative value.

The Cabinet statement recognises the capacity issue and promises resources, expertise and civil service secondments where responsibilities are devolved. For sport, that must include facility planning, procurement, participation data and programme evaluation. Local flexibility should come with transparent measures showing who is becoming more active, which inequalities are narrowing and what condition the local sports estate is in.

Working formats – GM Active

One possible delivery model for the plans is that created by GM Active. GM Active brings together 12 leisure and community organisations across Greater Manchester’s 10 local authority areas and its members manage most publicly owned leisure and physical activity assets in the city-region. Together, the organisations cover 99 facilities and more than 20 million visits a year.

GM Active’s success and importance lies in coordination, as much as scale. Members share expertise and resources, undertake joint procurement and develop common approaches to health, workforce development, digital delivery and sustainability. Prehab4Cancer also shows how leisure operators can work with the health system to provide a region-wide service rather than isolated programmes.

Rewiring could make sport a core component of place- making, prevention and inclusive growth

Similar structures could give mayoral authorities a credible network through which to invest in facilities and commission activity programmes. They could bring councils, leisure trusts, Active Partnerships, governing bodies, health organisations and community groups around one regional plan, while retaining the neighbourhood knowledge needed to reach less-active groups.

A white paper and fiscal devolution roadmap are due in the autumn, so the final architecture remains unresolved. The central question is not simply whether funding sits in Whitehall, with an arm’s-length body or in a mayoral authority, but whether each level does the job it is best placed to do.

Handled well, rewiring could make sport a core component of place-making, prevention and inclusive growth. Handled badly, it could fragment the system and widen inequalities. The sector should support greater local power while arguing for national safeguards, long-term funding and a clearly defined role for Sport England as the connective tissue between national ambition and local delivery.