Active People Survey - Headlines: Participation, Volunteering & Satisfaction

Active People Survey[i] Headline Results

EAST REGION
Participation

• 20.5% of the adult population (915,913) take part regularly in sport and active recreation[ii] – the national figure is 21%.
• 29.5% or 1,317,721 people have built some exercise into their lives[iii].
• 50.0% of adults (2,231,445) have not taken part in any moderate intensity sport and active recreation of 30 minutes duration in the last 4 weeks – the national figure is 50.6%.
• Regular participation in sport and active recreation varies across different socio-demographic groups:
• Males - 22.5%; Females - 18.7%.
• People with a limiting longstanding illness or disability[iv] - 9.1%; those without - 22.5%
• Black and other ethnic minority groups - 19.1%; Adults of white origin - 20.6%.
• Lowest socio-economic groups[v] - 16.2%; highest socio-economic group - 23.8%.
• Regular participation ranged from a high of 26.8% in St Albans to a low of 16.2% in Tendring.
  

Volunteering

• 4.9% of the adult population (220,770) contribute at least one hour a week volunteering to sport - national figure is 4.7%.
• Volunteering levels ranged from 8.3% in Uttlesford in Essex to 2.5% in Norwich.
• Club membership[vi], receiving tuition[vii], taken part in organised competition[viii]
• 26.2% of the adult population are members of a club where they take part in sport – the national figure is 25.1%.
• 19.0% of adults have received tuition from an instructor or coach over the last 12 months – the national figure is 18%.
• 16.0% of adults have taken part in organised competitive sport in the last 12 months – the national figure is 15%.
  

Satisfaction with sports provision in the local area

• 71.0% of adults are fairly or very satisfied with sports provision in their local area - national figure is 69.5%.

Footnotes

[i] The Active People Survey was carried out by Ipsos MORI on behalf of Sport England. It is the largest sport and recreation survey ever undertaken. In total 363,724 people were interviewed (a minimum of 1,000 in each local authority area) by telephone across England between the period mid October 2005 to mid October 2006. The sample was random stratified and the results are representative of the total adult population in England, the English regions and local authorities in England.

[ii] Regular participation in sport and recreation is defined as taking part on at least 3 days a week in moderate intensity sport and active recreation (at least 12 days in the last 4 weeks) for at least 30 minutes continuously in any one session. Participation includes recreational walking and cycling. Over 200 different sports and recreational activities were counted in the survey. Moderate intensity is defined by having walked at a brisk or fast pace and for sports having raised the breathing rate.

[iii] Those described as building some exercise into their lives did at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity sport and active recreation on between one and eleven (inclusive) days in the previous 28 days.

[iv] Disability is defined in terms of: ‘do you have a longstanding illness, disability or infirmity? By longstanding I mean anything that has troubled you over a long period of time or that is likely to affect you over a period of time.’

[v] NS-SEC is the National Statistics Socio-economic Classification. It is derived by combining information on occupation and employment status. Employment status is created by combining data on whether an individual is an employer, self-employed or an employee, size of organisation (where collected) and supervisory status.
[vi] Club membership is defined in terms of ‘being a member of a club particularly so that you can participate in sport or recreational activity in the last 4 weeks’.

[vii] Receiving tuition is defined as: ‘having received tuition from an instructor or coach to improve your performance in any sport or recreational activity in the last 12 months’.

[viii] Taken part in organised competition is defined as: having taken part in any organised competition in any sport or recreational activity in the last 12 months’.