Sport participation measurement: consultation summary: March 2013

DCMS and Sport England consulted during 2012 on proposed changes to the way we measure sport in Active People (APS) and Taking Part (TP) to:

• Address quality/coverage concerns
• Create a single measure for sport
• Assess the potential to bring the surveys closer together.

More than 200 people responded, comprising Local Authorities, sport governing bodies, County Sport Partnerships, central government departments, academics and charities

The main findings from the consultation were: (% in brackets shows percentage of respondents who considered this essential or important)

• Support for the proposal of having a single measure for sport (70%)
• Strong demand for continued provision of sport specific results (71%), used for NGB performance management and Local Authority estimates for sport (88%)
• Support for lowering the age range of APS to 14+ (87%)
• Concern that we retain consistency and continuity with previous APS results, to enable stakeholders to see trends over time (76%)
• High interest in using new and mixed methods to survey people, to reduce our reliance on landline interviews (38%), to have more face to face (34%) and to explore digital data collection (75%)
• Preference for six monthly sport result (46%) and results in same or similar format as currently (37%), supported by tools (78%)
• Need to continue to measure the Olympic effect (59%) and to provide cross cultural analysis (29%) through Taking Part.

We are implementing online and mobile phone pilots to allow us to consider producing a fully mixed-mode survey. Our work has been informed by technical advice from the Methodology Advisory Service and the Government Statistical Service Methodological Advisory Committee within the Office of National Statistics and the survey contractors TNS BMRB.

Using this advice and the findings from the consultation, we are proposing to continue to ask sport participation questions in Taking Part Survey, but on behalf of Sport England. This means that sport participation data will not be analysed and reported on by DCMS or in the Taking Part publications.

This approach allows for the inclusion of face-to-face data within Active People over time, so that Active People can become a fully mixed-mode survey. In the shorter term the data will be used to validate the landline estimates.

View the original consultation documents and related content.

The Taking Part publication on 21st March 2013 will therefore be the final release to contain sport data and analysis. If you have any comments on this proposal then please email us at statsconsultation@culture.gsi.gov.uk by May 2nd 2013.