The Sport England Adult Active Lives Survey Report has been published (Thursday 28 April), covering the period November 2020 – November 2021. We have summarised the results for Northumberland and Tyne & Wear here. We have also provided a link to the full Sport England report.   

Clare Morley, Chief Executive Officer, Rise: 

The latest Sport England report has some positive results for our area, with Northumberland and Newcastle local authority areas recording higher levels of physical activity than the percentage level for England. It is also encouraging to see that the areas of Gateshead, Northumberland and South Tyneside have all seen a decrease in the percentage of adults who are classified as inactive (that is, moving for less than 30 minutes per week) compared to the previous 12 months, albeit that these changes are not statistically significant.  

Nationally, the report highlights that levels of activity are beginning to recover from the effects of the pandemic, particularly among those aged 55 years and older. However, there continue to be inequalities, with women, those from ethnically diverse communities, those living in more deprived communities, disabled people and people living with long term health conditions, still less likely to be active than others.  

This is why our strategy, Rise Together, continues to focus on tackling inequalities, targeting our efforts and resources where they are most needed.  

As we continue to recover from the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, the survey report also highlights that levels of anxiety and feelings of loneliness have increased and happiness has decreased. Life satisfaction, which is used as a medium-term marker of mental wellbeing has also dropped since the pandemic began.  

However, we know that physical activity can be a significant part of the remedy for these problems. It remains clear from the evidence that being active has a positive effect on mental wellbeing and community development. That is why, together with our partners in health, education, criminal justice, local authorities, the voluntary and social care sector and throughout our communities, in fact with anyone wants to work with us to solve these issues, we will continue to promote the embedding of physical activity across the system, to create a higher quality of life for communities that need it the most in Northumberland and Tyne & Wear.