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The Sports Council for Wales is the national organisation responsible for developing and promoting sport and active lifestyles. It is the main adviser on sporting matters to the Welsh Assembly Government and is responsible for distributing funds from the National Lottery to sport in Wales. .

The Council fully subscribes to the Welsh Assembly Government’s vision for a physically active and sporting nation, as outlined in its strategy document ‘Climbing Higher’. Its main focus is to increase the frequency of participation by persuading those who are currently sedentary to become more active and to encourage people, young and old, to develop a portfolio of activities through which to achieve healthy levels of activity.

The themes of the Council’s work are:

Active young people
Active communities — developing people and places
Developing performance and excellence

The Council has a Chair (Mr Philip Carling), Vice-Chair (Dr Laura McAllister) and 9 other members, who come from a wide range of backgrounds. They are appointed for three-year terms by the Welsh Assembly Government.

The Council has an overall total of 183 employees, based within four regions and including two national centres owned by the Council.

Cardiff (Head & South East Office) - 91 employees
Deeside Office (North East) - 2 employees
Carmarthen Office (South West) - 5 employees
Caernarfon Office (North West) - 3 employees
Plas Menai National Watersports Centre, Caernarfon - 20 employees
Welsh Institute of Sport, Cardiff - 62 employees

In early 2005, the Minister for Culture, Welsh Language and Sport published the Assembly Government’s sport and physical activity strategy, ‘Climbing Higher’. To support ‘Climbing Higher’, the Sports Council for Wales has published a ‘Framework for the Development of Sport and Physical Activity’. This document will underpin the Minister’s vision and set out how the Sports Council for Wales will work to deliver his aspirations. We will work even more closely with Government and other partners to develop innovative and evidence-based approaches to building an active Wales.

The Framework commits the Sports Council for Wales to a shift from grants management to sports development through the marketing of physical activity, advocacy for sport and innovation in programme development. In particular, supporting people through training and supporting organisations with development and evaluation of good practice .