Chamber and committees

A total of £28.8 million of Exchequer funding is being invested in the National and Regional Sports Facilities Strategy. That funding was announced following the outcome of the 2002 Spending Review.

No specific allocation of Exchequer and Lottery funds has been made at this stage to the 10 projects that progressed to stage two.

We have three nationalsurveillance tools for measuring activity levels in Scotland: the Scottish Health Survey, Health Education Population Survey and HealthBehaviour in School-aged Children.

Scottish Health Survey is used to monitor overall levels of physical activityin Scotland and this was the data source used for the Physical ActivityStrategy. The last published data was collected in 1998. This showed that two thirdsof adults (aged 16 to 74) and half of all children (aged two-<16) in Scotland do lessthan the minimum needed for health. The survey was repeated in 2002-03 and thisnew data will be published in late 2005. The results will indicate whether levelsof physical activity have changed since 1998.

Health Education PopulationSurvey is undertaken by NHS Health Scotland. Thissurvey monitors changes in what adults (aged 16+) know about health, how they feelabout it and what they do or intend to do about it. The last published data (Oct2004) show that there has been an increase in the proportion of adults who are awareof how much activity they need for health as well as a small reduction in sedentarybehaviour.

Health Behaviour in School-agedChildren (HBSC) is a World HealthOrganisation 36 country survey which allows us to compare Scottish children aged11, 13 and 15 with children of the same age in other countries. It was carried outin 1990, 1994, 1998 and in 2002. Questions about physical activity have been includedin all surveys. However, 2002 was the first time that the current guideline forchildren (one hour a day) was measured. The HBSC trends over the past decade showincreases in physical activity levels in all age groups and persistently lower ratesof physical activity among girls compared to boys. The survey also shows that activitylevels of children in Scotland are slightly above the overall average for the studyas a whole.

Our approach to the implementation of the physical activity strategy has been to establish a broad workforce development plan, inclusive of the private, public and voluntary sectors. In that context:

We have commissioned a consultation and plan for workforce development through NHS Health Scotland to identify the scale and nature of the workforce needs for physical activity and the actions required to develop a workforce to meet the needs of the strategy implementation. This has just been completed by NHS Health Scotland.

We are developing a Masterclass programme for physical activity specialists which we plan to have accredited by the Faculty of Public Health. The first Masterclass course will take place in October 2005.

In partnership with Skills Active, we are developing new S/NVQs to address the training needs of the wider workforce involved in the delivery of physical activity.

We have extended the availability to Scotland of a core physical activity training resource developed initially by NHS Glasgow and NHS Argyll and Clyde. Courses have taken place in 2004 and will continue throughout 2005.

The Physical Education Review Group (PERG) was set up by Scottish ministers as a direct result of the recommendations in Let’s Make Scotland More Active. In my response to the PERG report, I set out my three key aims for physical education: to provide more time, more teachers and more choice.

I have committed to physical education being reviewed as a priority in the 2nd phase of the curriculum review to ensure that there is sufficient flexibility within the curriculum to accommodate the provision of at least two hours of good quality physical education for each child every week.

My commitment to provide 400 additional PE teachers by 2008 will be delivered in a number of ways. The entry requirements for Post Graduate Certificate of Education in Physical Education have already been revised to widen access to a teaching qualification in PE. A further postgraduate initial teacher education course will commence this September at Edinburgh University. We also intend to open discussion with providers of initial teacher education and continuing professional development to provide additional opportunities for existing teachers to develop PE specialisms.

Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) held four regional seminars in March, for local authorities and schools, to raise awareness of the PERG report and my commitment to two hours of PE. The seminars provided a platform to: discuss the key issues; demonstrate a few examples of good practice; and encourage schools to start developing solutions to met local circumstances. LTS will now build on this by working with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education to gather and disseminate best practice delivery of two hours quality and progressive PE programmes.

The Executive funds the employment of Active School Managers, Active School Co-ordinators and School Travel Co-ordinators in each local authority area. Active School Co-ordinators are preparing a coherent programme of high-quality opportunities for children to be active for one hour a day including travel to and from school. School Travel Co-ordinators in most local authority areas are planning events for this year’s “walk to school week” in May and the Executive’s “choose the school walk” posters will be used to promote many of these events. The Executive has profiled the issue of safe and active travel to school through our healthyliving communications campaign.

Local authorities have been awarded allocations totalling £26.61 million over this and the next two financial years for Safer Routes to School and Cycling, Walking and Safer Streets projects. Over the same period allocations totalling £33.9 million have been awarded for 20mph speed limits around schools and related safety projects.

The Scottish Executive is funding a national development officer for Play@Home, the physical activity programme for children from birth to five years. This will allow all NHS boards to train health visitors in use of this resource from birth onwards.

In addition, NHS Health Scotland’s resource the Ready, Steady, Baby Book for new parents and children up to the age of three has been updated to include more information about physical activity.

We have created an overall communication programme for physical activity as part of the Healthyliving campaign. The public health education elements of the communication programme, which is designed to support behaviour change, include mass media advertising, PR, website and advice line for the general public.

To develop closer, effective communication with the physical activity workforce and special interest groups we are establishing a Scottish Physical Activity Alliance. NHS Health Scotland are taking this work forward in 2005-06.

Health education is the main function of NHS Health Scotland augmented by the work being carried out across Scotland by the NHS and by all community planning partners.

Two websites have been developed to raise public awareness and knowledge of physical activity. One forms part of the Healthyliving national campaign and is available at http://www.healthyliving.gov.uk/physicalactivity/. The other is a new physical activity section which has been added to the Scottish Executive website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/health/Introduction/Introduction.

We are also establishing a Scottish Physical Activity Alliance - a network of evidence providers, policy-makers and practitioners. One role of the Alliance will be to compile local and national information on physical activity programs, projects and trends and to highlight and publicise current activities nationwide. Information will be disseminated through a range of communication channels such as an electronic newsletter, website and promotional materials. NHS Health Scotland are taking this work forward in 2005-06.

With the publication of Let’s Make Scotland More Active in 2003, a designated policy team for physical activity has been established within the Scottish Executive’s Health Improvement Strategy Division.

Delivery of the physical activity strategy is facilitated by key partners including sportscotland, NHS Health Scotland, COSLA, the NHS, Scottish Natural Heritage, Greenspace Scotland, Paths for All, Scottish Sports Association as well as other departments of the Scottish Executive such as education, transport, environment, planning.

Responsibility for the co-ordination of the efforts of all partners to progress implementation of the Physical Activity Strategy lies with the Scottish Executive’s Health Improvement Strategy Division.

In 2005 the Scottish Physical Activity and Health Council was established. This Council comprises of policy, evidence and delivery experts who will advise the Scottish Executive and its partners on strategic issues that affect implementation of the Physical Activity Strategy.

The Scottish Executive is funding a national development officer for Play@Home, a physical activity programme for children from birth to five years. This programme provides parents with guidance on safe and beneficial ways of handling a child to stimulate motor and sensory development within the home. Funding will support all NHS boards to train health visitors in the use of this resource.

In addition, NHS Health Scotland’s resource the Ready, Steady, Baby Book for new parents and children up to the age of three has been updated to include more information about physical activity.