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EFDS reports on disabled people's participation based on Sport England's APS7

Today the English Federation of Disability Sport provides a report regarding disabled people's participation in sport and physical activity. It builds on Sport England's Active People Survey 7 statistics revealed in December 2013.

Split in to two documents, the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) report provides more detailed information about once a week, once a month and non participation. It also looks at age, gender, impairment and the different sports that are most commonly played by disabled people.

The initial statistics released by Sport England showed a continued increase in once a week participation for disabled people. This means that at 18.5% it is now at the highest ever level for disabled people since measurement began in 2005.

Key findings in the EFDS report show that:

  • At 16.8 per cent disabled women’s participation is at its highest ever level, driving the overall increase in once a week participation
  • There has been a significant increase in once a week participation in disabled people aged 26 and older, in particular those aged 26-29 increasing from 30.4 per cent to 41.1 per cent
  • There has been a significant decrease in people with a visual impairment and a significant increase in people with a physical impairment taking part once a week compared to baseline measure in 2010/2011
  • Swimming continues to be the most popular sport for all impairment groups
  • Just over 7 in 10 people take part in no sport or physical activity in the last month
  • People with a sensory impairment (visual or hearing) are most likely to not have taken part in any sport in the last month

You can look at the Active People Survey data in more detail using the online tool ‘Active People Interactive’ allowing you to do your own searches within the data. Please note, this does not currently contain the Active People 7 data, but it will be added soon.

For further information about the Active People Survey please refer to the Sport England website