Your postcode should not dictate how long you might live – but there’s a way forward

Lisa Dodd-Mayne, Executive Director for Place | Sport England

The physical activity postcode lottery: where you live affects how active you are

For many children and adults, their ability to lead an active and healthy life is undermined by where they live, with limited or little access to opportunities to play sport or get active. This can have a profound effect on someone’s lifelong health outcomes - even affecting lifespan by up to nine years.¹ It’s a postcode lottery for physical activity.

Affluence and activity levels are closely linked; over a third of adults (34 per cent) are inactive in England’s most deprived places, compared to 20 per cent in the least deprived.² Less than half of adults (49 per cent) are active in the less affluent area of Barking and Dagenham while over three-quarters (79 per cent) of adults are active in affluent Brighton and Hove.³

Children from lower-income families have lower rates of activity than those from wealthier families; local authority data reveals that in wealthy Richmond on Thames, nearly two thirds of children and young people are active (62 per cent) - but in Thurrock, an area of high social need, it’s just over a third (34 per cent). Women, people from lower socio-economic groups and Black and Asian people are still less likely to be active than other adults.

This means that health inequalities, driven in large part by inactivity, are being embedded into communities all over the country – and starting at a young age. Inactive children are more likely to become inactive adults, and right now less than half of children are meeting the Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines for daily physical activity. In the long-term, inequalities in activity levels will cost the public purse and undermine economic growth.

In stark contrast, an active nation is critical for the economy. Active lifestyles save £10.5bn a year for the health and care system by preventing illness and reducing NHS burden, and boost productivity. In fact, new research has found that every £1 invested in sport and physical activity generates £4.20 for our economy and society. At a time when boosting the economy is a major priority, that’s an incredible return on investment.

What is a ‘Place-based’ approach?

But, as we know, our ability to get active is directly affected by where we live. That’s why, since 2018, Sport England has been testing out a ‘Place-based’ approach in 12 areas to tackle inactivity.

Place-based working means that, instead of rolling out ‘one size fits all’ projects and programmes, we look at different places as their own individual ecosystem and consider the unique barriers within that ecosystem that drive inactivity. We then look at the places and spaces (like parks, woodland, leisure centres, and community halls) that are available in that ecosystem. Finally, we partner with locally trusted organisations (such as trusts, councils, faith groups and grassroots sports clubs) and organisations such as the NHS, working from the ground up to co-create opportunities for the community to get active.

After 7 years of piloting, these 12 areas have demonstrated that this is the most comprehensive approach to tackling inactivity – and it’s having real impact. Our place-based partnerships are delivering change within their local systems that is having a knock-on positive impact on communities and individuals. Physical activity and sport have been embedded in local policies, resource allocations have shifted towards supporting more delivery to help people find the right opportunity to be active, the understanding of the value of sport and physical activity is growing, communities are at the heart of the change and previously inactive people are moving more.

We have learned that we cannot solve the problem with the same mindset that created it.  We have to do things differently, recognising that progress moves at the speed of trust.  That means being stubborn on the vision for the place, but flexible on how they get there, and finding the organisations that have the right reach. They are there, but you need to look for them.

We’re now expanding to 53 new places

Today, we have announced the first 53 places in every region of England that we’re expanding part of our £250m Place investment into. Each place is in the top 10 per cent of the country for inactivity, social need, deprivation and health inequality at a national level –but each place has amazing organisations and people living there that are determined to drive change for everyone to benefit from the physical, mental and social benefits of an active life.

 From Active Madrassahs in Pennine Lancashire enabling over 5000 Muslim children to get active through embedding physical activity into Madrassah learning sessions; to football,  and walking being used integrate refugees into the community in Calderdale; to gentle dance classes for older people in Doncaster to help them rehabilitate after a fall; to football clubs for isolated men in Blackburn; to using physical activity to rehabilitate patients in South Tees to improve their chances of recovery after surgery - The Place work we have delivered so far is as varied and diverse as the communities we’re working with and for. And every active adult and child represent money saved for our health and care system, reduced pressure on the NHS, a healthier workforce and a stronger economy.

Uniting the Movement, our 10-year strategy, aims to make sure we all have the opportunity to lead an active life. By working in partnership with communities that need the most help to get active, we have the best chance of success. 

1. ONS Needs Index, 2021

2. Active Lives Adult Survey report, 2022/23 

3. Active Lives Adult Survey report 2022/23 

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