Hi Everyone, yet another jam packed week as Parliament returns and external facing activity kicks into overdrive.
- I joined
Helen Hull
and
Ciaran Crean
in Loughbrough for one our Sport Essentials leadership courses for council officers, active partnerships, and trusts working on physical activity. I think it was possibly also the first time we had NGBs in the room, which was great as we're all starting to speak the same language and work towards the same objectives. This was my first time out in public talking about the Government's 5 missions and how they relate to physical activity; as well as the critical role that council infrastructure for sport and physical activity, as well as outreach, must play if the missions are to be achieved. The message seemed to go down well and there was a real buzz in the room for the whole three days, expertly facilitated by
Liz Blyth
and
Richard Croker
. I also learned a lot from the other speakers, including Professor Bola Owolabi of the National Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme at NHS England; and Professor Patrick Vernon OBE, Chair and Non-executive Director for Inequalities, Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board.?We have more upcoming events for officers and councillors, so make sure your place is booked.
-
Samantha Ramanah
and
Zahraa S.
represented the LGA at the National Sector Partners Group parliamentary event on Tuesday. The NSPG is calling on Government to work with them to make the UK the most active nation in Europe. Stephanie Peacock, Minister for Sport, and Kim Leadbeater MP spoke about their expectations and commitment to support the sector, and the team discussed the role of councils in supporting physical activity with a number of MPs, ably supported by council colleagues including
Julie Russell
and
Eugene Minogue
.
The report on our call for evidence on supporting women and girls to be active is now live! The research identifies key success factors for interventions, as well as systemic barriers that are affecting councils’ and their partners’ efforts to progress this agenda.?It is supported by a number of fantastic case studies to illustrate how councils have gone about this, and inspire other areas to adapt the ideas for their communities. Lots of brilliant work by
Samantha Ramanah
and
Isobel Parkes
!
Things you might like to know
- Sam and I joined Kevin Mills and
Louise Upton
for our regular catch up with Sport England to discuss strategic issues and opportunities emerging in the sector, including collaboration on the government missions.
- I joined the Museums Advocacy group chaired by Sharon Heal, sharing notes on government engagement, reflections on the narrative the sector needs to communicate (urgently) to ministers, and how we move forward with the sector's mission-related work.
- We caught up as a team with our colleagues on the children and young people side of the LGA, including children's health, and discussed collaboration around various pieces of policy, including our forthcoming call for evidence on supporting young people to be active.
- I spoke to a member council about a forthcoming presentation I've been asked to give to their leader and chief executive about cultural strategies and the ways in which various councils have taken a structured approach to cultural investment. Really looking forward to contributing to their cultural journey.
I hope everyone has a great weekend, preferably with better weather than here in Bexley.
