ABSTRACT
Unemployment in the United Kingdom in the 1980s is dramatically higher than at any time in the preceding half century. Concurrent with the onset of high unemployment has been a change of emphasis in public sector leisure policies. Owing to the acuteness of the unemployment problem, there was impetus to initiate schemes at local level; lessons might be learned in due course from the national demonstration projects, but many local authorities, especially in inner urban areas. The chapter describes trends in unemployment in the UK and examines using sport as an illustration, the nature and extent of special leisure policies for the unemployed and the effectiveness of special provisions. Faced with the realities of under-used facilities, under-involvement in recreation by certain social groups, and underprivilege in terms of access to housing, employment, and community resources, a new policy thrust emerged. The unemployed people who attend do so mainly for social reasons, many of them coming along as a group.
