The platform, driven by 4GLOBAL in collaboration with Leisure-Net, Right Directions and Sheffield Hallam University, has revealed a remarkable £170m growth in social value generated by leisure centres across the country in the last 12 months. This surge brings the total contribution to over £945m, a significant increase from the previous year’s £778m. Moving Communities is the largest data set ever gathered on local authority leisure centre performance, enabling the measurement of social value across four key categories: physical and mental health, subjective wellbeing, individual development, and social and community development. These categories collectively capture the positive outcomes and contributions of sport and physical activity. Notably, subjective wellbeing, which represents the elevated sense of wellbeing derived from engagement in physical activity, generates the most social value at an impressive £529m. “The growth in social value demonstrates that the public leisure sector is playing a vital role in improving the health of the nation,” says Steve Mann, director at 4Global. “Measuring social value not only empowers leisure operators and local authorities to showcase the impact of their investments in sport and physical activity, but it also uncovers the scale of their contributions. We now have an accurate and benchmarked tool to show the extent of the sector’s impact.”

wide-ranging impact The Moving Communities data reveals encouraging trends across all four categories. Physical and mental health indicators have seen a rise, contributing £168m in social value over the past year compared to £152m in the previous year. These figures combine estimates of reduced cases of health conditions like Type 2 diabetes, breast and colon cancer, hip fractures, back pain, dementia and depression resulting from physical activity. The calculations also consider the reduction in visits to GPs and accident and emergency departments related to sports injuries. “Shifting beyond conventional fitness facilities and pools, the leisure sector is transforming around an active wellbeing approach,” said Emma Bernstein, strategic project lead for Sport England. “This new direction can include an array of services, ranging from musculoskeletal hubs and pharmacies to vibrant community centres, all of which contribute to wider needs of local communities each year.” In addition to physical and mental health, social and community development has made a substantial impact, contributing £241m over the past 12 months. This category includes the savings in the criminal justice system resulting from reduced crime rates among young people, as well as the increased social capital from enhanced social networks, trust and reciprocity. Also, individual development has been recognised as an important indicator, measuring improved educational attainment through sports participation. Based on Moving Communities data, individual development contributed approximately £6m in the last year alone.

informing policy and investment Sport England’s Moving Communities platform serves as a vital tool for local public leisure facilities, providing a comprehensive picture of how community sport and physical activity significantly contribute to the government’s sports strategy. Moreover, the data shows a positive trend, with social value steadily growing each year. “We are learning a huge amount across a number of different areas,” said Bernstein. “This has been a comprehensive data project creating a step change from the former service. It’s more dynamic in terms of capturing live data, providing a bespoke filtering system and more detailed categories for benchmarking. The addition of Quest to the platform is an important development which has helped to influence national policy making and investment decisions.” At the local level, operators are leveraging the platform to provide client reporting, gain insights into their business performance using new benchmarks and filters, and support investment proposals for leisure facility upgrades.

a financial value on physical activity outcomes The thinking behind the Social Value Calculator is based on a programme of research that was commissioned by DCMS in 2015 and subsequently developed on behalf of Sport England by Sheffield Hallam University. Simon Shibli, from Sheffield Hallam University, acknowledges the challenges of placing a financial value on the outcomes of physical activity but emphasises the strength of the Social Value Calculator. “The social value figures are derived from a comprehensive review of the scientific evidence that relates to physical activity and the outcomes that are attributable to being sufficiently physically active,” he said. “It is well established that regular physical activity leads to physical and mental wellbeing benefits as well as individual and community benefits. The challenging part is putting a financial value on the outcomes of physical activity.” To illustrate his point, Simon adds, “We know what the costs of treating certain conditions are from health data and by combining that with the number of cases prevented, we can derive a benefit to the National Health Service of costs saved by not having to treat cases that would have otherwise occurred. The process stands up to the highest level of scrutiny before it is used publicly. If anything, the social value estimates are conservative because there are some impacts for which the evidence is not strong enough and we therefore exclude it. As a team of academics, we take great pride in delivering a product that provides an ‘at least’ value which can be defended with a transparent audit trail of evidence.” The social value generated by the UK’s leisure sector is a testament to its profound impact on communities and the wider economy. Through initiatives like Moving Communities, the power of public leisure facilities is being recognised, demonstrating the invaluable contributions they make to the health and well-being of individuals and society as a whole.

www.sportengland.org/research-and-data/data/moving-communities