Which Way Now? Articles

In a series of two thought provoking and controversial articles over the summer, which our friends at the leisure review have kindly published, Duncan Wood-Allum suggests the need for a debate on where public money is spent on sport and leisure services in the future. Here are some extracts from both articles.  To read the articles in full - click these links to go to our blog to read Part 1 and Part 2.

Part 1 - The Challenge

"Human nature and politics have all contributed to where we find ourselves now. All of us have in some way inadvertently contributed to this reality. There is less money to go around and many organisations will have to do things differently and in some instances, not necessarily better for the foreseeable future."...

"In this time of austerity there is a risk we could forget is that our sector still has the potential to make a huge impact on the nation’s health and wellbeing and justify more investment. With 80% of our collective c£2.75 billion budget to invest in public sport and leisure provision through Councils, we still have a lot to play with."...

"As a consequence of this budget being linked to these ageing facilities, local government sport and leisure has little ability to invest in innovation or new market development to respond to the commissioning agenda and the changing landscape."...               

"I want to start the debate on if Councils should radically change and reprioritise this spending in the future.  To unlock this potential, many Councils may need to move away from direct provision of universal services and funding of sport and leisure. facilities. It pains me to say this, but I cannot see any other option for many of our cash strapped authorities."

Part 2 - The Response

"Our sector, however, is set up in a way so as to be, at best, resistant to genuine innovation and, at worst, hell bent on preserving the status quo."

"In common with those lovely people in the City of London, one of the key contributing factors to lack of change was that people never thought the good times would end. Well, they have and with fears of a double-dip recession ringing in our ears, we really do need to accept this new reality and start doing something about it."

"Universal provision of our parks, pools and museums was borne out of hardship and social injustice and has withstood 100 years of wars and recessions. There is a strong and compelling body of evidence which demonstrates the value of our services. In the wake of recent social unrest expect a national debate on the important role our services play in helping to provide hope, guidance and being the glue which binds us all together, irrespective of age, class and race"

"One size will definitely not fit all but localism should not be a byword for chaos."

If you have any opinions or thoughts to contribute to this debate, join us at the Sport, Leisure and Culture Online Forum on linkedin today.

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