Sport England has made tackling physical inactivity its number one priority, with plans to triple the amount it spends on the issue as part of its new strategy.

Published today (18 May), Sport England’s new strategy seeks to deliver against the five health, social and economic outcomes set out in the government’s Sporting Future strategy released in December. As part of its revamped approach to funding, Sport England will invest £250m in tackling physical inactivity over a four-year period (starting December 2016), with this money available to anyone who can get more people moving and meet the organisation’s core objectives.

With 28 per cent of people in England currently doing less than 30 minutes of physical activity a week, Sport England has chosen to train resources on transforming sedentary lives, citing research that the least active stand to reap the biggest health benefits from moving more.

The imperative to promote preventative health measures is becoming increasingly pressing as the NHS struggles to cope with demand, and the government is beginning to acknowledge physical activity’s potential as a ‘silver bullet’ to its health and social care budget struggles.

Speaking to Health Club Management ahead of the report’s publication, Sport England CEO Jennie Price said the government has made clear that tackling inactivity is a top priority, meaning the £250m was the first figure to go into the budget.

“We looked at what we had done in our Get Healthy, Get Active pilot – where we spent two to three years working on different projects to reach inactive people – so we knew what the cost was and had a sense of capacity,” said Price.

“We looked at what we could sensibly do and came up with that figure, as this needs to be a real commitment and that’s the amount we think we can sensibly spend that will make a difference in tackling inactivity.”

Having previously highlighted the ‘enormous role’ health clubs and fitness operators have to play in helping to achieve the government’s goals, Price said the door is wide open to anyone who can help make strides in tackling inactivity.

“What we’re interested in is a genuinely shared objective. If someone wants to achieve something in sport and physical activity then we want to work with them,” added Price.

“If you’re a charity interested in empowering women or in regenerating your area, we want you to come to us with ideas about how sport and physical activity might do that.

“We haven’t actually got the legal permission to fund private organisations, but we know the DCMS are really open to us working with a wide range of companies, so we’re absolutely open to partnerships.”

The shifting of Sport England’s top priority from broadening sports participation to tackling inactivity marks a major win for the physical activity sector. It comes following high profile campaigns from organisations such as ukactive and Public Health England to underline the severity of England’s inactivity epidemic.

Commenting on the Sport England strategy, ukactive executive director Steven Ward said the focus is “certainly a step in the right direction” and said it adds to the policy momentum on the importance of reversing sedentary lifestyles.

“ukactive and the physical activity sector welcomes the clear indication that Sport England will invest in those projects and programmes which are created with targeting inactive groups in mind,” said Ward.

“We look forward to working with Sport England in full consultation to ensure that all roads lead to a comprehensive plan to get the nation moving, with all methods of delivery playing a part.

“ukactive – and the 4000 members it represents - is raring to go to partner and deliver what is a very substantial part of the government and Sport England’s plan, and which providers in our sector are uniquely placed to do so.”

Read more on the Sport England strategy

• NGB funding system overhauled by Sport England

• Hundreds of millions invested in location-based Sport England pilot• Small local facilities to benefit from increased Sport England support