Forget world records for a moment, some stats you need to know
At the Paralympics personal bests, medal tallies and world records tend to hog the headlines. We take a look at facts and statistics that show the reality of trying to be active in England as a disabled person.
As an organisation Activity Alliance is committed to providing leading data and information regarding disabled people and their involvement in sport and physical activity.
Our Research and Insight team work to show the reality of trying to take part in sport and physical activity for disabled people. Our Annual Disability and Activity Survey 2023-24 is a primary source of insight for organisations working to achieve fairness for disabled people in sport and activity.
This year’s results showed disabled people are twice as likely to be inactive as non-disabled people, a disparity that has remained consistent since the first report was released five years ago.
43% of disabled people felt they have the chance to be as active as they desire, compared to 69% of non-disabled people. Six in ten (59%) said they rely on their benefits or financial assistance to be active. With around two-fifths (38%) of disabled people saying that a fear of their benefits or financial assistance being taken away prevents them from trying to be more active.
After the report was released in June, David Clarke OBE, Chief Executive of ParalympicsGB said:
"We know being active has so many benefits from health, mental wellbeing, strengthening friendships to community involvement.
"Disabled people continue to feel that they have less chance to be active compared to their nondisabled counterparts. Whilst we wave the flag for the ParalympicsGB team at the Paralympic Games we must also wave the flag for every disabled person in the UK, removing barriers to participation in sport and physical activity and creating thriving inclusive activity provision across the country."
Some other key findings included:
- Disabled people are most likely to say they prefer being active in outdoor spaces like parks, countryside, or woodland compared to other locations. Less than half (44%) of disabled people say it’s easy for them to physically access outdoor spaces (vs 78% of non-disabled people).
- Disabled people are significantly less likely to report high satisfaction with their life, happiness and feelings of worthwhileness compared to non-disabled people.
- Among those who said they feel lonely sometimes, often, or always, two-thirds agreed that being active could help them feel less lonely (66%).
- Disabled people are less than half as likely to ‘see people like them’ playing, working, and volunteering in sport and physical activity.
Visit our Annual Survey page to download the executive summary of key findings and to view accessible communication formats. There, you will find a summary of key findings in easy read format and a BSL translation video.
Conducting research
A newly created charter, co-created with disabled people, highlights best practice for conducting research.
With these guiding principles all research participants should be proud of their role and know that your work has made a difference. Feel comfortable, confident and accepted as an equal part of our team as well as grow, learn, and benefit from taking part.
The charter guarantees that Activity Alliance will conduct research that has impact and meaning, is collaborative and inclusive. It also states ways in which the charity will communicate with those involved in research projects.
You can find an easy read version of the charter on the Activity Alliance website. A BSL version can be found on the Activity Alliance YouTube channel.
