The World financial climate has now eclipsed the environment, global warming and Barack Obama's ‘coronation'. The biggest losers so far are, it seems, the bankers (who arguably deserve it for putting us all in the sh**) and builders.

On the face of it, the public and third sectors appear relatively safe. However, as the recession bites, some local authorities have lost millions or ‘had assets frozen in Iceland'. Planners were early casualties as the construction industry slowed down and discretionary services (sport, the arts etc.) are almost always in the firing line.

No corner of the UK is immune. In 2008, Northern Ireland announced minimum 3% cuts in staff and administration and 5% cuts in services for the next three years and the Welsh Assembly declared an 'unprecedented' £500m public service budget cut in 2010.

The silver lining may be that there is more need than at any point since the mid-1980s for sport and cultural services to play their part alleviating the impact of the downturn; assisting people to retain self-esteem, to stay fit, holding communities together and supporting retraining and skills development initiatives.

So how do we ensure that sport, leisure and culture still get its fair share of the pie?

Proving (not just talking about) the value of sport is more important than ever. Love it or hate it, Active People simply does not supply sufficient ammunition to defend your corner. The industry needs locally valid evidence of its value; intrinsic and cross-cutting. The CAA process is a great opportunity to make the case for ‘quality of life' services. If we don't, we face death by a thousand cuts - a process that will, in classic vicious circle style, further weaken our capacity to ‘make a compelling case'.

For more information, visit our Performance Management page