Cultural and sporting opportunities have intrinsic value, and can inspire personal success, but to view them only this narrowly would be to fail to understand their true value. Organisations working in these fields are doing so much more. Our inquiry showcases some of the evidence that we received, demonstrating the impact of culture and sport on positive outcomes in health, education, criminal justice and urban regeneration.
But much of the excellent, life-changing work we heard about is on a precarious footing. The Government must recognise and harness social impact. Sports and culture must be better integrated within the work and policy objectives of the Department for Education, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the Ministry of Justice, to ensure that everyone can benefit from these opportunities. In the same way that sporting and cultural organisations see social impact as their core business, the Government should see sports and culture as a mainstream way of delivering their social policy goals.
The footprint of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport means it is in an excellent position to co-ordinate Government thinking in this area, including maximising the opportunities from forthcoming major cultural and sporting occasions.
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