Campaign run by: 
Charitable Trusts and Social Enterprises are a seriously social bunch when it comes to public leisure and culture
They are a key part of the social economy, supporting people above profit for social good and connecting communities – helping people to become healthier, happier and more creative, regardless of age or ability.
They manage all sorts of facilities and services, both big and small, including everything from pools to golf courses, libraries to falls prevention services and walk programmes to pre and post-cancer support.
And they all have one thing in common…
Putting people above profit!
But how many of you know they’re not private sector businesses or the Local Authority?
In May 2024 we launched the first ever Seriously Social week to celebrate the work of Charitable Trust and Social Enterprises. It was a great success, showcasing the brilliant work of charities across the UK when it comes to delivery of public leisure and culture. But the information about the fantastic work Community Leisure UK members do day in, day out, still remains relevant. You can find all the information about how our members impact health & wellbeing, the community, inclusion, employment and skills and the environment on this dedicated website. Or visit Community Leisure UK to find out more about Charitable Trusts and Social Enterprises.
Day 1:
Seriously Social –
Putting People Above Profit
Day 2:
Seriously Social About...
Health & Wellbeing
Day 3:
Seriously Social About...
the Community
Day 4:
Seriously Social About...
Inclusion
Day 5:
Seriously Social About...
Employment & Skills
Day 6:
Seriously Social About...
the Environment
The Seriously Social Pledge
We’re launching Seriously Social with a pledge for the next Government, explaining just how we’ll support them in the coming years and how, with further support, our members could do even more social good.
Ahead of the next General Election we’re urging the next Government to support the work of our members delivering public leisure and culture as a Charitable Trust or Social Enterprise.
As part of the pledge, we’re explaining how we can support the next UK Government with and what support our sector needs in return to deliver even more social good.
Seriously Social About...
Health and Wellbeing
We all know that good health and wellbeing are fundamental to the quality of our lives and increase life expectancy.
Tackling health inequalities, reducing the financial burden on the NHS through preventative and rehabilitation services, improving whole community health and taking a person-centred approach to health is the core of what Charitable Trusts and Social Enterprises delivering public leisure and culture do.
Collectively Community Leisure UK’s 100+ members contribution to Health and Wellbeing has a huge Social Value and saving to the state and the health service. Find out how our members help save the state £893 MILLION a year.
They are also committed to working with NHS and healthcare providers to improve referral routes and outcomes.
86% of Community Leisure UK members
Deliver physical activity referral programmes.
Source Community Leisure UK Members Survey 2024
Every day our members deliver programmes that support people with cardiovascular disease, cancer, weight issues, type two diabetes, older people at risk of falling, mental health and muscular skeletal pain, to name just a few.
Infact, more than 50% of Community Leisure UK members offer cardiac rehabilitation, dementia friendly activities, health walks, weight management, social prescribing, cancer rehab programmes and adult mental health as standard.
But numbers don’t tell the whole story. Our members develop unique programmes to meet community health needs. Here’s just some examples.
Stand Tall – Supporting Young People with Anxiety and mental Health Issues
Everybody Health and Leisure
Wellbeing Referral Programme
Lincs Inspire
Falls Prevention
Inspiring Healthy Lifestyles
Cancer Prehabilitation
Everybody Health and Leisure
Escape Pain
GLL
Rehabilitation After Surgery
Freedom Leisure
Seriously Social About...
The Community
A community-centred approach to health and wellbeing starts at the very top in Charitable Trusts and Social Enterprises with the Board of Trustees comprised of local people and politicians. Involving and empowering communities is at the front of our members’ thinking.
And that’s just the start of how our members connect with communities. They routinely work alongside community groups, healthcare professionals, local businesses and other charitable organizations to create social good.
A healthy relationship with their Local Authority is also key, supporting them to achieve their outcomes. Community Leisure UK members work more than 170 Local Authorities across the UK.
62% of Community Leisure UK members
Provided warm spaces in the past year & 75% provided holiday food and activity programmes
Source Community Leisure UK Members Survey 2024
Our members support a community-centered approach to delivery via many avenues including:
Here’s just some examples:
Fun Fit Families – Getting all the family fit and healthy with exercise and healthy eating
Live Active
Feel Good For Life – Reducing social isolation amongst older people
Halo Leisure
Community Stories
GLL
Co-creation with Communities
Vision Redbridge
Changing Lives Through Sport
Leisure & Culture Dundee
Healthy Communities
Freedom Leisure
Seriously Social About...
Inclusion
Valuing people’s differences and ensuring everyone is treated equally and supported in their community is part of the DNA of our members.
Charitable Trusts and Social Enterprises delivering public leisure and culture services meet the needs of the entire community, not just the select few. People who are socially excluded or face barriers to participation, including poverty, disability or geography often have poorer health outcomes.
As charities and social enterprises, Community Leisure UK members are driven by social justice, often working to support the most excluded or vulnerable people. Many programmes are free to attend, and paid for services are often subsidised for those who need them most.
94% of Charitable Trusts & Social Enterprises
Offer concessionary rates
Source Community Leisure UK Members Survey 2024
Community Leisure UK, and our members, are committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion and condemn discrimination and racism in all forms. Inclusive workspaces for employees, safe spaces for all and bespoke programmes for vulnerable and minority groups are all part of the modus operandi for our members.
Here’s just some examples:
Supported Internship for young individuals with learning difficulties and additional needs
Active Tameside
Arts for Wellbeing
Pendle Leisure Trust
Bikes without Barriers – Accessible cycling for all
Active Stirling
Knockout – Proud to provide inclusive spaces that play host to many LGBTQ+ sports clubs every week
GLL
Seriously Social About...
Employment & Skills
Our members are committed to the creation of pathways into employment and developing new skills including through apprenticeship programmes and volunteering.
Meaningful employment, being part of a company committed to doing good, and enhanced economic stability, plays a huge part in the health and wellbeing of communities and individuals.
Employment and skills are a key determinant of the health of individuals and communities. Dedication to needs-based, public benefit purpose can drive the social economy as well as, or better than, individualized profit maximization.
85% of Charitable Trusts & Social Enterprises
offer volunteering opportunities, with more than 17,500 people volunteering in 2023 alone
Source Community Leisure UK Members Survey 2024
Source Community Leisure UK Members Survey 2024
The skills development offered by our members includes adult education, music tuition, a huge range of sports and creative classes. As a key life skill, swimming is taught across public pools across the country with over 33,000 schools using our members pools for swimming lessons, with swimming lessons delivered to more than 2.8 million children (roughly the population of Greater Manchester) in 2023.
Here’s just some examples:
Be Leaf and Wood B – Supporting adults with learning disabilities with training, confidence building and employment
Awen Cultural Trust
Start up Bromley – How Libraries have supported Start Up Businesses in Bromley
GLL
Disability Confident Employer
Sheffield City Trust
80 Years Young and Still Teaching Swimming
Lincs Inspire
Supported Internship for young individuals with learning difficulties and additional needs
Active Tameside
Volunteering reducing social isolation, and as a route into employment
Rossendale
Seriously Social About...
The Environment
We are in a climate and biodiversity emergency. Charitable Trusts and Social Enterprises play an important role in contributing to local climate change targets because they are driven by social justice with the public as their stakeholder.
This social ethos includes supporting local communities in responding to and adapting to the climate change emergency. Public leisure and culture buildings tend to have a large carbon footprint and therefore should not be left out of local ambitions.
Community Leisure UK members are serious about this responsibility. They all recognize the climate change emergency and have plans in place to support a greener future.
73% of Community Leisure UK members
Have undertaken carbon emission reduction work over the past year
Source Community Leisure UK Members Survey 2024
But it’s not just decarbonization and sustainable facilities where our members play a key role. Many of our members manage parks, open spaces and even nature reserves and woodlands, acting as careful caretakers to enhance, manage and improve green spaces to restore biodiversity and create spaces for communities to enjoy.
Public leisure and culture reach millions of people each year and can use their voice and influence to create change. Collectively, the Community Leisure UK membership receives over 209 million visits per year. Physical activity, culture and creativity brings people together and creates a space and opportunity for people to discuss and see alternative futures.
Here’s just some examples:
Carbon reduction projects
South Downs
Sustainability Strategy
Vision Redbridge
Enhancing the environment, reducing social isolation through volunteering
Fusion Lifestyle
Installation of solar panels on the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome of Wales
Newport Live in collaboration with Newport City Council
Seriously Social...
In Numbers
Helen Keller, U.S. author and disability rights advocate once wrote – “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” And when you add up the social good delivered by our members, from their visits alone, it adds up to a LOT !
Geographically spread across England, Wales and Scotland, Community Leisure UK’s 100+ members contribution to social good is HUGE! But it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Currently, this data is collected from visits alone. If volunteering, apprenticeships and local employment were added, it would be beyond big. That’s one of the reasons why we’re urging the next Government to include putting social value at the heart of commissioning – see our Seriously Social Pledge.
Working with partners at 4Global, using the Social Value Calculator developed by Sheffield Hallam University and data from Moving Communities the data below represents a collective effort, by the Community Leisure UK group of Charitable Trusts & Social Enterprises, committed to helping individuals and communities, not because it makes them money but because it’s the right thing to do. Wales and Scotland figures have been based on available England Social Value modelling.
Seriously Social Stats
As part of our Seriously Social Campaign, Community Leisure UK surveyed 113 members. The following information is based on a 68% response rate from the Community Leisure UK membership and annual figures based on the calendar year 2023.
Our members welcome
209 million visitors
every year.
Managing more than
2300 facilities
530 leisure centres (wet and dry side), 556 cultural facilities, and 690 green spaces
Work with
169 local authorities
across England, Scotland and Wales
Over the last year
73% of members
have undertaken carbon emission reduction work
86% of members
deliver physical activity referral programmes
70% of members
offer strength and balance programmes for people over 50
More than 50%
offer cardiac rehab, dementia friendly activities, health walks, weight management, social prescribing, cancer rehab programmes and adult mental health
67% of members
provide cardiac rehabilitation programmes
£620 million
is invested by our members every year to employ more than 41,000 people
56% of members
offer apprenticeships
85% of members
Provided volunteer opportunities for 17,560 people in the past year
Over 2.8 million children
learned to swim through our members classes in 2023
58,854 adults
learned how to swim in the past year
Over 33,500 schools
delivered school swimming programmes in our members’ facilities last year
94% of our members
offer concessionary rates
Over two thirds provide concessionary rates for older people, children and young people, carers, disabled people, people on benefits, or those working for the organisation.
62% of members
provided warm spaces in the past year
more than 100,000 community groups
Were welcomed into our members’ facilities, including sports, drama, reading, singing and faith groups.
75% of our members
provided holiday food and activity programmes in the past year
Find out more about the Charitable Trust model
By visiting the Community Leisure UK website
Contact Us
Community Leisure UK is the No1 members association for Charitable Trusts and Social Enterprises delivering public leisure and culture in the UK. This is our Seriously Social Campaign page but you can find out more about what we do:
Visit our website:
communityleisureuk.org.
Or email:
contact@communityleisureuk.org