Re-train, to tame the elephant?

Sue Sutton, Chief Executive of the Institute for Sports, Parks and Leisure gives some thoughts on the mood at the LGA Culture conference in Gateshead:

There was an elephant in the room at the LGA/CLOA Culture, Sport and Tourism Conference in Gateshead.  For most of the time, it snoozed peacefully, but occasionally it would jump into action, cause a commotion for a while, before settling down again.

The ‘elephant’ was the dire state of the economy and the threat it may pose to cultural and sport services in local authorities.  In the discussions on sport and physical activity, there was a general concern, but an overriding confidence that these services would still have a key role in health, community safety, social cohesion, regeneration and education.  What nobody was clear about were the structures.

Clearly, there are many ‘unknowns’ at the moment: the scale of cuts that may come down the track; the shape of local government itself; and the extent to which partnerships between agencies at national and local level will be put under pressure. 

What the conference demonstrated was that although significant strides had been made in grass roots sports provision in recent years, the sector had not necessarily made the case particularly well for the continuation of these services.  It is going to have to do better in the forthcoming period of financial constraints.

The sector has to be proactive in making its case.  It also has to re-train to understand the new language and opportunities of ‘Total Place’, procurement, commissioning and personalisation.

The sports and leisure industry is now facing up to the elephant.  If we continue to work together, we can tame it!

Tags: cohesion, health, improvement, leisure, LGA, parks, sport