Open gyms first as we come out of lockdown & fund a Work Out to Help Out scheme
230,017 people signed this petition to the UK Parliament after it opened on 20 January 2021; it closed on 20 July 2021. The Government responded on 16 March 2021. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 22 March 2021.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Open gyms first as we come out of lockdown & fund a Work Out to Help Out scheme
We want the government to recognise the importance of gyms, health clubs, leisure centres and swimming pools in empowering people to look after their health and stay fit and for them to open first as we come out of lockdown.
We're also calling for government to fund a Work Out to Help Out scheme.
Gyms are an essential service in underpinning the health of the nation.
Activity levels fell dramatically during 2020 lockdowns, as people could not get to their gym to exercise safely.
The government opened pubs before gyms and spent £500m on the Eat Out to Help Out scheme which encouraged unhealthy behaviour in a health crisis.
The virus is more serious for people who are overweight and unfit. The focus this time must be on health and wellbeing and getting people active.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 16 March 2021. Its summary:
Sports & physical activity providers play a crucial role in supporting everyone to be active. We continue to work with our partners to encourage the usage of sports facilities when they open in April.
The opening 350 words of the 488-word response:
Sports and physical activity are crucial for our mental and physical health. The Chief Medical Officer is clear that being physically active is important to long-term health and crucial for keeping people healthy. That’s why we have continued to make sure that people can exercise throughout the national restrictions, and why we have ensured that grassroots and children’s sport is front of the queue when easing those restrictions.
On Monday 22 February, the Prime Minister announced a roadmap out of the current lockdown in England. The roadmap outlines four steps for easing restrictions. There will be a minimum of five weeks between each step: four weeks for the data to reflect changes in restrictions; followed by seven days’ notice of the restrictions to be eased. The Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Scientific Adviser have made clear that this will give adequate time to assess the impact of each step and reduce the risk of having to re-impose restrictions at a later date.
Step 2 will take place no earlier than 12 April and as part of this indoor leisure (including gyms, leisure centres and swimming pools) will reopen. Step 3 will take place no earlier than 17 May and, as part of this, exercise classes can resume. Tighter restrictions are required for indoor facilities such as gyms because we know transmission rates are higher indoors.
We do not intend to fund a Work Out to Help Out Scheme. Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support, which many sport clubs have benefited from. On top of wider economic support, the Government has announced a £100m support fund for local authority leisure centres to ensure these important facilities remain available once public health restrictions are lifted.
Sport England has also provided £220million directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres through this pandemic, via a range of funds including their £35million Community Emergency Fund. This sector support was recently boosted by an extra £50million to help grassroots sports clubs and organisations as part of Sport England’s new strategy Uniting the Movement.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 1,189, came from Bermondsey and Old Southwark.
229,846 of the signatures were from the UK and 171 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Bermondsey and Old Southwark | 1,189 |
| Salford and Eccles | 1,051 |
| Vauxhall | 1,030 |
| Poplar and Limehouse | 1,021 |
| Leeds Central | 961 |
| Edinburgh North and Leith | 951 |
| Bristol West | 925 |
| Manchester Central | 917 |
| Aberdeen South | 886 |
| Ealing Central and Acton | 876 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| London | 40,037 |
| South East | 31,621 |
| North West | 27,057 |
| West Midlands | 20,019 |
| East of England | 19,863 |
| Scotland | 18,944 |
| South West | 16,952 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 14,699 |
| East Midlands | 13,344 |
| North East | 6,827 |
| Wales | 6,392 |
| Northern Ireland | 5,535 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 22 March 2021. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/567492.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
f3e0b76b1c0bcc69… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.