Issue - meetings

Decision

That Cabinet:

1.    Approve and adopt the Sport and Physical Activity Strategy 2026 – 2031.

2.    Delegate authority to the Assistant Director (Leisure, Culture and Place), in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture to make any minor changes required (such as grammar and layout) once the Policy is implemented.

Reasons for the decision

The current Strategy had been in place since 2021 and was due to expire in 2026.

The Sport and Physical Activity Strategy would provide a basis for the Council to deliver on its ambition to increase health and wellbeing outcomes across South Kesteven.

Other options considered and rejected

The Strategy played a pivotal role in working towards the ambitions set out in the Council’s Corporate Plan (2024-27). Therefore, the option to ‘do nothing’ had been discounted.

Note:  The agenda order was varied; the Design Code Statutory Consultation was to be the penultimate item.

Purpose of report

To provide a refreshed Sport and Physical Activity Strategy for 2026 - 2031.

Decision

That Cabinet:

1.    Approves and adopts the Sport and Physical Activity Strategy 2026 – 2031.

2.    Delegates authority to the Assistant Director (Leisure, Culture and Place), in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture to make any minor changes required (such as grammar and layout) once the Policy is implemented.

Other options considered

The Strategy played a pivotal role in working towards the ambitions set out in the Council’s Corporate Plan (2024-27). Therefore, the option to ‘do nothing’ had been discounted.

Reasons for the decision

The current Strategy had been in place since 2021 and was due to expire in 2026.

The Sport and Physical Activity Strategy would provide a basis for the Council to deliver on its ambition to increase health and wellbeing outcomes across South Kesteven.

The Strategy had been considered by Culture and Leisure OSC on 3 February 2026; the feedback received had been considered and then included in the Strategy before Cabinet members.

Gratitude was expressed to Beth Goodman for her efforts in producing this Strategy.

The Deputy Leader of the Council presented the report which provided an updated sport and physical activity strategy for 2026-2031.

Progress had been made in the past 5 years by the Council’s Leisure Team in implementing the actions identified in the current strategy, targeting key areas and working with partners to provide opportunities for residents and visitors to live healthy, active lifestyles.

The information detailed in the report included the supporting documents which had been reviewed and where relevant actions had been incorporated in the draft strategy.

The draft strategy was structured around 4 key pillars and included an action plan along with key performance indicators. The four pillars are mentioned as active society, active place, active people and an active system. The refresh of the strategy was essential to ensure the goals and objectives remain relevant and aligned to national context along with the needs of the community in South Kesteven.

It was outlined that Lincolnshire County Council administration was considering diminishing all funding for One You Lincolnshire physical activity initiatives.  Therefore, the Council may need to review future ambitions to mitigate the removal of funding.

The Physical Activity and Wellbeing Lead clarified the funding from Lincolnshire County Council currently covered the healthy weight programmes and exercise referral programmes in leisure centres, smoking cessation and community programmes.

One Member highlighted a KPI relating to attendance at leisure facilities within the District (1.2). Concern was raised that the Council could be committing themselves to a KPI which was out of their control.

It was confirmed that reviewing the KPI would be beneficial. The particular KPI (1.2) was from the LeisureSK Ltd contract specification and tracked who was using Council facilities. The KPI measured the inactivity and activity levels and tracked data for people throughout the District.

The Assistant Director of Leisure, Culture and Place suggested the Committee requested the strategy be taken away for further review of the percentage of inactive adults, as the strategy did not set a target at present.

It was noted that many venues held physical activity events, however, were not owned by the Council. It was queried how the attendance at these venues was accounted for.

The Physical Activity and Wellbeing Lead confirmed that the data relied on individuals feeding into the Active Lives Survey data.

A query was raised on how the strategy would specifically address rural isolation and transport barriers within the District, which could hinder participation for smaller villages. It was further questioned whether the Council worked with any partners.

The Council were working with Active Lincolnshire to overcome rural barriers, they were proposing a neighbourhood place profile to identify areas of focus.

Another partner such as ‘We Are Undefeatable’ were a free organisation that people can access from anywhere, offering online workouts and specifically targeted individuals with long-term health conditions.

One Member asked whether people living in the District had been utilising the ‘We Are Undefeatable’ service.

ACTION: For the Physical Activity and Wellbeing Lead to provide statistics on the numbers  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53