ABSTRACT
In the UK, in the 1970s and early 1980s, government expenditure on sport expanded considerably. The rationale for this increased expenditure was that sport made a considerable contribution to local communities in welfare terms. Following the publication of the White Paper on Sport and Recreation (Department of the Environment, 1975), it was established that sport should be regarded as part of the general fabric of the social services. Most of this additional expenditure was made by local government on indoor sports centres and swimming pools. In 1971, there were 12 indoor sports centres and 440 swimming pools in Britain. By 1981, there were 461 indoor sports centres and 964 swimming pools (Gratton and Taylor, 1991). This growth in expenditure came to an end in the mid-1980s with the public expenditure cuts of the then Conservative government.
