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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 play a big part in local employment and economic growth. They do MORE and create added-value by re-investing income generated into new programmes, services and facilities. That’s why they’re called “non-profits”.
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?
Every year we celebrate Seriously Social week to showcase the work of Charitable Trusts and Social Enterprises. Social media is filled with wonderful examples of how their #SeriouslySocial heart shines. But the information about the fantastic work Community Leisure UK members do day in, day out, still remains relevant all year round. 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.
Our Seriously
Social Pledge
Seriously Social About...
Health & Wellbeing
Seriously Social About...
the Community
Seriously Social About...
Inclusion
Seriously Social About...
Employment & Skills
Seriously Social About...
the Environment
Our Seriously Social Promise
Our sector’s Seriously Social promise sets out exactly how we can help the government achieve their key outcomes.
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 people-centred approach 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.
They are also committed to working with NHS and healthcare providers to improve referral routes and outcomes.
Find out how our members help save the state BILLIONS a year.
Not quite sure you understand Social Value – read the full methodology or check out the quick guide
87% of Community Leisure UK members
deliver physical activity referral programmes.
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.
97% of CLUK members offer specialised Health & Wellbeing programmes including cancer rehab, wellbeing referral programmes, falls prevention, cancer prehabilitation, rehabilitation after surgery, clinical treatment with preventative intervention, water-based therapeutic exercises and carers respite programmes.
A father’s journey of strength, recovery, and gratitude
High Life Highland
Cancer Rehab
High Life Highland
Wellbeing Referral Programme
Lincs Inspire
Falls Prevention
Inspiring Healthy Lifestyles
Cancer Prehabilitation
Everybody Health and Leisure
Rehabilitation After Surgery
Freedom Leisure
A gym, a pool and now GPs! Combing clinical treatment with preventative intervention under one roof. UK first!
Providing unpaid carers (approx. 180) opportunities to improve their physical health/mental wellbeing by participating in exercise, relaxation and nutrition sessions
Sessions support people with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions to participate in individually-tailored, water-based therapeutic exercises in friendly and supportive group classes.
Phil's Story
Barnsley Premier Leisure
Elizabeth's Story
Barnsley Premier Leisure
From a Walker to School Pick-Ups: Regaining Independence
Stride for Life - The Walking Group That Keeps Bill Moving Forward
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 organisations 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 with 158 local authorities across England, Wales and Scotland.
Our members support a community-centered approach to delivery via many avenues including:
Here’s just some examples:
SO Festival
Magna Vitae
Live Well Community Referral Scheme
Glasgow Life
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
Rivers Fitness a place for the whole community
Evesham Leisure Centre
David's story of moving to a new community
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.
98% of Charitable Trusts & Social Enterprises
offer concessionary rates
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:
Adult Disability Sports Session
Glasgow Life
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
Clare's Story
Tees Active
Leisure Focus partners with Windsor Wrestling Academy
Live Active's All-Ability Cycling
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, individualised profit maximisation.
Supporting local employment and local economic growth is at the heart of what our members do. Providing apprenticeships, volunteering opportunities, full-time and part-time employment – our members provide a thriving place to work.
Here’s just some examples of skills development:
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
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
Meet Murray and Cammy - Our Football Development Modern Apprentices
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 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 recognise the climate change emergency and have plans in place to support a greener future.
67% have undertaken carbon emission reduction work in the past 12 months
But it’s not just decarbonisation 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 more than 200 million visits every 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
Freedom Leisure - Seriously Social about the Environmental
How Nikki is Giving Forgotten Pool Items a Second Chance
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 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 huge.
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.
Find out how our members help save the state BILLIONS a year
Not quite sure you understand Social Value – read the full methodology or check out the quick guide
Seriously Social Stats
As part of the 2026 Seriously Social Campaign, Community Leisure UK surveyed its 91 members delivering public leisure and culture across England, Scotland & Wales.
67% of members responded to the general survey and 74% to our HR survey to provide these statistics.
Our members welcome over
200 million visitors
every year
Managing more than
1,700 facilities
Work with
158 local authorities
across England, Scotland and Wales
87% of members
offer Exercise Referral
56% of members
offer Dementia Friendly wellbeing programmes
97% of members
Offer specialised Health & Wellbeing Programmes
The majority deliver cardiac rehab, dementia friendly activities, physical activity referral, falls prevention, health walks, long-term condition, strength and balance and weight management programmes
65% of members
offer Cardiac Rehab programmes
90% Offer Volunteering Opportunities
Volunteering activity is very varied, including forest management, conservation, lifeguards, buddy support and teaching swimming
67% of our members
Offer Apprenticeships. 835 apprenticeships resulted in full-time employment in 2025/26
Proud to be above the national average on gender pay gap
(gender pay gap – 0.00% compared to 6.9%)
Employ more than 52,000 people
Invest more than £3m per year in training
Investing £500M employing local workforces
98% of our members
offer concessionary schemes
Concessionary schemes also cover older people, people on benefits, veterans, people on low income, carers, homeless people and emergency services
84% of our members
offer a concessionary scheme for children and young people
Our members support more people in areas of higher deprivation than the national average*
*Moving Communities Dashboard 2025
67% of our members
have undertaken carbon emission reduction work in the past 12 months
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