Autumn Budget 2024

Lord Wrottesley Excerpts

Monday 11th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wrottesley (Con)]

My Lords, I would like to address the issue of sport and the recent Budget. I declare my interests as set out in the register. The funding that has been earmarked for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is welcome. However, my concerns are that there is only a brief mention of sport in the Budget document, and there was also a lack of support for sport and physical activity in the Government’s manifesto and in the King’s Speech.

As an Olympian and someone who is now involved in sport governance, I may be somewhat biased, but I believe to my very core that, while sport is recreational, it also can and should be aspirational and inspirational. It can keep people on the straight and narrow, giving meaning to purpose and purpose to life. As Nelson Mandela once said:

“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair”.


Previously, His Majesty’s Government and stakeholders across the sector in the UK pledged to make this nation the most active nation in Europe. Today, within the main European economies, the UK ranks 11th out of 15 in terms of having an active population, with around 36% inactive—only Italy, Germany and Portugal are behind us. This ranked list can be compared and seems to correlate with per capita healthcare spend related to inactivity. The UK has the third highest spend, with only Germany and Portugal ahead of us. This is not a podium, medal-winning result we should be proud of.

Recent data shows that, while the gross value added of the sports sector into the UK’s economy ranked third in Europe behind Austria and Germany, government investment into sport and recreation and physical activity in the UK sits bottom of the table, along with Ireland, with a 0.4% spend of general government expenditure, which is 70% lower than the highest-placed nations and less than half the average spend of the 15 main nations of Europe.

By becoming the most physically active nation in Europe, the UK could save over £1 billion in healthcare costs alone and increase productivity, adding £3.65 billion to our GDP every year. The clincher is that, according to the Sport and Recreation Alliance, £70 billion could be gained in uplifting our nation’s well-being. Other less tangible, but none the less crucial, benefits of sport and increased physical activity are: decreased work absenteeism; increased educational attainment levels; reduced crime and anti-social behaviour; improved social capital; and increased employment levels, when we assume that there will be an increased demand within the sector.

Put simply, if we get investment into sport and physical education at the right levels, and going into the right places, all children and adults will be given the best chance to live well for longer; communities will be safer, greener, healthier, and everyone will feel more connected; prevention will lead to significantly less pressure on the NHS and other key public services, currently saving the NHS £9.5 billion per year by preventing illness; and our economy would be boosted by a healthier and more productive workforce.

On that last point, as the economy evolves into one where manual labour is increasingly automated, more people will have significantly more leisure time, we will need to find employment for those leaving the workforce into areas where automation cannot replace human capital, and sport and recreation will have a huge part to play in this transition.

I therefore ask the Minister what plans His Majesty’s Government have for increasing funding into sport and physical activity. Please can he provide specific details? Without that increased funding, the commitment made to make the UK the most active nation in Europe will be an empty promise, and the nation’s health and the wellbeing of our citizens will suffer.

Can the Minister tell the House what measures and financial support—in other words, investment—will be given to forward-looking competitive bids for sporting events to be held in the UK? This is the most sustainable way that UK plc can provide the nation with inspiration to get into sport, attract significant amounts of inward investment, and have the chance to provide a sustainable future for individual sports. Give us the resources to learn how to fish; do not just give us fish. We should not be missing out on these opportunities.

Can the Minister also tell the House what part of the committed DCMS funds will be ring-fenced to help the most disadvantaged children get into sports and physical activity? Lastly, what part of the DCMS budget will be invested on ensuring equal access between the sexes across all sports?