Local Authorities and the Implementation of Sport Policy

Local authorities in the United Kingdom are key providers of sport and recreation opportunities and therefore important contributors to the implementation of sport policy. However, these services are non-statutory (not required by law), in addition to which the policy landscape is constantly changing according to the preferences of the current national government. As a result, individual local authorities have had to move with the times, adapting their delivery models in order to maintain the provision of sport and recreation at a local level. This chapter thus explores how local authority provision has changed in recent decades, focusing on how sport policy and other external influences such as austerity measures and the Covid-19 pandemic have shaped and reshaped service provision. The impacts of successive governments are considered, illustrating the often stark differences in attitude and approach as well as the similarities. The chapter closes by considering the challenges facing local authorities as implementers of sport policy in an uncertain future.