Out Of The Starting Blocks; Active People Diagnostic Goes Live!

The results of the Active People Survey were released on 7 December 2006 via a sophisticated web based analysis tool Active People Diagnostic.

The results of the Active People Survey were released on 7 December 2006 via a sophisticated web based analysis tool -- Active People Diagnostic. At least 1,200 stakeholders nationwide will have access to their own results, plus the results of everyone else. Never before, have results been made available through a such a hi-tech medium, nor one which brings new meaning to the term 'user-friendly'. Users of the site include all Local Authorities, County Councils, County Sport Partnerships, Regions and National Governing Bodies of Sport in England. In the New Year, access will be widened to more stakeholders, including all 152 Primary Care Trusts.

The Active People Diagnostic is structured around four tiers of analysis:

  • Tier One: Key Performance Indicators
  • Tier One: Sport Results (pre-defined results for National Governing Bodies of Sport NGBs)
  • Tier Two: Other Performance Indicators
  • Tier Three: Interactive Analysis
  • Tier Four: Comparative Analysis

Users of the Active People Diagnostic, are able to access their own results, plus at Tiers three and four, the results of any other area or sport. All results can be interrogated by a large number of socio-demographic variables, such as age, gender, working status, social class, ethnicity and disability, as well as the survey questions. These results will help organisations to develop strategies to increase levels of physical activity among local populations and to plan for the appropriate development and provision of local facilities. While the Active People Diagnostic is not a public tool, some key results from the survey are provided below.

Of the 363,724 adults questioned in all 354 English Local Authorities:

  • 50.6% of adults (20.6 million) have not taken part in any moderate intensity sport and active recreation of 30 minutes duration in the last 4 weeks.
  • 28.4% have participated between one and eleven days in the last four weeks.
  • 21% are hitting the recommended target of 30 minutes moderate intensity sport and active recreation on at least three days a week, including 6.3% who do so every day.
  • 4.7% of the adult population (1.9 million) contribute at least one hour a week volunteering to sport.
  • 25.1% of the adult population (10.2 million) are members of a club where they take part in sport.
  • 18% of adults (7.3 million) have received tuition from an instructor or coach over the last 12 months.
  • 15% of adults (6 million) have taken part in organised competitive sport in the last 12 months.
  • 69.5% of adults are fairly or very satisfied with sports provision in their local area.
  • Recreational walking is the most popular activity, followed by swimming / diving (indoors) and going to the gym. Football (indoors and outdoors), golf / pitch & putt / putting, road running, badminton, tennis, swimming (outdoors) and aerobics make up the top 10.

On 16 October 2006, The Active People Survey came to a close. The survey, commissioned by Sport England, and conducted by Ipsos, is the largest of its kind ever to be conducted in this country. After running for 368 days, a total of 363,724 adults living in England have taken part in the Active People Survey, which has been conducted on the telephone using CATI (Computer Aided Telephone Interviewing).

The Active People Survey gathers data on the type, duration and intensity of people's participation in different types of sport and active recreation, as well as information about volunteering, membership of sports clubs, receipt of sports coaching, participation in competitive sport and satisfaction with local sports provision. This information is important in enabling different organisations to measure their performance against targets for several key performance indicators, of which, the first is essential in measuring sports contribution to the cultural block. (The percentage of the adult population participating in at least 30 minutes of sport and active recreation (including walking and cycling) of at least moderate intensity on at least 3 occasions a week).

To read the national press release, please visit the Sport England website.

For more information about the Active People Survey and the Active People Diagnostic, please contact Nick Purslow and Jen Fraser at Ipsos or Nick Rowe and Helen Bibby at Sport England.

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