Official statistics

With effect from 1 April 2009 the scope of the Statistics and Registration Act 2007 was extended to cover Sport England and the statistical information it produces.

This Act emphasises the importance of official statistics to society and seeks to improve public trust in government statistics and Sport England is required to comply with the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice governing the production and publication of Official Statistics.

Sport England produce a range of official statistics that cover:

• Sports participation in relation to our Grow outcome and the drop off element of our Sustain outcome. These are measured by the Active People survey.
• The satisfaction element of our Sustain outcome. This is measured by our Satisfaction with the Quality of Sporting Experience survey.
• The number of statutory planning applications affecting playing fields

Official statistics need to be carefully managed to ensure fairness and transparency. We are therefore produce and maintain details of our official statistics including:

• An Official Statistics policy
• Scheduled release dates

During the course of 2011, Sport England consulted users of Active People Survey statistics about the frequency with which results are produced. Based on the findings of the consultation, future Active People Survey results will be released every 6 months.