DCMS refutes suggestion that Games spending will be nearly £2b over £9.3b budget

Poll conducted between 14th & 27th Feb shows appetite for upgrading the importance of sport in government

We welcome DCMS's recent sport strategy announcement that focuses on young people – few can argue the health benefits of participating in sport. However, side by side the participation agenda, sits the sport for social development sector, which is too often forgotten about.

With the support of a thriving sport for development sector in the UK, a strategy on sport and legacy in the UK should also focus on using sport as a means to an end – helping to increase confidence, motivation, leadership skills and communication which in turn enables young people to develop into well-adjusted young people who contribute positively to society. Sport in this case is used as the hook to engage and the vehicle to educate young people. There is a clear intention to achieve a specific social outcome as a result of engaging in the sport, it is not sport for sports sake but sport for change.

Just over half of adults participating in active sport at least once every four weeks with mixed news for interest in the Olympic/Paralympic Games