ABSTRACT
For several decades government policy on sport in the United Kingdom has assumed sport to be an effective means of increasing participation in physical activity. Funding for sport has accordingly been directed to schemes intended to increase participation. Physical activity has also gained an increasingly prominent position in public health policy over the last 15 years, with recommended levels of activity. In policy terms, sport and physical activities have been separated in government. Furthermore, changes of government have led to short-term policy implementation and negated any longitudinal evaluation of policy implementation. This chapter traces the historical development of policy in physical activity and sport to argue for a more holistic policy framework in which to address the need for increased rates of participation in physical activity for health.
