StreetGames, the youth sport charity, was set up because disadvantaged young people have fewer chances to play sports than their more affluent peers. Participation in health-enhancing sport is profoundly skewed by socioeconomic status: our poorest teenagers play sport at half the rate of those from more prosperous backgrounds, and this inequality is neither inevitable nor justifiable. StreetGames advocates taking sport to the doorstep of disadvantaged young people and has enjoyed cross-party support since its launch in 2007. Since then, StreetGames has won prestigious awards for its impact. The 2012-2017 Department of Culture, Media and Sport strategy, 'Creating a Sporting Habit for Life', opened up the opportunity for StreetGames to create 1,000 new Doorstep Sport Clubs in disadvantaged areas. Already, 307 are up and running.But, the benefits go well beyond physical fitness. Sustained participation in sport impacts physical health, mental wellbeing, social connectedness, community safety, resilience and even job prospects. The health economic value of sport in England has been calculated at £11.2 billion per annum.1How do we know it's working? Sport England's Active People Survey measures participation in sport among people aged 14 years and above across England. It has been conducted quarterly in every local authority in England since 2005; 165,000 took part in the latest survey. In December 2013, 10 months into StreetGames' Doorstep Sport Club initiative, the Active People Survey reported that 51,100 more 16- to 25-year-olds from the lowest socioeconomic group were taking part, compared with six months previously - an increase of 4.5%. There was no overall increase reported among 16- to 25-year-olds from other socioeconomic groups.Even more encouragingly, the increase was recorded for both males and females. Young women growing up in disadvantaged areas face a 'double whammy', as poverty often reduces their chances by half, and their gender opportunities even further. StreetGames' highly successful 'Us Girls' programme, winner of the 2013 BIG Lottery Sports Project of the Year Award, has helped 33,000 young women participate regularly in sport since 2011.In 2012, building on the success of 'Us Girls', the charity partnered with the Department of Health to launch 'Us Girls Alive', a spin-offfrom the women-only sports programme, which addresses wider lifestyle and wellbeing issues. It does this by training women as volunteer health champions, able to support their friends and peers with healthy lifestyle choices. Social networks are an important part of the mix. Groups of young women, including the trained health champions, meet regularly for social as well as sporting activities two or three times each month.Ever conscious that risk factors for the burden of non-communicable diseases in adulthood are frequently initiated in adolescence, StreetGames helped to found the national Young People's Health Partnership. The partnership is led by the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS) and includes Addaction, the Association for Young People's Health, Brook, CLIC Sargent, StreetGames and Youth Access. With a broad collective reach and influence, the Partnership is a national champion for young people's health and wellbeing. It is currently influencing services, giving young people a much-needed voice and an opportunity to participate in health and wellbeing policy.StreetGames' commitment to training and supporting its volunteer workforce is the key to creating a sustainable and cost-effective solution to tackling health inequalities. Already accredited to deliver Level 1 and 2 qualifications in sport, the charity has recently added the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) Health Improvement Awards to its offer. This means that young volunteers not only gain vital skills in group management, sports organisation and community development, but they can also now add health promotion and supporting behaviour change to their toolbox. …