A More Active Scotland - building a legacy from the Commonwealth Games

A More Active Scotland: Building a Legacy from the Commonwealth Games

1. Physical Inactivity - The Challenge

Physical inactivity results in around 2,500 premature deaths in Scotland each year (7 a day), costs the NHS around £91 million annually and is the second biggest cause of mortality (joint with smoking, behind high blood pressure). Being physically active can help prevent and treat more than 20 chronic diseases. Furthermore it is estimated that getting Scotland active would increase life expectancy by more than a year given our current inactivity levels. As in most parts of the world, technology, urbanisation, increasingly sedentary work environments and lifestyles, alongside ever increasing car use, has meant opportunities for physical activity in our daily lives have declined in Scotland.

2. Our Strategy

Scotland was one of the first countries to introduce a national physical activity strategy in 2003 ( Let´s Make Scotland More Active) to challenge this decline in activity and provide a framework of objectives to increase the proportion of physically active people in Scotland. The first Five Year Review of this twenty-year strategy acknowledged progress made and concluded it was fit for purpose. Since then the Toronto Charter for Physical Activity (2010) was published outlining the direct health benefits and co-benefits of investing in policies and programmes to increase levels of physical activity ( http://www.globalpa.org.uk/charter/).

3. The Toronto Charter

This gold standard advocacy tool was developed with extensive world-wide stakeholder consultation and calls for action in four key areas consistent with the WHO Global Strategy for Diet and Physical Activity; National policy; Policies and Regulations; Programmes and Environments; and Partnerships. The Toronto Charter makes a strong case for increased action and greater investment on physical activity as part of a comprehensive approach to non-communicable disease prevention. The Charter identifies the seven best investments that work for promoting physical activity:

1. Whole of school programmes

2. Transport policies and systems that prioritise walking, cycling and public transport

3. Urban design that provides for equitable and safe access for recreational physical activity

4. Physical activity and NCD prevention integrated into primary healthcare systems

5. Public education, including mass media to raise awareness and change social norms on physical activity

6. Community-wide programs that mobilise and integrate community engagement and resources

7. Sports systems and programs that promote 'sport for all' and encourage participation across the life span

4. Scotland's Response - An Active Legacy

Work has been undertaken over the past year with NHS Health Scotland and other partners to create our first ever National Physical Activity Implementation Plan. It seeks to adapt the key elements of the Charter to the Scottish setting and link it directly to the Government's active legacy ambitions for the Commonwealth Games. The Games provide us with an unparalleled opportunity to accelerate our work on helping to increase the number of Scots who are involved in sport and physical activity. We want to ensure that we capitalise on this golden opportunity for Scotland to achieve lasting change.

5. Delivery

Underpinning delivery of the overall commitments will be a series of detailed actions which will describe how these will be achieved. A programme board of senior leaders from across the five delivery themes will oversee delivery of this Plan. The delivery themes are supported by communication aims. The board will report to the new National Strategic Group on Sport and Physical Activity chaired by the Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport. As a Commonwealth Games legacy programme it will be evaluated as part of legacy 2014 ( http://www.legacy2014.co.uk/).

OUR OVERARCHING VISION

"The people of Scotland will enjoy more active and healthier lives."

DELIVERY THEME 1

ENVIRONMENT

"Scotland's natural and built environments promote increased levels of physical activity."

THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES LEGACY OUTCOMES

BY THE END OF 2014:

• A National Walking Strategy will have been launched
• A revised Cycle Action Plan for Scotland will have been launched
• The National Planning Framework and Single Outcome Agreements will include developments that promote physical activity
• A single web portal will have been created providing information on access to the natural environment

WITHIN FIVE YEARS OF THE 2014 COMMONWEALTH GAMES THERE WILL BE:

Better designed places for physical activity:

• The NWS, CAPS and Designing Streets will be implemented
• 20 mph zones will be widely introduced in residential and shopping areas
• More active and inactive people will know about and use local opportunities to be more active
• Urban and rural environments will be designed to increase physical activity

Increased use of our natural environment:

• Increased use of Scotland's outdoors

More active travel:

• More children and students use active travel to get to their places of learning
• More people use active travel for work
• More people use active travel for leisure

WITHIN TEN YEARS OF THE 2014 COMMONWEALTH GAMES THERE WILL BE:

• Better designed environments that encourage physical activity
• More people active in the natural environment
• Active travel as the norm for short, everyday journeys

DELIVERY THEME 2

WORKPLACE SETTINGS

"Employers make it easier for people to be more physically active as part of everyday working lives."

THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES LEGACY OUTCOMES

BY THE END OF 2014:

• All public sector organisations will prioritise active travel to and from work and during the working day
• The Scottish Government will be an exemplary employer in encouraging staff to be more physically active
• An identified private sector organisation will be an exemplary employer in encouraging staff to be more physically active
• An identified voluntary sector organisation will be an exemplary employer in encouraging staff to be more physically active

WITHIN FIVE YEARS OF THE 2014 COMMONWEALTH GAMES THERE WILL BE MORE WORKPLACES WITH:

• Employee support programmes and activities for both less and more active staff
• Active travel plans

WITHIN TEN YEARS OF THE 2014 COMMONWEALTH GAMES:

• Active travel will be norm for all short journeys to and from work
• Opportunities for physical activity during the working day will be the norm for employees

DELIVERY THEME 3

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

" NHS, Local Government and care services will promote the recommended levels of physical activity."

THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES LEGACY OUTCOMES

BY THE END OF 2014:

• All health and care professionals will have access to resources to promote the recommended levels of physical activity
• Increasing patient physical activity for the prevention and treatment of disease will be a routine part of primary care
• Care homes will be promoting the 'Go for Gold' initiative

WITHIN FIVE YEARS OF THE 2014 COMMONWEALTH GAMES:

• The National Physical Activity Pathway will be embedded in all appropriate clinical settings across the healthcare system
• Hospitals will routinely support patients and staff to be more physically active
• New links will be forged between the health system and the community, enabling signposting to local opportunities
• Integrated care services will routinely take account of physical activity

WITHIN TEN YEARS OF THE 2014 COMMONWEALTH GAMES:

• More people will be physically active as a result of interventions by health and care services, resulting in fewer people requiring treatment

DELIVERY THEME 4

EDUCATION SETTINGS

"All places of learning in Scotland will promote
increased physical activity."

THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES LEGACY OUTCOMES

BY THE END OF 2014:

• All places of learning will promote physical activity through their improvement planning process
• By 2014 delivery of the Physical Education commitment to provide 2 hours of PE in primary and two periods in secondary schools will be complete
• Increased opportunities for young people to be active through the Active Schools Programme
• The School Sports Awards Programme recognising school sport achievement will be rolled out nationally

WITHIN FIVE YEARS OF THE 2014 COMMONWEALTH GAMES:

• Education staff have the appropriate knowledge and skills to promote increased physical activity
• All places of learning can demonstrate the use of their estate and green space for physical activity
• All places of learning can demonstrate that pupils, students and staff have increased levels of physical activity

WITHIN TEN YEARS OF THE 2014 COMMONWEALTH GAMES:

• Children and young people, and those who teach them, will be more physically active

DELIVERY THEME 5

SPORT & ACTIVE RECREATION

"Everyone in Scotland will be more active in their leisure time."

THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES LEGACY OUTCOMES

BY THE END OF 2014:

• A national play strategy will be launched
• More volunteers and coaches will be involved in getting people active
• Be on track to develop 150 Community Sports Hubs by 2016

WITHIN FIVE YEARS OF THE 2014 COMMONWEALTH GAMES:

• More children will have opportunities for active and outdoor play
• The coach and volunteer workforce will have the knowledge and skills to promote increased physical activity
• All Community Sports Hubs will be in place (signposting both inactive and active people on how to be more active) with at least 50% in schools
• There will be an increase in grass-roots participation in sport by all

WITHIN TEN YEARS OF THE 2014 COMMONWEALTH GAMES:

• More children will routinely take part in play, sport, or other forms of active recreation
• More adults will routinely take part in sport, or other forms of active recreation

COMMUNICATIONS

"The people of Scotland will know the health benefits of physical activity and where and how to be active."

THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES LEGACY OUTCOMES

BY THE END OF 2014:

• Employers will have engaged with our national workplace legacy campaign Fit in 14 resulting in increased awareness of the benefits of an active workforce
• Scotland's first Physical Activity Awareness Week will have taken place as part of the Fit in 14 campaign

FIVE-YEAR MILESTONES:

• More people will know the health benefits of physical activity and how to be active
• Increased awareness of the wide-ranging benefits of physical activity, e.g. health, transport, economic, environmental, social

TEN YEAR MILESTONE:

• Scotland will be internationally recognised as having a society-wide understanding of the wide-ranging benefits of physical activity

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