Culture, Media, and Sport

Within Sports Management the effect of Government policy will have an effect on the way in which their work is carried out. New Labour’s vision for sport is contained within a document called ‘A Sporting Future for All’ published in 2000. It is not a policy but more a statement of intent. In this essay we will look at its purpose and what proposals the government have in tackling sport in this country. Furthermore, we will look at its strengths and weaknesses and consider whether it fits with the government’s wider social policy.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) produced the strategy known as “A Sporting Future for All”. They were formerly called the Department of National Heritage before Labour came into power in 1997. They are responsible for the arts, the National Lottery, tourism, libraries, museums and galleries, broadcasting, film, the music industry, press freedom and regulation, licensing, gambling and the historic environment. Their stated aim is to improve the quality of life for all through cultural and sporting activities and to support the pursuit of excellence and to champion the tourism, creative and leisure industries. Their vision is to extend excellence and improve access. To achieve this, they have developed four strategic priorities: Children and Young People, Communities, the Economy and Delivery. In order to achieve this they will devise and implement government policy (DCMS 2004 ).

A policy is a plan of action for tackling political issues. Simeon (1976 ) describes public policy as “a consequence of the political environment, values and ideologies, distribution of power, institutional frameworks, and of decision-making processes.” These strategies will be constructed by pol...

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...: http://www.socialexclusion.gov.uk/page.asp?id=407 [23-05-2005]

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Sports Development (2005) Rough Guides. Available from:

http://www.sportdevelopment.org.uk/html/sportfutureforall.html

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