Local Partnerships InfoBank

Sport can play an important part in Sustainable Community Strategies, and can be used as a tool to address local need and contribute to achieving local priorities including Local Area Agreements .

One of the key objectives of NAVCA's sports partnership project, is to work to ensure that resource allocation and local policy making (especially in the context of LAAs) takes account of the benefits that sport can bring. This can be achieved by ensuring there is improved partnership working between organisations that provide sport and local infrastructure organisations (LIOs), especially at county and district levels. Sport England have provided resources for NAVCA to run a national pilot project looking at these issues.

County Sports Partnerships (CSPs) are in a prime position to provide this link. Increasingly sport and active recreation is being used as a tool to reduce crime, promote health and wellbeing, and create community cohesion. LIOs can provide links to groups that are interested in sport but do not have sport as their sole focus . Search NAVCA's directory for details of your nearest LIO.

Sport England has a very useful resource section that outlines how sport is addressing local needs and changing lives as part of local area agreements.

Sport England Resources

There are a number of key documents directly relating to LAAs produced by Sport England:

• Sport playing its part in LAAs
• Example LAA indicators by theme
• Round 2 LAAs and their sporting outcomes and indicators by region
• Lessons from Round 1 LAAs (including good practice)
• Towards an Excellence Service self-assessment toolkit for local authority sports work

Sport can support any of the LAA themes. Sport England highlight several examples which include the following:

• Building safe, strong and sustainable communities
  Sport can strengthen community involvement, identity and civic pride. Hastings Sports4U is a community sport outreach programme for local young people and families in 5 priority wards. Sports activities are provided free of charge to more than 1,500 young people. Territorial issues have been addressed by bringing young people together in sports tournaments.
• Meeting the needs of children and young people
  Sport helps children become fit and healthy. As part of the Wake n Shake project in Salisbury, children get going for the school day with 20 minutes physical activity. School staff are being trained so that this can continue on a permanent basis.
• Healthier communities
  The role of sport in promoting physical and mental health is increasingly recognised. Fit and Active Braunstone (FAB) focuses on individuals with high blood pressure or obesity. Thirty people every three months are referred to the scheme for 12 weeks and assigned a mentor who will accompany them. Discounts are provided at leisure centres and support for travel costs or equipment costs.
• Economic vitality and workforce development
  Sport can improve the economic vitality of a local area and its residents. The Leisure Employability Scheme in Newcastle provides work placement and training opportunities for people in disadvantaged areas. Over 50 members of the community have taken part.

Other resources

IDeA have announced a new toolkit - Improving culture, sport and tourism. It is a practical set of tools to help councils assess and benchmark culture and sports services, get constructive feedback from partners and engage in peer-led improvement. The toolkit has already enabled pilot authorities to strengthen relationships with partners, and will help position culture and sports services within LSPs and LAAs.