Current status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 10 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that access to physical activity is available to all, irrespective of background or personal circumstance.
Our vision is of a Scotland where more people are more active, more often. The Active Scotland Outcomes Framework sets out our ambitions for a more active Scotland, and is underpinned by our commitment to equality in everything we do.
A range of actions are in place to support participation in physical activity by all of the people of Scotland. These include:
The National Walking Strategy Action Plan which was launched by our partner, Paths for All, on 3 March 2016. Walking is particularly important in our approach to getting more people more active, more often, as it can be done by anyone, anywhere. The 2015 Scottish Household Survey showed an increase of 5 percentage points from the previous year (64% to 69%) in the number of people walking recreationally;
a commitment of over £137 million in active travel since 2011, with a further commitment of £38.3 million in 2016-17;
a massive investment in school sport which has seen an increase in children doing two hours or periods of P.E. a week from less than 10% in 2004/5 to 98% in 2016. This is backed up by £50 million invested in Active Schools between 2015-19 to increase the number of opportunities available to children to participate in sport and physical activity, before school, during lunch, and after school;
supporting Scotland to become the first ‘Daily Mile Nation’, building on the success seen in primary schools to encourage physical activity in other educational institutions and workplaces;
providing more and better places to be active, including investing in Community Sport Hubs. To date, a total of 155 Community Sport Hubs are in place, with 45 more to come by 2020.