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<p><del class="ministerial">Government’s strategy ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy
for An Active Nation’ and Sport England’s strategy ‘Towards an Active Nation’ highlight
the importance of focusing on groups that are particularly unlikely to take part in
sport and physical activity, such as women and girls and some Black and Minority Ethnic
(BAME) groups. It places a clear emphasis on putting the customer first and there
are some innovative programmes to encourage female and BAME participation in sport,
such as the This Girl Can Swim campaign.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">But
as the Government’s sport strategy makes clear, participation is not just about playing
sport, and the "Sports Governance Code", launched in October 2016, seeks
to ensure the very highest standards of governance across all sport bodies that receive
public money, including in terms of diversity, and aims to help the sport sector to
be more inclusive and welcoming to all. If sports bodies do not adhere to the code
and cannot demonstrate full commitment to becoming compliant with its requirements
they will not be eligible to receive public funding</del>.</p><p> </p><ins class="ministerial">Through
its London 2012 legacy programme, Places People Play, Sport England invested a total
of £2,225,541 in 13 grassroots sports projects in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell.
This included an investment of £1.5m of National Lottery money in the Portway Lifestyle
Centre in Sandwell which opened in 2013. Portway Lifestyle Centre is an excellent
example of a community wellness hub, and one of the first in the UK to bring social
care, health and leisure services together under one roof, combining an NHS family
practice with a range of health, social care and sports facilities.</ins> <ins class="ministerial">Birmingham
has bid for the Commonwealth Games in 2022 and, should the bid be successful, the
Sandwell Aquatics Centre would be upgraded to include an iconic diving venue and community
facility. This would provide a legacy for the local community, catering for everyone
from beginner swimmers through to elite divers, with the provision of much needed
facilities within the Black Country and West Midlands.</ins>
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