Activity Alliance is the national charity and leading voice for disabled people in sport and activity. Our vision, as set out in our 2021-2024 strategy, Achieving Fairness, is fairness for disabled people in sport and activity.
It is not fair or right that disabled people are the least active in our society. Disabled people are also twice as likely to be inactive as non-disabled people. We call this the fairness gap, and we aim to close this gap within a generation by focussing on two key goals:
1. Changing attitudes towards disabled people’s sport and activity
2. Embedding inclusive practice into organisations
Activity Alliance draws from our own sector-leading research and that of others to drive targeted interventions. We want to ensure inclusion principles shape others’ delivery, support organisations to embed inclusive practices and tackle negative perceptions of disabled people’s participation in sport and activity.
As a membership organisation we have a representative voice advocating for fairness in sport and activity across the sector. Our expansive mix of inclusion expertise alongside insight from disabled people’s lived experiences drives our work collectively.
The application of the social model of disability underpins our work. We champion and base our delivery on a person-centred approach. This means embracing intersectionality and embedding the inclusion principles. With a focus on tackling inequalities, disabled people are part of all other groups with protected characteristics and/or who are underrepresented in sport and activity. It is therefore crucial to ensure inclusion is at the heart of any delivery.
One in five of the population considers themselves a disabled person. As a large proportion of our society, every disabled child and adult deserves the right to be as active as they want to be.
As the only national charity established and funded to support the sport sector and improve the activity levels of disabled people, we are keen to submit a response to the report on Grassroots participation in sport and physical activity, to which our CEO, Barry Horne MBE was interviewed as part of the NAO evidence gathering in early 2022.
As the then English Federation for Disability Sport, we welcomed the 2015 strategic shift in the cross-government strategy of Sporting Future. The outcome-focused approach had greater alignment to our own objectives, explicitly targeting the less active population along with the broader agenda of activity beyond just sport. This is especially as we know that the first steps into activity bring the most significant health benefits. An ethos emphasised by the existing guidelines for disabled adults and disabled children.
Likewise, our research continues to highlight that psychological barriers remain the most prevalent. Perceptions play an important role, with a lack of confidence and others’ attitudes stopping many from being active. This is despite the increasing coverage of Paralympic sport and some of the positive shifts in the attitudes towards disabled people in sport.
In our Annual Disability and Activity Survey 21-22, less than half of disabled people (47%) think that physical activity and exercise is for ‘someone like them’. This is a significant decline from 57% in 2020 and when compared to 72% of non-disabled people believing activity is for them.
This suggests that despite the positive images generated by elite disabled athletes, it has limited connection with the wider population of disabled people. We also recognise that positive images just once every four years is just not enough, likewise the Paralympics in particular does not cater for or have classification for all impairment groups and subsequently can still lack representation. At Activity Alliance therefore we have increasingly focused our efforts on supporting the movement from inactive to active.
In many cases, for disabled people to truly engage in sport and activity, there is a greater reliance on other government departments and key policy decisions to support their participation. For example, ensuring that transport links (often public transport) are feasible appropriate and affordable, and making sure that healthcare professionals can advise and actively encourage activity. There needs to be a skilled competent and confident workforce, so people feel safe when taking part. We also need to ensure all young people have a positive experience of activity from a young age at school.
Importantly, we need to reduce disabled people’s anxiety caused by the fear that being active will be detrimental to their benefits. The Activity Trap[1] explored disabled people's fear of being active. Almost half (47 per cent) are fearful of losing their benefits if they are seen to be more active. More than half (55 per cent) said they were likely to be more active if benefits weren't at risk of being taken away.
These areas are still creating significant barriers to disabled people’s sport and activity levels. It is clear that working across government departments is vital for the successful delivery of any strategy that aims to increase participation levels for the least active. However, this was not the case and even more recently we had hoped for greater acknowledgement with the National Disability Strategy but feel that this was somewhat of another missed opportunity to ensure that joined up working could reach the best outcomes particularly for the least active. Activity Alliance responds to the National Disability Strategy
Our research has continued to highlight the importance of working closely with others, for example the health sector. We will continue to strengthen our engagement with the health sector after our Annual Survey showed that 78% of disabled people say their impairment or health condition stops them from being active. While this is linked to a lack of availability or awareness of suitable activities, it is also individual worries about safety and risk. This is despite clear evidence on the benefits of activity for disabled people and those with health conditions. Ensuring healthcare professionals could offer support would go a long way in tackling this particular barrier.
Previous approaches to increasing sport and activity among the least active have focused on specific characteristics and/or demographics. This has led to a mixed picture in outcomes. For example, interventions targeting low-socio economic groups may fail to acknowledge the needs of disabled people within that group. But we know that 4 million disabled people in the UK live in poverty. They are more than twice as likely to be in poverty than non-disabled adults[2]. Disabled people from lower socioeconomic groups are much more likely to be physically inactive than disabled people from higher socioeconomic groups (43% vs 29%). It is important that current proposition to tackle inequalities does just that with more holistic and inclusive approaches.
Between 2016 and 2019, we recognised the moderate but positive increases in disabled people’s activity levels. However, as the least active group in society, greater consideration could have been made to apply targets on reaching and engaging disabled people in sport and activity, in order to focus investment and activity.
The COVID-19 pandemic has reversed the positive progress made against reducing inactivity amongst disabled people. As the group hit hardest by the pandemic the declines in activity across the general population were greater for disabled people. The barriers that already existed were only exacerbated. For example, digital exclusion, access to information in the right formats, and loneliness.
Returning to activity following periods of COVID-19 lockdown has proved challenging. Activity levels among disabled people are not witnessing the ‘bounce-back’ to activity that other populations may have seen. Inactivity for disabled people was highest during the lockdown periods in November 2020-January 2021 (44.4%) and January –March 2021 (45%). Compared to the same period in the previous year, the March-May 2021 period (when lockdown was lifted) saw a significant increase in inactivity: 6.7% for disabled people compared to 3.3% for non-disabled people1. This highlights that disabled people may be less comfortable returning to activity after lockdown and restrictions.
During this crucial time, our 2021-22 Annual Disability and Activity Survey shows only 28% of disabled people feel encouraged to return to activity (compared to 50% of non-disabled people). And only 30% are looking forward to face-to-face activities. Disabled people identify a lack of suitable opportunities, with activities, facilities, classes, and programmes not yet having returned. Also, feeling less capable or able due to the physical or mental impact of the pandemic, a lack of support, and ongoing caution of being exposed to the virus. For those who have taken part recently, some report that activities are less accessible, and activity leaders are having challenges with meeting their needs.
In Sport England’s 2021 strategy, Uniting the Movement, we welcome the focus on tackling inequalities. We continue to advocate for collaborative, engaging and supportive approaches that meet people ‘where they are at’ whether that be place-based or otherwise.
However, we emphasise the greater need for cross-government department working in order for Uniting the Movement to succeed. In addition, to reflect the direction of travel to place-based delivery, the same cross sector and departmental working must also happen at a local level. Our sector leading Get Out Get Active (GOGA) programme demonstrates this need. It highlights key audiences including those commissioning to play their part and understand their role in successful delivery.
Again, we advocate the commitment to place-based activity and acknowledge that local intelligence remains key for driving participation levels in the least active populations. Local delivery is crucial to getting more people active, particularly disabled people. Most people start being active on their own doorstep. Activity Alliance works with many local partners across all regions, who look to us for guidance and expertise. Greater improvement could be made if more local partners actively use our insight and resources to guide their delivery. Our 10 principles for engaging disabled people highlight this, especially in ‘my locality’. Local delivery organisations should embed these principles in their work.
The GOGA programme is having extensive local and national impact by reaching the least active. During its first phase delivery (2016 to 2020) participants reported an increased sense of pride in the contribution they make to their local community. 87% of all participants say that GOGA has had a positive impact on their engagement with their local community. This phase engaged more than 30,000 disabled and non-disabled participants, recruited 2,800 volunteers and supported 2,000 volunteers and paid staff. The programme delivered over 2,400 activities and a multitude of events across the UK, working with local delivery partners.
Through GOGA we see how powerful sport and activity can be in encouraging community engagement and would urge the continued expansion of such programmes. It is such programmes that have huge potential for scaling-up to maximise impact.
For a bold new strategy, we welcome improvements in the ways in which it is measured. The data provided through the Sport England Active Lives Survey provides regular and robust information and an ability to track the activity levels of disabled people. It also helps us to understand ‘the fairness gap’ on a national level. But there must be additional impact measures. The level of detail on the number and type of impairments is useful, as is the clear demonstration of the link with wellbeing and community outcomes. However, there must be improvements in understanding measurement against absolute inequalities, particularly through intersectionality.
We must get better at understanding the role of activity within a person’s life course and the way in which identities interplay with that. For example, the need to embed an active lifestyle with inclusive opportunities. An individual may seek activities that tap into their range of motivations and values. And for how they identify at whatever point in their life, whether that be female, mother, disabled etc.
Understanding the targets and measurements that underpin collective aggregated impact should influence the ways in which some organisations are funded and the investment strategy. The six-fold increase in the number of organisations receiving investment since 2012 has undoubtedly caused some duplication. This is unnecessary within our sector given the strategic role that some organisations play, so it is important to avoid this. We would suggest that some of these relationships could be more appropriately held with organisations that are already funded to ensure delivery is coordinated more effectively. This acknowledges the very real need to engage with other organisations that may have the best community specific knowledge or innovative solution.
Programmes such as GOGA continue to share their learning which enables the appropriate scaling-up of activities. It avoids unnecessary duplication by working collaboratively with local partners and creating a culture of shared collective engagement. The co-designed resources are actively shared to grow a sustainable legacy. One example is on programme management - ultimately all delivery is reliant upon effective and rigorous programme management.
We would also emphasise that despite the focus being on participation that tacking inequalities must also include targeted activity on workforce. This means ensuring diverse inclusive Boards and leadership teams as well as a representative, confident and competent delivery workforce. All those who have a role in supporting our sport and activity sector must put inclusion and diversity at the heart.
September 2022
[1] Activity Alliance, The Activity Trap (2018)
[2] Office for National Statistics, Family Resources Survey (2021)