Speaking in front of more than 500 representatives from business, health, fitness, sport and government at the ukactive Conference, she reflected on how ukactive and the sector have progressed during her six-year tenure, laying the foundations for a partnership with government that can drive major change.

“Backing the major drivers of activity could lead to a global event such as the Commonwealth Games in 2022 having a greater legacy for activity than London 2012 ever had. This is something our government has in its grasp – let us not squander this opportunity which would be transformative for our nation,” she said.

“I want to see us create a partnership that sees the government use all the levers at its disposal to support the sector’s development and enable more people to be active. 

“Our analysis shows that we can attract more than five million new people to use gyms, pools, and leisure centres on a regular basis by 2030. Memberships could grow by more than half by 2030, sparking a revolution in the UK’s physical activity levels. And this growth would support the health and fitness needs of well over 20 per cent of the UK population – up from 15 per cent penetration before the pandemic.  

“Let there be no doubt that this will have a transformative impact on activity levels across the nation.”

Looking back at the past 18 months, she described how the sector has come together and strengthened its ties with Sport England, key policymakers and the government, which she said now understands more about the sector than at any moment during her time as ukactive chair.

She spoke about how the pandemic saw the sector set a benchmark for other sectors and how proactive it was to ensure that it was safe for people to return to facilities.

Baroness Grey-Thompson will hand over the role in August 2022.