ABSTRACT
Given the scale of its involvement in sport, the significance of local government to sport policy should be difficult to overlook. Local government spending represents just over two-thirds of the total public funding for sport in England corresponding, in 2005, to an approximate £1.4bn annual spend on facilities and other services (Carter 2005a). A survey conducted in 1999 by Sport England (1999b, cited in Audit Commission 2002) estimated that over 80 million visits were made annually to the 1,600 indoor and outdoor sport facilities owned or operated by local authorities in England.
