The Committee, led by Sarah Owen MP, is currently examining community cohesion at a local and national level in the UK, seeking to understand best practice and ensure cohesion for the next generation.

Joining a session focusing on the power of sport to bring people together, Ali shared insights from programmes Youth Sport Trust has delivered, including:

• Breaking Boundaries, highlighting the importance of bringing organisations together who can reach and empower people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
• Unified Action, which gave young people a voice and helped them identify and drive change in their community.
• Birmingham Connect, which twinned schools across Birmingham to give more young people opportunities to mix with those from different backgrounds.
• Set for Success, which includes a social action element as part of a programme to build skills, and often sees young people prioritise community cohesion projects.
• Opening School Facilities, which demonstrated how the status of schools as trusted, civic institutions can help increase access and opportunities through sport.
• Multisport clubs, which can be part of enrichment provision and help more children try different sports to find one they like.

Ali shared the role sport can play in developing attitudes, beliefs and values which underpin children’s character. As a result, she explained, sport can be used in a deliberate way to help build cohesion, but this can also be developed through participation by giving young people to chance to learn about and understand each other.

To find out more, read the transcript of the evidence session or watch the session in full.