The three charities join over 120 organisations that Sport England has partnered with this year, chosen for their influence and ability to level up access to sport and physical activity across England and create system-wide change. 

Sport England’s Active Lives survey shows that over half of disabled people are inactive – compared to a third of people without a disability. The body’s research also shows almost half (40 per cent) of those living with a disability or long-term health condition feel they have experienced a negative impact on their ability to get active, due to the cost-of-living crisis. 

Totalling £6.5m of National Lottery and government funding, the awards come at a particularly challenging time for disabled people. The pandemic disproportionately affected disabled people, and the cost-of-living crisis is likely to as well. 

Mencap, a UK charity for people with learning disabilities, has been awarded £2.7m. The funding will help the organisation improve access to physical activity and will increase its presence in multiple locations across England. It will also create resources and networks to showcase learning, develop best practices and advocate for change. 

Special Olympics GB uses sport to empower children and adults with an intellectual disability. Sport England has awarded the charity £1.5m to help ensure that it continues to deliver innovation and inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities.

The charity Sense supports children and adults living with complex disabilities in the UK. £2.2m has been awarded to the charity to enable it to help more people with complex disabilities to become active in their local communities. This will be achieved by expanding their offer of sport and physical activity into more regions in England, as well as upskilling and supporting care staff and sports providers to provide accessible and inclusive physical activity sessions. 

The new partners are part of the next stage of Sport England’s new approach to long-term partnerships, launched earlier this year. The updated funding model provides funding for up to five years, providing the financial security needed for partners to deliver Uniting the Movement, helping to transform lives and communities through sport and physical activity. 

“We know that engagement in sport and physical activity is low for people with a learning disability, with 43 per cent engaging in less than 30 minutes of activity a week. They also face inequalities across all areas of their lives: and are more likely to be living in poverty, less likely to be employed and more likely to be isolated and lonely,” said Alison Pike, director of communities & programmes at Mencap.

“The Sport England funding will help us support more people to be active in their community: as participants, volunteers and leaders, and ultimately improve the lives of people with a learning disability through sport. We want to build sustainable communities that empower people with a learning disability across England to be active for life.”