Outdoor Sport and Recreation

Debate between Clive Efford and Huw Irranca-Davies

Wednesday 10th September 2014 Westminster Hall

[Clive Efford (Eltham) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Main, for what I think is the first time. I congratulate all hon. Members who have taken part in the debate. We have heard from my hon. Friends the Members for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies) and for Worsley and Eccles South (Barbara Keeley) and the hon. Members for Macclesfield (David Rutley), for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire (Simon Hart), for Hexham (Guy Opperman), for Chatham and Aylesford (Tracey Crouch), for High Peak (Andrew Bingham) and for Leeds North West (Greg Mulholland). They all raised similar issues, which I will try to deal with as I go through my notes.

My hon. Friend the Member for Ogmore made a passionate opening speech, entreating all of us to get out there and enjoy the countryside. He has a great deal of experience in sports and physical activity: he has been employed in the industry and is an enthusiastic participant and organiser. It is a tribute to his work that we have had this debate and that so many people have taken part.

My hon. Friend talked about the benefits that people can easily derive from outdoor activities. The “Reconomics” report points out that outdoor activities are often free and easily accessible, and that many of the barriers to taking part in physical activity are removed when enjoying the outdoors. He is absolutely right to highlight the benefits of investing in outdoor activities, and the report demonstrates that there is a payback.

Although such investment creates jobs, benefits businesses and is an extremely good way of bringing economic activity into rural areas where it can otherwise be difficult to generate—many Governments have struggled with that—that payback is not just economic; as my hon. Friend said, there are also benefits to the individual, including health benefits. Outdoor activity helps people be healthier and feel better in themselves, and an increasing amount of evidence and research is demonstrating that investing in outdoor activity and encouraging people to become more active has a positive impact.

Many hon. Members spoke about the cost to the economy of inactivity. People refer to obesity, but that is not the only issue. It is possible for people who are overweight to be in better physical condition than someone who does not seem from their weight to be suffering from the consequences of inactivity. It is important to encourage people to be aware of that and to be more active.

The hon. Member for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire said that we should encourage young people to get involved in one hour of physical activity a week, and I would like to achieve that goal, starting with my own children—believe me, I consider myself a complete failure in that regard. My wife and I have run the London marathon and recognise the importance of staying active, but we are not successful in getting our children to be active, so are not great examples.

I am aware that nagging people does not work and so we need to be aware of other ways in which we can encourage people to be active. Inactivity is an issue, so we need to make sure that we focus on that first, from the very earliest age. I passionately believe that we need to equip young children, from the earliest age, to have confidence in their bodies, their core physical strength and their physical literacy, so that they can access not just sport but the sort of recreational activities that hon. Members have spoken about today.

[Huw Irranca-Davies]

I have a suggestion for my hon. Friend: I found locking the children out of the house and pointing them in the direction of the hills worked. On a serious point, will he also speak up for the importance of spreading room on the coastal paths that we have talked about? That is important for people interested in mountaineering and so forth. We need not just tracks and trails—the narrow two-metre paths—but wide spreading room, albeit with due attention to the needs of landowners, so that people can do other activities.