The video consists of a series of animated infographics. This description explains the text on screen and the animated sequences linking them.
A white box appears on a blue screen, with £122.9 billion written in it. Surrounding the box are a running shoe, a whistle and a tennis racket, with a tennis ball flying in from the left hand side of the screen and bouncing off the racket.
Beneath the box, text appears reading:
Total annual social value of sport and physical activity in England for 2023/24.
The blue background glides in from the edges of the screen, replaced by a white background, with the white box in the centre changing to blue and the sports equipment disappearing.
A blue line draws down from the blue box, splitting in half, side to side, and transforms into two blue arrows, pointing down at graphic beneath them.
On the left is a green circle with a head and shoulders with a heart inside the head, beneath it is a green box with £106.9 billion in, beneath which is written:
Primary value of sport and physical activity: individual wellbeing.
On the right is an orange circle with three figures depicted in it, beneath it is an orange box with £15.9 billion in, beneath which is written:
Secondary value of sport and physical activity: wider health value to society.
The arrows are connected by a part green, part orange line, with the proportion of the line in green matching the proportion of the total social value made up of the primary value, and the orange part corresponding to the proportion made up of the secondary value.
We focus on the green box, which changes colour to white, as the background turns green and a canoe and target appear on the screen, with three arrow hitting the target.
The screen transitions to a white background with a heading of £106.9 billion in primary value.
Three arrows point down from the heading to highlight:
£8.6 billion in adult volunteering to support sport and physical activity
£84.2 billion in adult participation
£14.1 billion in children and young people participation (ages 7-16)
The screen turns orange with a white box appearing in the middle with £15.9b billion in it, beneath it reads:
Secondary value of sport and physical activity: wider health value to society.
Around the white box, a head, a stethoscope, a heart and an icon representing a family appear.
The screen transitions to white, with an orange heading reading:
£15.9 billion in secondary value.
Two arrows point down from the heading to highlight:
- £8.0 billion or direct healthcare savings, which is made up of:
- £6.7 billion in direct healthcare savings from the prevention of 14 diseases and chronic health conditions.
- £1.4 billion from reduced GP visits and mental health service usage
- -£0.15 billion in healthcare for sports injuries
- £7.9 billion of indirect cost savings relating to social care, informal care and productivity losses avoided
The blue line reappears as the screen turns white again and we return to the blue box of £122.9 billion and the values for both primary and secondary value beneath it.
A purple background sweeps across the screen, with a white box in the middle containing £19.6 billion, beneath it reads:
Annual social cost of inequality in adult, children and young people physical activity levels (calculated from primary and secondary value for adults, but only primary value for children and young people.)
Around the white box are an uneven weighing scale, a ‘does not equal’ symbol and another scale with heads on each side, one side being higher than the other.
The purple background changes to white and the box in the middle to dark blue.
The box contains ‘4.38’ and beneath it reads:
The combined economic and social return on investment (RoI) for sport and physical activity.
The graphic disappear and the Sport England logo appears, beneath which reads:
To find out more, please see our report: sportengland.org/socialvalue, special thanks to our partners.
Beneath this, the logos for Manchester Metropolitan University, Sheffield Halla University and State of Life, appear.
The video ends.
Community sport and physical activity generated an estimated £122.9 billion in ‘social value’ across England in 2023/24, our new research has revealed.
Published today, our latest social value model – now in its second year of reporting – highlights the critical role of sport and physical activity in improving wellbeing, reducing healthcare costs and boosting the economy.
Through in-depth analysis of our Active Lives data, plus reviewing wider evidence for the health benefits of being active (including the costs associated with the treatment and care of illness and poor health), the research reveals the profound social and economic benefits of sport and physical activity for communities across England.
We undertook the research in partnership with social value advisors State of Life, Sheffield Hallam University and Manchester Metropolitan University, and you can download a report summarising the findings below or on our dedicated social value webpage.
Social value explained
The video consists of a series of animated infographics. This description explains the text on screen and the animated sequences linking them.
A white box appears on a blue screen, with £122.9 billion written in it. Surrounding the box are a running shoe, a whistle and a tennis racket, with a tennis ball flying in from the left hand side of the screen and bouncing off the racket.
Beneath the box, text appears reading:
Total annual social value of sport and physical activity in England for 2023/24.
The blue background glides in from the edges of the screen, replaced by a white background, with the white box in the centre changing to blue and the sports equipment disappearing.
A blue line draws down from the blue box, splitting in half, side to side, and transforms into two blue arrows, pointing down at graphic beneath them.
On the left is a green circle with a head and shoulders with a heart inside the head, beneath it is a green box with £106.9 billion in, beneath which is written:
Primary value of sport and physical activity: individual wellbeing.
On the right is an orange circle with three figures depicted in it, beneath it is an orange box with £15.9 billion in, beneath which is written:
Secondary value of sport and physical activity: wider health value to society.
The arrows are connected by a part green, part orange line, with the proportion of the line in green matching the proportion of the total social value made up of the primary value, and the orange part corresponding to the proportion made up of the secondary value.
We focus on the green box, which changes colour to white, as the background turns green and a canoe and target appear on the screen, with three arrow hitting the target.
The screen transitions to a white background with a heading of £106.9 billion in primary value.
Three arrows point down from the heading to highlight:
£8.6 billion in adult volunteering to support sport and physical activity
£84.2 billion in adult participation
£14.1 billion in children and young people participation (ages 7-16)
The screen turns orange with a white box appearing in the middle with £15.9b billion in it, beneath it reads:
Secondary value of sport and physical activity: wider health value to society.
Around the white box, a head, a stethoscope, a heart and an icon representing a family appear.
The screen transitions to white, with an orange heading reading:
£15.9 billion in secondary value.
Two arrows point down from the heading to highlight:
The blue line reappears as the screen turns white again and we return to the blue box of £122.9 billion and the values for both primary and secondary value beneath it.
A purple background sweeps across the screen, with a white box in the middle containing £19.6 billion, beneath it reads:
Annual social cost of inequality in adult, children and young people physical activity levels (calculated from primary and secondary value for adults, but only primary value for children and young people.)
Around the white box are an uneven weighing scale, a ‘does not equal’ symbol and another scale with heads on each side, one side being higher than the other.
The purple background changes to white and the box in the middle to dark blue.
The box contains ‘4.38’ and beneath it reads:
The combined economic and social return on investment (RoI) for sport and physical activity.
The graphic disappear and the Sport England logo appears, beneath which reads:
To find out more, please see our report: sportengland.org/socialvalue, special thanks to our partners.
Beneath this, the logos for Manchester Metropolitan University, Sheffield Halla University and State of Life, appear.
The video ends.
The key findings from this year's report show that:
nearly £6bn is saved in productivity gains from a healthier workforce taking fewer sick days
there's £8bn in direct net savings to the healthcare system through illness prevention, reducing pressure on the NHS
active lifestyles prevent more than 3.3 million cases of chronic health conditions a year - including 1.3m cases of depression, 900,000 cases of back pain and 700,000 cases of type 2 diabetes
community sport and physical activity deliver a £36.2bn boost to the economy through Gross Value Added (GVA) – the measure of the value of goods and services produced in an area, industry or sector of an economy – and job creation
£14bn in tax revenue is generated – a return of approximately 6-7 times the public investment in sport and physical activity
for every £1 invested in community sport and physical activity, £4.38 is generated for economy and society – up from £4.20 in 2022/23.
And our chief executive Simon Hayes is keen to stress the opportunities to make the most of this social value.
“Health is wealth, and today’s research publication confirms this,” he said.
“Sport and exercise are vital to our economy and society and must be part of the solution to big problems.
“By protecting and investing in opportunities to be active – particularly for communities and people that face the most barriers to taking part – the nation will be healthier, wealthier, and happier.”
However, despite the benefits listed above, the research highlights a stark inequality, with the potential for £20bn more social value to be unlocked if the least active groups in society matched the activity levels of the most active.
Our Uniting the Movement strategy is unapologetically focused on tackling inequalities, with some of our more high-profile work including investing up to £250 million of National Lottery and Exchequer funding into more than 90 places as part of our Place Partnerships, and the recent launch of the ‘We Like the Way You Move’ phase of the award-winning This Girl Can campaign.
We also continue to work alongside Government with the same aim of tackling inequalities, including supporting their new ‘Let’s Move!’ campaign, designed to help families stay active together during the autumn and winter months.
The government has also committed approximately half a billion pounds of investment into grassroots community sport from 2025-30, ensuring sport is accessible at every level - funding everything from local playing fields to world-class tournaments.
See the data in full
Further reaction
Chris Boardman, chair, Sport England
“It’s shocking that inequalities in activity levels cost society nearly £20 billion every year; £20 billion of social value that could instead boost our economy, improve the public finances and make our lives better. Inactivity is quietly draining our economy, health system, and our communities – but we can change that.
“Excitingly, the solution is right in front of us: movement. With a return on investment of more than four to one, billions can be saved in healthcare, our workforce will be more productive and quality of life improved for millions. Everyone being able to take part in sport and exercise is not just fantastic for health – it’s a serious boost to the economy too.”
Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer
"Increasing physical activity has health benefits across the life course, it is one of the best things we can do to stay healthy and independent throughout our lives. Those living in the most deprived areas have avoidably shorter lives and longer periods of preventable ill health, therefore the health and social benefit of even small amounts of physical activity is greater in these areas.
“The stark findings on inequalities in activity level highlighted throughout this report show that more needs to be done to remove barriers and support particular deprived groups to engage in sport, exercise and wider physical activity.”
Q&A: social value
What's social value?
The UK Government defines social value, also known as public value, as “all significant costs and benefits that affect the welfare and wellbeing of the population”.
Read more about What's social value?Our research explores two types of social value:
- Primary value: direct benefits to individuals through improved wellbeing.
- Secondary value: the wider value to society, including the state
Read less about What's social value?What's wellbeing value?
Wellbeing value is the monetary equivalent that can be placed on changes to an individual’s overall wellbeing - measured by their life satisfaction.
Read more about What's wellbeing value?It’s based on what these wellbeing improvements are worth to a person and their lives and is calculated using the new measure of economic value for wellbeing recommended by Treasury – the WELLBY (Wellbeing Adjusted Life Year).
In our research, this is the value of greater wellbeing that’s due to people participating and/or volunteering in sport and physical activity at certain thresholds (when we control or account for other factors). Measuring well-being value is a HM Treasury-approved approach.
Being healthier and happier through an active lifestyle is valued at £2,600 a year per average active adult - but is higher for some groups, including adults with disabilities and long-term health conditions, older people (aged 75+), women, Asian people (excluding Chinese people), and children and young people (age 11-16).
An explanation on WELLBY from research agency State of Life can be read here.
Read less about What's wellbeing value?Why do we calculate social value?
Social value explores more than just economic or market activity, measuring value which may not otherwise be considered.
Read more about Why do we calculate social value?This is particularly important for a sector like community sport and physical activity where a great deal of activity is self-organised or volunteer led and much of its value to society comes in the form of improved wellbeing, physical and mental health.
Understanding the wider social value of sport and physical activity enables us to make better policies and investments.
Read less about Why do we calculate social value?How do we calculate social value?
This research calculates social value in two main ways. First, the primary value to the individual of greater levels of wellbeing due to participating and/or volunteering in sport and physical activity. This is calculated using the HM-Treasury approved WELLBY.
Read more about How do we calculate social value?Second, we measure the secondary value to society (including the state) of the benefits of sport and physical activity.
In this research, secondary value is largely in the form of reduced health and social care costs, due to the positive role sport and physical activity plays in preventing or managing a range of health conditions.
Read less about How do we calculate social value?What is the social cost of inequality?
The additional social value that would be generated if physical activity levels across the adult population increased to match the physical activity levels of adults least likely to experience inequalities (i.e. those with zero characteristics of inequality).
Read more about What is the social cost of inequality?This includes those most likely to experience inequalities in participation (i.e. those with one or more characteristics of inequality).
Read less about What is the social cost of inequality?How does the Inequalities Metric work?
Our unique research tool, The Inequalities Metric, creates a more holistic measure of inequalities in physical activity levels.
Read more about How does the Inequalities Metric work?By identifying the factors that are most strongly associated with being less physically active, it groups the population by the number of characteristics of inequality a person has (either 0, 1, or 2+).
Read less about How does the Inequalities Metric work?Learn more