COMMITTEE FOR HEALTH, SOCIAL SERVICES AND PUBLIC SAFETY

Inquiry into Obesity

30 April 2009

Members present for all or part of the proceedings:

Mrs Michelle O’Neill (Deputy Chairperson)
Dr Kieran Deeny
Mr Alex Easton
Mr Tommy Gallagher
Mr Sam Gardiner
Mrs Carmel Hanna
Mrs Claire McGill
Ms Sue Ramsey

Witnesses:

Professor Eamonn McCartan ) Sport Northern Ireland
Mr John News

The Deputy Chairperson (Mrs O’Neill):

I welcome Professor Eamonn McCartan, the chief executive of Sport NI, and Mr John News, the participation manager of Sport NI.

Professor Eamonn McCartan (Sport Northern Ireland):

It is an honour and a privilege to be invited to the Committee. It is the second time that we have attended. When we were last here, the subject matter was the Committee’s inquiry into the prevention of suicide and self-harm. Today’s subject is obesity, the tackling of which has an important role in society. John News is one of our senior managers, and, in collaboration with officials from the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL), officially has been responsible for Sport Matters, which is the strategy for sport and physical recreation in Northern Ireland. Members will know that the comprehensive definition of sport requires physical activity and physical recreation.

We hope that, as we become more experienced in presentations to the Committee, we will become more interactive. We have provided the Committee with a copy of our information, and one could build another Assembly with the amount of research on obesity that has been carried out around the world. I am content that you are familiar with the research findings and with the tsunami of obesity that has engulfed the developed world and the western world.

With your permission, I shall provide an overview of how we intend to make our presentation. The purpose of the presentation is to provide a brief introduction to the role of Sport Northern Ireland. You have all the research, and you know the basic energy equation. If a person takes in more energy than they expire, the energy has to stay somewhere, and, in the case of middle-aged men such as me, it generally goes on the tummy, and we get a little bit heavier. Nonetheless, it is a huge problem for an individual’s health and for the health of society. The problem must be tackled if we are to have fit and healthy individuals and, therefore, a fit and healthy society.

I wish to talk about how, and explore the ways in which, sport and physical activity can help. I ask you to park some of your traditional views on sport. There is a traditional framework for sport as it is seen on television, but sport is a much more expansive and expanded sector than simply competitive sport. One need only go to Shaw’s Bridge on a summer’s evening to see people walking for two or three miles out to the Drum Bridge and back. People walk through Barnett Demesne. There are various forms of physical activity, and it is that element of sport on which I shall focus.

Towards the end of the presentation, I shall repeat the evidence that you have already received from other people about how obesity levels are increasing in young people, middle-aged people and old people and how that impacts on their quality of life and on the cost of health provision, which eats into limited resources.

Central to the vision of sport for Northern Ireland is the aspiration to have fit and healthy people who are capable and competent and enjoying a high quality of life, therefore contributing to, and not being a burden on, society. It aims to promote a culture of lifelong enjoyment and success in sport and physical activity that contributes to a peaceful, fair and prosperous society.

We have several important strategic objectives. We aim to increase participation in sport, physical activity and physical recreation. We aim to improve performance in sport, and we aim to do so through a managerial style that is effective and efficient. Through sport and physical activity, we are trying to improve the quality of life of individuals in Northern Ireland so that they have a better physical and emotional quality of life and so that, as a better person, they are more capable of contributing to a healthier and more positive society in which individuals are fit, confident and competent people. Many factors contribute to that fit, competent and healthy individual, one of which is physical activity. I will hand over to my colleague to answer this question: why should Government act?

Mr John News (Sport Northern Ireland):

The answer to that is contained in the quotations that we have highlighted in our written submission. The first is from the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1996, and the second is a more recent statement by England’s Chief Medical Officer in 2005. It is not our intention today, as Eamonn said, to go over all the evidence. We can see the evidence on the streets, in the schools and in the shopping centres. It is all around us; we can see that people are increasingly overweight or obese.

We believe, as the Committee does, that it is not just a problem for the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. The fact that representatives from Sport NI are here today and that we are increasing our investment in physical activity programmes underscores our belief that we have a role to play in finding a solution. One of our concerns is that, if we do not act quickly, the problem will simply get bigger. That is why we are saying that Government must act now. The longer we delay, the more it will cost in future and the bigger the problem will be when we finally decide to act. We are working on the basis of the adage that prevention is better than cure.

The Committee’s time is limited, so we will not retrace the history of obesity in the public-sector policymaking processes. In our submission, we show how, even in the past six or seven years, the challenge of obesity for public-sector policymakers has become embedded in the process. It is about bringing the 2002 Investing for Health strategy up to date with the obesity prevention steering group, which the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety convened in 2008. There is a consensus among policymakers that we all must act.

The challenge, as we see it, is that partnership working will be crucial to that action and its implementation. Partnership is an easy word to articulate. It is easy for us to represent partnerships on organisational charts, but the real challenge is to make partnerships happen. It is about how people make decisions and investments that complement one another. That is the biggest challenge. It is not about convincing people of the need to act but making sure that we all act in concert towards the same set of objectives.

Eamonn mentioned Sport Matters, the draft strategy for sport and physical recreation. That document attempts to move away from strategy to implementation. The challenge is to take the actions off the paper and put them into practice. Sport NI suggests that there are two different settings for priority action. The first is about policy, and Eamonn will cover some of those points.

Professor McCartan:

Undoubtedly, members, it is an a priori fact that obesity exists in the western world and here in Northern Ireland. All empirical evidence shows that it is on the rise. If we all accept that fact, it is time that we began to prioritise some actions. At a policy level, Sport NI advocates the formation of a clear, accountable, physical strategy by the Northern Ireland Executive, which would sign it off and set targets and tasks for Departments.

Mr News:

We are conscious that we need to give the Committee examples. We do not want to leave members with words on a page. One in four children is overweight or obese. Although the inquiry into obesity is being held by the Committee for Health, Social Services and Public Safety, why, when we talk about translating departmental targets into action, do we not set targets for schools to reduce the percentage of children and young people who are overweight or obese? Schools can measure, monitor and act on that. We can suggest to them how to go about that.

It could be: two hours of PE for every child; two hours of extra-curricular physical activity for every child; ensuring that there is community access to school facilities in the evening; and GPs prescribing physical activity rather than expecting people to make that choice for themselves. The Government must work to ensure that there is a culture of physical activity and that it is accessible and a default position.

Professor McCartan:

You will have heard that we argued that all Departments, in a cross-departmental fashion, should take responsibility for that. In doing so, we contest that that would promote not only a cultural change but a societal, structural and organisational change at a societal level and an individual level.

The policies and the evidence are there. Where in the world have other people got on with it? We are advocating that we in Northern Ireland get on with tackling the problem of obesity. There are policy examples from other countries, one of which is very close. The Scottish Government recognised that obesity in Scotland was rising at a disproportionately higher rate than the rest of the United Kingdom, so they developed a physical activity strategy on a cross-departmental basis and set aside £24 million over three years.

One of the big difficulties that we associate with partnerships is: who will take the lead? Quite often, people are content to sit around the table in partnership as long as nobody is leading. The Scottish Government said that they needed a leadership group, so they appointed sportscotland to work in an Active Schools network and to be responsible for increasing physical activity among young people in schools in Scotland. The Government held sportscotland responsible, gave it a level of resources and tasked it to undertake the work over three years.

There is the capacity in Northern Ireland. The problem is the same, but we now need to move from policy to practice and from policy to implementation. A lead group should be identified — whatever it may be — and it should take responsibility for addressing obesity in various categories — for example, young people, teenagers, people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, and so forth.

Mr News:

If we are to address the problem, all those sectors must sing from the same hymn sheet. District councils have responsibility for the community planning process, and they have a power of well-being and a responsibility to ensure the health and well-being of ratepayers in district council areas. The education sector is developing area-based plans and considering synergies between the schools estate and access to the schools estate by local communities. The health sector is seeking to develop health-based plans.

Why cannot physical activity be a common theme that will run through each of those area plans? The last thing that we need is three sets of plans pulling in three separate directions. We need to ensure that sectors work together to organise physical activities to combat the rise in obesity. We must ensure that sports coaches can work in schools and that teachers understand what GP referral schemes are doing. Our health professionals must understand what is happening in the sports sector and the education sector. As Eamonn said, that means that we must have one organisation — a group of people — coming together to share that information and make the investment decisions together.

Professor McCartan:

We are in a fortunate position in Northern Ireland, because Sport NI and others have developed programmes that clearly address the issue of obesity through the principle of increased physical activity. Obesity occurs when the energy taken in is in excess to the energy going out. Over the past few years, we have identified programmes to cater for various sectors. We have several target group areas, which include: activities in relation to play; people who drop out of participation in physical activity and physical recreation; the more traditional sedentary population; and, as I get older myself, older people. We have had considerable success in those target groups.

Mr News:

Departments are sometimes averse to investing in high-risk projects. Sport Northern Ireland is a development agency, and we see it as part of our remit to take those risks and to invest in areas in which there has, perhaps, not been a track record of investment. Many of our investments in recent years have been evidence-inspired, because we can see that there is a problem, and we believe that we can make a difference.

More adults need to be involved in physical activity. However, the way to achieve that is to take a long-term view, so we need to make sure that children and young people have the skills and competencies to be able to be involved in sport and physical activity. Young people need to be physically active and to go on the family weekend cycle ride. Young people learn those skills in a family setting and in a school setting, where all children spend the first 16 years of their lives, and, importantly, in a preschool setting.

That is why we recognise the importance of play. Over the past four years, we have invested a significant amount of our resources in PlayBoard, and together we have involved 4,000 children and young people under the age of eight in the physical activity programmes. Much more importantly in our view with regard to sustainability, 332 play workers are now trained and competent in using physical activity programmes. That is the legacy.

Play workers are not the only people who have an influence on children and young people. The single most important influence on children is, perhaps, their role models and those they see around them. Those are their peers and their parents. That is why one of the dropout points that we identified in much of our research has been among post-natal mothers and young mothers in particular.

We invested in a project in the upper Springfield area of west Belfast and into parts of north Belfast in which, through 10 community centres, 100 young mothers aged 16 to 35 have been involved in post-natal physical activity programmes. Crèches are provided so that mothers and their children are not separated. Although one might think that those are just babies, toddlers also go along to those classes. They watch their mothers being active and enjoying physical activity and see that as a positive and enriching experience.

We have investments in Derry City Council in partnership with health action zones in the north-west, where we have engaged with more than 100 GP referrals. Rather than prescribing very expensive obesity drugs, the GP sector in the north-west is prescribing exercise in local leisure centres. We have produced several publications in recent years that highlight those developments in non-traditional settings.

Professor McCartan:

The last time that we appeared before the Committee, we briefed you on the benefits of physical exercise and activity for mild depression. GP referrals can address some of the barriers that prevent people who are not particularly active, who are overweight and who have an issue with their body image from exercising. No one in their right mind who falls into that state wants to go to an aerobics class where they will stick out among people who are neat, trim and fit. Therefore, that one interaction with a GP, who sends patients to a sports hall or leisure centre where they are mentored, encouraged and can see direct progress, provides them with a pathway to health and fitness. We believe that that approach will become more widespread in the next five to 10 years.

We all know that we have leisure centres, and we all know that they are open and that people can go to them. However, that of itself is not the answer. People need a pathway, encouragement, direction and mentoring. That can be done, particularly for those social groups that cannot see the benefits of physical activity and exercise.

Mr News:

There are projects for older people, which we describe as nifty-fifty projects. I must say that that uses the World Health Organization’s definition of older people rather than our own.

Professor McCartan:

When John briefed me this morning, I reminded him that I am over 50 years of age. [Laughter.]

Mr News:

I am treading on thin ice.

Rates of physical activity participation show a big drop-off among older people. One way to improve the quality of life of older people is to increase their social networks. We should give older people more opportunities to interact with their peers and prevent them from being alienated from society.

We have an investment with Craigavon Borough Council, which runs physical activity programmes across three leisure centres in Lurgan, Portadown and Craigavon. We have heard stories that that project has engaged older men and given them more opportunities to meet their peers. As a result, they have discussed other health problems such as prostate cancer and subjects that they would not otherwise have ever discussed in their social groupings. There are also opportunities for women to be involved in physical activity programmes, and there are 220 participants in the project in the Craigavon area.

The way forward is to make isolated examples of good practice more mainstream, and we must find a way to meet that challenge. How do we make examples of good practice the norm? How do we create the culture of enjoyment that is envisaged in the strategy?

Professor McCartan:

It is a question of what we do next: how do we turn the evidence-inspired policy into practice? We want people to be more physically active as individuals, with their families, in school, in work and in communities; thereby, we will get an active and healthy society. The Committee should have cognisance of the need for the physical activity strategy to be promoted, developed, encouraged and implemented by a lead agency.

There is empirical evidence that obesity is on the rise and that it is a major cost to our health and our health provision. The UK Government’s Foresight programme predicts that nearly 60% of the UK population will be obese by 2050, and the direct cost of obesity is £10 billion a year. Only 32% of the UK population meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended levels of physical activity; therefore, almost 70% do not meet those levels.

Mr News:

One in four children in Northern Ireland is overweight or obese. It is a startling figure that 70% of us are not physically active enough. There is talk of swine flu and pandemics, but more than 2,000 people in Northern Ireland will die this year as a result of physical inactivity.

Professor McCartan:

There is resounding empirical scientific evidence that obesity is on the rise, and the variables that contribute to obesity are well known. The policy has been developed in places such as America, Scotland and Finland, and it could be developed quite speedily in Northern Ireland. The next trick is the move from policy to practical action. A delivery agency needs to provide single leadership. We cited the example of the Scottish Government granting £24 million over three years to sportscotland to address obesity in school. Such measures need to be implemented in Northern Ireland.

The Deputy Chairperson:

Thank you for your presentation. You talked about a lead agency, and there is no doubt that sport improves the quality of life for everyone and that early intervention is vital in creating a culture of active participation in sport and leisure. You also talked about physical education and targeting young people in school, but physical education is often pushed to one side by an emphasis on literacy and numeracy strategies and other educational strategies. There is a great deal of work to be done on that issue. The Committee intends to discuss physical education with the Department of Education (DE) next week.

I know that Sport NI was to have been the lead organisation in rolling out the DCAL strategy for sport and physical recreation. The strategy was put out for consultation last year, but it has still not been implemented. What effect will the strategy have when it is finally introduced?

Professor McCartan:

The strategy will have a significant effect in increasing participation in sport and in increasing the physical activity of our young people, although not only of our young people. Properly resourced and implemented, it will go some way to addressing obesity levels. However, it will not of itself address the problem of obesity, as resources will be spread among other issues. Responsibility for publishing the strategy lies with others, not with us.

The Deputy Chairperson:

Do you know why it has been delayed?

Professor McCartan:

That is a matter for the Committee.

Dr Deeny:

I could not agree with the witnesses more. The Committee has discussed obesity many times; it is a societal problem. The danger with societal problems is that they become medicalised and are attributed to problems with health. I enjoyed your proactive and enthusiastic presentation. I am a GP. If we are serious about tackling obesity, we must increase our activity rates. I was interested to hear you talk about what you are doing in Derry city; I was aware of GPs prescribing exercise programmes for appropriate patients in Belfast but nowhere else. Therefore, it is good to hear that similar programmes are being carried out in Derry. I hope — indeed expect — that such GP prescription will be the future for all medical practices. That is what must be done.

I wanted to ask you about the extent of your involvement with the Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA) and the various local authorities. I would like what is being done in Derry city to be replicated in Omagh or in Fermanagh and elsewhere in the North.

You said that some people are so conscious of their body image that they are reluctant to go into leisure centres. However, do you see a role for private health clubs, for example, in working with statutory bodies to address the problem of obesity?

Last week, on the radio and in the media, there was talk about the £8 million that has been spent over the past three years on drugs that doctors prescribed for those who are morbidly obese. We have to prescribe such drugs to people whose obesity places their lives in danger. I heard an individual on the radio say — quite disgracefully — that obesity drugs should not be funded at all, even though people’s lives are at risk.

However, prescribing drugs for obesity is a short-term solution; we need a long-sighted approach, which is where the prescribing of exercise comes in. I held a surgery this morning, although no one attended who was obese; they were all asking about swine flu. There are times when one would like to be able to prescribe exercise.

You talked about the lead group, which was interesting. A similar scheme has been established in Scotland. Who do you think should be the lead group? It will obviously have to be a group with a bit of clout that will be able to enforce certain measures. I am pretty certain that it is only a recommendation that schools should provide two hours of PE each week. I do not think that that is being carried out in many schools because they are placing too much emphasis on other subjects. That should become law, no matter what schools’ priorities may be as regards academic achievement. They must make sure that their population take exercise, particularly as they spend so much time in front of computers. It should not be simply recommended; it should be compulsory.

You are involved at council level, and you are very enthusiastic, so do think that you should be the lead group? Who should be given the money and the clout to say to councils and schools — with the backup of this Committee and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety — that that is what should happen with our young people?

Professor McCartan:

You made four or five points, and we will try to address them all. If we miss any, you can come back to us.

I will begin with the issue of physical activity in schools and the amount of time that is set aside for it. There has been a fundamental change in our lifestyles: we have moved from being an active society to a sedentary society. That is fairly obvious to us all. We used to do things manually, but we now have machines, cars and buses. We tend to be less active than we were previously.

We have one of two options: either to take in fewer calories or to do more exercise. In the past, we exercised by playing in the street and going for walks, runs, and so forth. That is becoming increasingly difficult for young people. Schools are one place in which safe, structured and innovative physical activity can be delivered. You are quite right to identify two hours of PE each week being a guideline. Some schools do it very well, and others do not do it very well at all. There is also best practice in England, where there is a two-plus-two strategy. That is yet to be implemented in our schools. Our younger children are not getting that opportunity to participate.

We want our younger children to be literate in maths and English, but there is no mention of their being physically literate in relation to their lifelong skills and competencies of keeping themselves healthy and fit for purpose. What we are trying to advocate — particularly in our schools — is the concept of physical literacy. Although games may be involved, it is not about competitive games; it is about developing young people’s physically literate skills of running, jumping, throwing, landing, rolling and participation in fun physical activities that will encourage them and demonstrate to them the benefits of physical activity and exercise.

That is an issue that we have to address with those who are in charge of education. In our opinion, we have to increase the level and opportunities for our young people in schools through physical education. We have to improve the quality of the delivery of physical education.

Mr News:

You asked about working with district councils and NILGA. In the past two or three years, our relationship, and the way in which we work, with district councils has been strengthened. In the past 12 months, we have been conscious of the changes that are on the horizon in relation to the restructuring of local government and the move to 11 district councils.

In October 2008, Sport NI announced a major investment to increase participation in physical activity programmes. Over the next five years, £15 million will be invested in the Active Communities programme, the purpose of which is to reduce some of the health inequalities that are the result of low rates of participation. Active Communities is not about traditional games or sporting activities. District councils will be given money to develop the appropriate partnerships in those consortia areas.

We have asked each of the 11 consortia to submit implementation plans to us. We are receiving some innovative plans in which district councils are working alongside education and library boards to develop physical literacy skills, play programmes, nifty-fifty programmes, targeting sedentary populations, health action zones and neighbourhood renewal partnership areas across Northern Ireland. There are some sport-specific ideas, but we are also receiving more enquiries about physical activity leaders.

The settings are important; not everyone wants to go to a council-owned leisure centre, but neither can everyone afford to go to a private health club or leisure centre. The health inequalities across Northern Ireland show a definite correlation between socio-economic status and participation in sport and physical activity. We are trying to encourage people to use the rich natural environment. We want more people walking along the towpath in Belfast or using our parks and the Northern Ireland countryside. Although the traffic on the roads is increasing, we still have a rich network of country roads and minor roads on which people can walk or cycle. We are trying to encourage greater use of the Mournes and the Fermanagh lakelands for non-traditional activities.

Professor McCartan:

The review of public administration will provide new structures in Northern Ireland, particularly for our local authorities and district councils. A central tenet of the review is community planning. Sport Northern Ireland can take the lead role in the development of a physical activity strategy in partnership with the district councils and their agents. In that way, we can establish the major objectives, key performance indicators and a level of accountability as has been experienced in Scotland.

The Deputy Chairperson:

I remind members that we have only 15 minutes left in this evidence session, and four members want to ask questions. Please keep your questions and answers succinct.

Ms S Ramsey:

I have a load of questions, but I will go through them quickly.

The good thing about the Committee’s inquiry is that we can make recommendations to other Departments and Ministers. Some of the issues that have been raised are cross-departmental in nature. I am not as confident on the issue of local councils as they sit at the moment. I agree that change will occur as a result of the restructuring of the councils, but quality is the cornerstone. The provision of play areas is a big issue in my area, so I am conscious that, although Sport NI is giving them £15 million, the councils are off the hook when it comes to providing play facilities in some areas.

I agree with you; your written and oral presentations send out a clear message that Departments have not had a joined-up approach to the issue. We can see that in the conflicts about the extended schools programme and whether it is the responsibility of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, the Department of Education or the Department for Social Development. Addressing the lack of play spaces and leisure facilities will cost money. The issue of planning is missing, and it must play a key role. It seems to be easy to get planning permission for a fast-food outlet, a pub or a club in disadvantaged areas. We must also challenge the fast-food mindset and easy access to such outlets.

We can tie some of those issues into the cutbacks in DCAL’s budget — money that is being taken away because of the 2012 Olympics. That has a negative impact on communities here. Your submission states that people have easy access to the wrong food; what does that statement mean in the context of advertising at sporting events? How do you judge which companies advertise at sporting events? Fast-food outlets advertise prominently at some of those events. By the way, your presentation was useful.

Professor McCartan:

I will try to address all those issues; however, if I do not, let me know.

You asked about planning and fast food. Although this is anecdotal, I saw a report on the news last week in which a local authority closed down a kebab shop because of its proximity to a post-primary school. That seemed an eminently sensible move, because, although the school was trying to provide high-quality low-fat food, the children were buying the fast food.

Ms S Ramsey:

Will you provide details about that?

Professor McCartan:

The shop was closed down. I will obtain the details; I do not have that with me. Planning is important and is addressed in Sport Matters.

Mr News:

Sport Matters recognises the need to plan an environment that is conducive to physical activity. In many modern buildings, an escalator is the first mode of transport that greets people. Architects who design buildings should place stairs at the forefront rather than the escalator.

On a more serious note, when planning permission is issued for new housing developments, the situation should be avoided in which ball games are not allowed on green spaces. Play facilities should be placed on those green spaces at the heart of the community, where parents know that their children can play safely. We should build cycle paths to allow people to cycle, rather than take the car, into the town centre. We must ensure that we have a public transport infrastructure, through which people can take a bus to the train station and carry their bike on the train. In the long term, those decisions will create a situation whereby society, by default, encourages a culture of physical activity.

Physical activity should not be considered a bolt-on; we must plan for such a society now, because it will be cheaper in the long run. If we bring that notion to the school setting, we need to ensure that, in planning our schools estate, school facilities are accessible to the community. We need to create an access point to the school — one that does not entail opening the whole facility — through which adults and children can use the school facilities. There are technical solutions to all those issues. However, we must step back and draw breath before we put pen to paper and realise our aims. We want to create one set of facilities on a shared estate that can be used by everybody and that encourages them to be more physically active.

Professor McCartan:

The power of advertising is massive, particularly on young people. Ms Ramsey is correct; advertisers recognise the strength of sport and sporting events, and, therefore, they want to be associated with major events such as the FA Cup final, the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final, the Heineken Cup, and so on.

The relationship among sponsors, advertisers, event organisers and governing bodies has been successful. For example, the Gaelic Athletic Association has a strong view on the advertising of alcohol and will move to alcohol-free sponsorship in the next couple of years. Sport NI has a direct relationship with the Belfast city marathon. Although Coca-Cola sponsors that event, all parties to it, including Belfast City Council, have encouraged the sponsor to use Deep RiverRock — which, as we know, is water — to promote the event, because we perceive the consumption of water to be more healthy than the over-consumption of fizzy drinks.

Sport will have to address that huge issue. The marketeers and advertisers see a direct connection between major sporting events and their target markets. They buy the events and the advertising, and they promote their products. Sport has become conscious of that, and it has become conscious of its own social responsibility. I hope that alternative ways will be found to do that in the years ahead.

There has been a reduction in lottery funding because of the 2012 Olympics, and that has affected funding for Sport Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Assembly has given £53 million for the creation of elite facilities. Although a reduction in funding is always sad, we are glad to have been given £53 million, which, we hope, will see much-needed facilities being built right around Northern Ireland to meet the sporting and local needs of the community.

Mr Gallagher:

My points relate to physical education and the school curriculum, which we have touched on before. First, what is taught in PE lessons? It is not enough simply to provide football. When children leave school, about 10% or 15% of them will continue to play football. Children must be exposed to a range of activities in school so that, if they discover that they get enjoyment and satisfaction out of playing badminton, dancing, swimming or whatever, those experiences are provided at that stage.

Secondly, there is the issue of a minimum of two hours a week for PE. I agree that there should be an absolute minimum of two hours a week for physical activity for children because it will be an important aspect for the rest of their lives. There are 25 hours in the school week, and the Department of Education, or those who advise the Department, tell us that, at Key Stage 3, pupils must have access to 24 subject areas. Clearly, that has a negative effect on having two hours of physical education available for young people.

My views on that would take about three hours to explain, so I will condense them. It is nonsense to believe that we can educate children in 24 subjects over 25 hours a week. The end result is that they will have experienced a whole lot of everything but they will have learned very little about key areas. However, the report will be based on all our submissions and evidence sessions, which is why I return to those two areas — the minimum amount of time necessary for physical education and the quality of the physical education programme provided in schools.

Professor McCartan:

Mr Gallagher’s comments are exceptionally consistent with our own. We believe that two issues must be addressed in relation to the quantity of physical education in schools. We are strong advocates for the provision of two hours during the curriculum time and two hours post-curriculum time. Above all, we are keen, and we are committed to the quality of physical education. It is incumbent on those who are tasked with, and have the privilege of, teaching physical education that they do so for all children, not just the talented. They must expose children to all the physically literate skills and competencies required not only to play sport but to carry out a worthwhile role in society. Dexterity and fitness are important for pupils who take up manual jobs.

Sport Northern Ireland strongly supports the concept that there must be an increase in the quantity of physical education. However, of itself, quantity will not be beneficial without an improvement in quality. We all know and can relay examples; for instance, my wife managed to avoid physical education for the bulk of her seven years at post-primary school. She proudly boasts that she did it only twice. [Laughter.] One must ask why that is the case. It can only be that sport was not presented to her in an attractive and inclusive manner. Therefore, if she did not like competitive games such as football or camogie, there were no alternatives. There is an absolute host of alternatives.

A prime example of how to succeed in a non-keen, non-competitive sport is Dawson Stelfox. He was a smallish build at school, and he did not play rugby, hockey or cricket. He merely went on to become the first Irishman to climb Mount Everest and the first British man to climb Everest by the east route. Sport is fortunate to have a range of physical activities that can attract and develop skills and competencies, wherever they lie, in individuals in our schools. Therefore, we support the provision of two hours of physical education every week.

Mr News:

I will add to what Eamonn said in relation to two hours of PE. If we do not know how much PE every child receives, the adage that I heard recently applies: no data, no problem, no action. We must measure how much PE is taught in our schools. The evidence that we have seen recently leaves no doubt that, where the PE curriculum is delivered well, it is delivered exceptionally well. Primary-school teachers are some of the most resourceful people in this part of the world. Their integration of various subjects into a school day is one way in which we envisage achieving a culture of lifelong enjoyment of sport and physical activity.

Sport Northern Ireland recently did some work with education and library boards, during which a new resource called Activ8 was introduced, which members may have seen on television a few weeks ago. Activ8 gives teachers a resource that encourages children to be physically active for 60 minutes each day, in line with the Chief Medical Officer’s recommendations. However, it does so in a way that is part and parcel of the school day by providing examples of how to build sport and physical activity into numeracy lessons, how to encourage children to write about their weekend physical activity, thus helping the literacy curriculum, and how to encourage pupils to be aware of the world around them and to contribute as active citizens. There are innovative ways in which physical activity can be built into the curriculum. It does not have to be about two hours of ring-fenced PE each day. The key is 60 minutes’ physical activity every day, and two hours of physical education a week is part and parcel of that overall programme.

A challenge for us is to ensure that the message does not become too convoluted for those working in education, health or sports that they confuse 60 minutes, two hours, seven times a week, five times a week and five pieces of fruit a day. There must be a clear, simple, consistent message about how to make physical activity the default position.

Professor McCartan:

What was your adage about a lack of data?

Mr News:

No data, no problem, no action.

Mr Gardiner:

Thank you very much for your presentation. Professor McCartan, you mentioned Craigavon, and I declare an interest as a member of Craigavon Borough Council. I was pleased that you did mention it, because the council has three leisure centres, and Banbridge — which is in my constituency — also has one. However, the real issue is not about the facilities themselves but in getting people to use them. For example, Craigavon has the only artificial ski slope in Northern Ireland, yet some people do not know that it exists. Craigavon also has some of the finest walks around the shores of Lough Neagh, and water skiing is available there and on the Craigavon lakes.

I want more of a concentration at school level. We must bring those children on and get them to use those facilities. What representation has Sport NI made to the schools to sell your wares or to tell them about some of the things that they can do to keep themselves active and fit?

Professor McCartan:

Craigavon has a tremendous set of facilities: indoor, outdoor and natural. Furthermore, Craigavon was very fortunate to have an excellent sports development officer in the shape of John News, who developed a good sports development strategy before coming to Sport NI. I congratulate the work of Craigavon —

Mr Gardiner:

He was properly trained then? [Laughter.]

Professor McCartan:

He certainly received very good training.

Mr Gardiner:

Lurgan Park, the largest park in Northern Ireland, also won a green flag award in 2008.

Professor McCartan:

It did indeed.

The problem that you identified regarding the use of leisure centres is not one that is restricted to Craigavon but is experienced across Northern Ireland. For sports development to succeed, each district council must have a robust sports development strategy, and those strategies succeed best where they are people-focused rather than facility-focused. There is a need for facilities, but the “build and they will come” philosophy of sports development, which was prominent in the 1970s and 1980s, has now been replaced with a philosophy of “build and provide development officers, and they will come and multiply”.

You also — quite rightly — touched on the issue of schools, with which there must be a crucial relationship. Indeed, we are trying to establish a strategy through Youth Sport where there is a relationship between schools, communities and sports clubs, and an iterative interaction with schools and clubs using community facilities. We encourage that, and, in our community planning under the RPA, we have asked the new authorities to take a slightly different approach. Our recommendation is that they continue to invest in facilities but that they also combine that with a strong and robust sports development plan, bringing the three key elements of school, community and club into an interface with them.

In that area, we have made representations to the Bain Review and the Department of Education with respect to facility provision. Our view is that there should be one public sporting estate as opposed to a local authority estate and an educational estate, because of the limited capital capacity. Sport NI contends that, if we can think smart, we can build a school facility that can be used by the school during the day and by the community in the evenings or at weekends.

I am originally from west Belfast, and one of the grammar schools there, in which I taught, has four grass pitches, a running track, a dust football pitch, a swimming pool and two handball courts, yet those facilities were closed during the summer, Christmas and Easter holidays. It would seem sensible that, if we are going to plan the development and use of our estate, we do so in the context of a holistic front and examine community and educational uses. In planning for the future, it is possible to plan facilities that can meet the needs of both, but that will require more investment in educational facilities, because the Department of Education currently builds facilities according to its green book. Although those facilities may be ideal for primary-school children or post-primary schoolchildren, they are not ideal for grown adults. Broadly speaking, an additional investment would be required to make them so, and we are trying to work with the Department of Education on that. Sport Northern Ireland has a significant level of capital funds available for over the next 10 years that, if combined with help from DE, could cater for the needs of schools and the community. That would stop the regrettable underuse of facilities that you correctly identified.

Mr Gardiner:

You did not tell me how you will communicate with the schoolchildren to encourage them to become involved.

Mr News:

Part of the Activ8 programme that was launched recently involved increasing the awareness, through publications, of primary schoolchildren and their parents of the Web-based resource, www.activeplacesni.net. Over the past few years, Sport NI has undertaken an extensive data-gathering exercise. To identify the exact location of all the recreation facilities, we contacted and worked with all district councils, private sports clubs, governing bodies of sport, private providers and the education sector. We have now mapped that information to a Web-based geographic information system (GIS). A child or parent can go to the website, type in their address or postcode, and the resource brings up a list of all the available facilities in their area. People being aware of where the facilities exist is at least a start. The next step is to assess the quality of the facilities.

We engage with schools by working closely with each of the education and library boards and the inter-board physical education panel to consider opportunities for engaging with children and young people. However, as we are aware that the PE curriculum must also be delivered, we are also assessing its quality. One of the actions identified in the draft strategy for sport relates to teacher education. I mentioned that some of the most resourceful people in this country are primary-school teachers. However, they leave their initial teacher training without the skills, competence and confidence needed to deliver PE training because they have not specialised in it. One of our fundamental tasks is to examine that initial teacher training. Teachers can take various bolt-on continuing professional development (CPD) courses to develop their skills, competence and confidence, thereby enabling them to build physical activity into the school day. While continuing to specialise in geography, mathematics, English or whatever their subject happens to be, we can provide ongoing remedial work. We must determine where the challenge lies and consider a review of initial teacher education.

That is how we engage with schools and support our colleagues. We invest in the five education and library boards to help them to support teachers, and we provide resources for teachers and schools.

Professor McCartan:

On that point, we hope that, by 2012, 100,000 additional primary schoolchildren will be participating in sport through the Activ8 programme. If the Committee deems it worthwhile, we will leave the relevant information with you to consider.

The Deputy Chairperson:

I am conscious that we are behind schedule, but two members still want to ask questions. Do you need to leave, or are you OK for time?

Professor McCartan:

We are OK.

Mrs Hanna:

I will be brief. Good afternoon, Eamonn and John. You are most welcome, and thank you for your presentation.

Much has been said about trying to prevent children from becoming overweight and good programmes. However, it seems to be a case of ensuring that the programmes are implemented. You talked about physical literacy and said that children are skipping, running and jumping. You also mentioned that it is important to make exercise fun, so that children want to continue with it when they get home from school.

You referred to the lack of leadership. We must figure out who should be tasked with delivering the programmes. The Committee will hear from educators next week, when we can put the same questions to them. You said that Scotland is slightly ahead of us. Has Scotland managed to task a specific person or group to take on that leadership role to ensure that physical activity takes place in all schools? It seems that much good work is being done and many good programmes exist but that they are not being rolled out in all schools. Who will intervene at the early stages to prevent obesity in young children? I know that we have to pick up the pieces in respect of some children, but we need to try to prevent it happening in young children.

Professor McCartan:

When we were preparing for the evidence session, I reminded my colleagues about old-fashioned quality control. I used to teach business studies, and, in old-fashioned quality control, we went through the manufacturing process, looked at our product, and, if it was not up to standard, we threw it out. There was no prevention involved in the process, and there were no interventions along the way to put the problem right. Therefore, we advocate the early-years approach that you talk about, including skills for life, where we develop physical literacy — that is, running, throwing, jumping, landing, understanding the need to eat healthily, understanding the need to eat five pieces of fruit a day and to include fibre in their diet, as well as understanding the need to have sleep.

You said that it is crucial to have fun. People sometimes forget to have fun when they are participating in physical activity and leisure. People tend to repeat the things that they enjoy, which is why some of us eat too much or drink too much. Therefore, it is important to get the healthy lifestyle issue instilled into our young people, not just during their primary or post-primary years but for their whole lives. We need to develop a knowledge and understanding of the benefits of physical activity and not expose children at an early age to competitive team games. We are opposed to the exposure of very young children to competitive team games, because it quickly divides them into children who can play them and those who cannot, and the children who can play them will continue to play them for the rest of their playing lives, and those who cannot play them will be exiled to the side to stand in the cold and the wet. We are very much opposed to that.

Leadership is required, but, in Northern Ireland, we tend to work in partnership. As John said earlier: no data, no problem, no action. An issue that arises with partnership is the lack of action, because everyone is involved, yet no one is involved. Therefore, I like the idea of getting an organisation to be held responsible for taking the lead, albeit it will work with other partners in execution and implementation, but, ultimately, it will be held responsible. In Sport Northern Ireland, we are willing to take on that responsibility. If there is someone better to do that job, that is fine, but we are willing to take it on and to be held responsible in the same way as sportscotland is in Scotland.

Mrs Hanna:

Is it working in Scotland?

Mr News:

It has worked in Scotland as a catalyst for action. Sportscotland put the resources into schools, and the money came from the health budget. As a result of that action in schools, principals have seen a step change in the attitudes of parents and pupils. Some years ago, Tessa Jowell talked about tackling the “poverty of aspiration”, and principals have reported that pupils and parents in the communities that they serve now want something better, and they are making more proactive choices.

There was an earlier question about planning and fast-food outlets. The Active Schools programme is about adopting a whole-school approach. It is not simply about saying that we have to ensure that every child must have two hours of physical activity or physical education. It looks at the diet and nutrition of school meals and the roads infrastructure around schools. There is an exclusion zone for cars around schools at drop-off times in the morning and at pick-up times in the afternoon. Bike sheds have been installed, and all the broken windows have been fixed. Representatives went to local councils and said that they did not want any fast-food outlets licensed within 200 yards of the school gates. They said that they wanted to make water available free of charge to all their pupils, and they distributed water bottles to them.

Therefore, it was a whole-school approach. It was about changing lifestyles, and it has delivered dividends. That happened because there was leadership, resources were invested, someone was made accountable, but the accountability was for others to act as well. Therefore, the school, the local council and health and social services board had to take action. It was about joining that up and saying that that organisation — in this case, sportscotland — was accountable for the success.

Mrs McGill:

I have listened to everyone’s contributions and responses. Although schools and education play an exceptionally important role in tackling obesity, there is more to it than that. All the blame cannot be levelled at the door of schools.

I was looking at the priorities for action and the implementation plan in your submission. I repeat — and I have a reason for saying this — what happens in schools and the role played by the Department of Education is critical. Sport NI also has a vital role to play. You suggest that every child should get an additional two hours of, presumably after-school, extra-curricular sport and physical activity. How will that be achieved in rural areas such as mine? I would like you to be able tell us that Sport NI will step in to assist in some way. Perhaps it will, and, if so, I would welcome its contribution.

You also suggest that all newly qualified teachers should have the necessary training to deliver physical activity programmes in schools. How would that work? You have made that a priority for action and implementation. Have you spoken to the Department of Education? If you consider it to be a key priority, I would have thought that you would have dealt with it before the Committee began its inquiry into obesity.

I apologise for not being brief, but I ask that your answers be brief.

Professor McCartan:

I shall try my best to answer the member’s questions as briefly as possible. We have spoken to the Department of Education with respect to teacher training, and it has accepted, and will implement, our proposal.

Mrs McGill:

Will that apply to all primary and post-primary teachers? What did you recommend?

Mr News:

In the draft Northern Ireland strategy for sport and physical recreation, there is a table entitled “Key Steps to Success”. Those implementation suggestions are eight out of 100 key steps to success, so you are absolutely right to say that schools are not the only answer. However, those key steps to success have come about as a result of positive engagement with all Departments, particularly the Department of Education.

The Department of Education and the education sector recognise that reviewing initial teacher education is a key issue in delivering the high-level target of halting the rise in obesity in Northern Ireland by 2013. Therefore, they are signed up to implementing that proposal. The next challenge is to make it happen. For instance, when will the Department of Education undertake the review of initial teacher education? Several hours a year are already set aside in teachers’ initial teacher training to educate them about physical activity and physical education. We should step back and consider what teachers are actually trained to do in those hours. It may be that the content of that training must be changed, or we might have to increase — from six hours to eight hours per annum — the amount of training that teachers receive in physical education. It is about what we do and how we do it, and the Department of Education is signed up to that.

Professor McCartan:

The policy and principle have been agreed, but the implementation has yet to be worked out. All new teachers will receive that initial training.

I will try to answer the second point about Active Schools. We all have to work smart to get the biggest bang for our buck. There are four sectors that we must address if we —

Mrs McGill:

I am sorry, Chairperson. I was asking whether Sport NI would have a role in promoting the two hours of extra-curricular sport and physical activity that it mentions as one of its implementation priorities. I am not sure whether the following priority, which is to establish a network of Active Schools, is the same thing.

Mr News:

The short answer is yes. Many of the investments that we have made over the past number of years in governing bodies of sports, community and voluntary organisations and district councils have been about trying to put a network of people in place to help to deliver that two hours of extra-curricular activity and make use of the £15 million that was earmarked for the Active Communities programme. That programme is not about delivering the PE curriculum; we are clearly focused on the opportunities for one million participants that can be delivered through that programme over the next five years. Approximately 100,000 people will be involved in that extra-curricular programme: some of that number will be children and young people; and some will come from the other under-represented groups that we mentioned earlier — older people, women, people with disabilities and people who live in rural areas.

The Deputy Chairperson:

Thank you very much, gentlemen. The session has been very informative and will help our inquiry to move forward.

Professor McCartan:

Thank you. I wish the inquiry well.