To ask the Minister for Communities what agreed partnership arrangements have been made with the Public Health Agency to ensure there is no duplication of workload with SportNI and that PHA take responsibility for their statutory remit to get people active.

Responsibility for ensuring that the Public Health Agency fulfil their statutory remit to get people active is a matter for the Minister for Health in the first instance but there are clearly opportunities for publicly funded bodies such as Sport NI and the Public Health Agency to work collaboratively to ensure that people of all abilities can get active.

With regard to working collaboratively Sport NI and the Public Health Agency have a track record of working in partnership, including for example, on the development and implementation of the Wellbeing in Sport Action Plan 2019-25. That plan aims to ensure that there is a co-ordinated approach to improved mental health and wellbeing amongst people of all abilities who get involved in sport.

They have also worked on the development and delivery of the Active Living No Limits Action Plan which has delivered significant opportunities for disabled people to get active.

In addition, both organisations are statutory partners on the Community Planning Partnerships.

Moving forward I can confirm that Sport NI is committed, in its draft annual business plan, to working in partnership with other public bodies to increase participation levels and to delivering the new Strategy for Sport and Physical Activity.