The government must reverse its decision to exclude swimming pools from its energy discount scheme or face nationwide closures this year, a group of leading bodies has warned.
Eight organisations, including UK Active and the Youth Sport Trust, alongside the Local Government Association, have issued an urgent plea for change, after the government kept leisure services out of its Energy Bill Discount Scheme when it launched a week ago.
“Today we make an urgent plea to the government not to take for granted the role and importance of sport, recreation, and physical activity in our country,” a joint statement read.
“The failure to identify bespoke support for the sector (and schools operating sports facilities) as part of the Energy Bills Discount Scheme [EBDS] will be the final straw for certain facilities and services – especially swimming provision – across the UK.
“Unless changed, communities will see the loss of essential local services, including swimming lessons for children, multi-sport offerings, mental health services, bespoke programmes for older citizens, ethnically diverse communities, and disabled people, and long-term health programmes including cancer rehabilitation and support for those with musculoskeletal conditions and type 2 diabetes. This will impact millions of people, of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds.”
The groups warn that, without change, there will be “facility closures on a national level across 2023, and these closures will damage further our national health, our NHS, and our economy”.
The organisations call on the government to reclassify swimming pools as “energy intensive” businesses, which would mean that they qualify for a discount on their energy bills as part of the EBDS, which runs from April 2023 to March 2024. The groups also request greater clarity from the government on what other support might be available for the leisure sector more broadly.
Warnings of a crisis in the leisure sector have sounded out since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when centres and pools were forced to close for months, losing vital revenue. Providers were then hit almost immediately by the energy crisis with costs rising by 150% last year in some instances. In 2021 Swim England estimated that 1,868 of the 4,336 public pools in England could be forced to close by 2030.
Beyond immediate problems lie longer term issues over public health and levels of physical activity, with the government still yet to publish a strategy for sport. In their open letter the eight organisations make a third request, that government publish a “plan for the growth” of the leisure sector, “aligning the proposed new Sports Strategy with the Spring Budget to … support the economic, health, educational and social wellbeing of the nation”.
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A government spokesperson said: “We know our grassroots sports facilities are contending with increases in running costs and we provided an £18bn package of support for organisations such as clubs, pools, leisure centres, schools, charities and businesses through the winter.
“We made £1bn available to ensure the survival of sports and leisure sectors during the pandemic.”
