Due to the current challenges we are facing with the rise in price of energy, wider cost of living increases and the associated impact on the fitness and leisure sector, ukactive, the LGA and Sport England have been engaging several Government departments through a series of roundtables.
This has resulted in a government facilitated Leisure and Fitness sector – cost of living working group, comprising the aforementioned organisations led by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
The working group is keen to develop the evidence base to respond to these challenges, and to do so it is crucial that we have the most up to date picture. For this reason, government officials within this working group have requested specific energy and cost of living metrics, which it will use to gauge the impacts on the sector now, and how the landscape has shifted since 2018/19.
Fortunately, thanks to public sector leisure members inputting data on a regular basis, much of the data that will be required by government can be extracted from the Moving Communities data platform. To help shape this work, it is vital that we can continue to provide a robust and accurate position on energy cost increases, their impact, and any wider cost-of-living issues. Therefore, we must emphasise the importance of your continued input of data to Moving Communities and the provision of full and timely submission across participation and financial (income and expenditure) data on a regular basis as described below. You can view the Moving Communities user guides which provide information on how to upload data onto the platform, but if you have any questions or concerns on how to do this or the accuracy of your current submissions, you can get bespoke support by contacting [email protected].
The Leisure and Fitness sector – cost-of-living working group, will be convening again at the end of the month. In advance of that meeting and so that we have the best and most comprehensive picture of the pressure the sector is under we request that where possible:
- Participation data is uploaded to Moving Communities by 22 August 2022.
- Financial data, currently requested quarterly, is provided monthly and by 22 August 2022. Please contact Moving Communities team directly to discuss methods to automate this to minimise any impact on resources locally.
Please note that any data provided to the cross government working group will be anonymised and amalgamated to present a national picture, with regional headlines.
As ever your continued support and engagement in providing this essential data is hugely
appreciated.