Business In Sport and Leisure (BISL), the umbrella organisation for the sport, leisure and hospitality industry, is calling for more government funding for leisure-related Private Finance Initiative (PFI) schemes.

The organisation made the appeal in a paper released earlier this week called Activating the Market – The Contribution of Leisure PFI and PPP [Public-Private Partnerships] to Driving and Sustaining an Increase in Participation.

Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of BISL, said: “For far too long we have allowed our sports facilities, particularly those owned by local authorities where the majority of leisure time is spent, to go downhill through lack of capital and revenue investment.

“It is widely accepted that some £10bn is now needed to create the modern, attractive facilities that can grow participation.”

BISL wants the government to undertake an audit of the national leisure stock, as a prelude to developing a national facilities strategy, which can be presented to local authorities with “the carrot of increased funding”.

The organisation also recommends an increase in the PFI credits available to the DCMS.

Simmonds continued: “Over the past 10 years, PPP and PFI schemes in partnership with the private sector have proved that they can increase participation, reduce revenue costs and create investment over a period of up to 25 years.

“This is due to an intimate melding of the design and management elements of such leisure facilities and longer contracts, which offer financial certainty and service guarantees for local authorities, through provision of mechanisms for financial penalties and inclusion of life-cycle and maintenance costs.”