Some things are fantastically obvious, but politicians just nod and very little changes | Adrian Chiles

WAfter his life in politics, Charles Clarke, the former Labor Cabinet minister, published a book called The ‘Too Difficult’ Box, which explores the problems that politicians never tackle because they are simply too difficult are: drug policy, welfare reform, sex work and so on. I’d like to introduce a companion book titled Policy Issues That Are Fantastically Obvious with Fantastically Obvious Solutions that everyone appreciates but somehow never gets fixed. The idea came to me on Tuesday night while I was giving a short speech at a House of Lords event.

This was the release of the Chilean Webster-Batson Commission Report on Sport and Low-Income Neighborhoods. Webster is broadcaster and activist Charlie Webster; Batson is Brendon Batson, seminal footballer and happens to be one of my childhood heroes. Growing up in Sheffield and Walthamstow, east London respectively, Charlie and Brendon have strong personal experiences of the importance of sport in low-income communities.

The commission has spent more than two years speaking to hundreds of academics, young people and countless workers and volunteers to scrape together the meager money they need to run all the small organizations and projects that, like our mantra for the Commission means offering young people somewhere to go, something to do and someone you can trust.

You may be wondering what my name does on the Commission because, unlike Charlie and Brendon, I grew up in a relatively affluent area with many sporting and recreational opportunities. I was never short of places to turn, things to do, and people to trust. But that’s the point. As one of the main findings of the report puts it: “Lack of access to sport and lower participation in sport are two inequalities faced by children and youth living in low-income communities.” It also emphasizes that physical and mental health problems in these Areas are larger than in more affluent communities, which is why they particularly need the lack of sports and leisure opportunities.

I have to admit that I was discouraged, almost bored, very early on after hearing extensively about the work of these (to use the jargon) locally trusted organizations. The story was always the same: everyone obviously did amazing things by providing places and jobs for children and teenagers. And the results were measurably positive in all areas. You name it: physical and mental health, discipline, crime, education and so on. And all those in charge told the same story about what got in their way: worrying about where the next dime would come from and all the damn time they had to spend filling out endless application forms for the paltry grants they survive on . Pathetically small sums that save thousands and possibly millions in the long run.

I honestly think everyone from Jacob Rees-Mogg to Mick Lynch would nod to that. And yet hardly anything changes. Probably because everyone already knows the truth of all this: It’s incredibly difficult to get people excited about the topic. Writing about it in the Guardian, I felt it had all been heard before. And even when such brilliant work has been done on the subject, I have that uncomfortable feeling of “it was always like that” shrug that lingers everywhere.

It was all so frustratingly obvious that I’m afraid I pretty much decided against it. So when it came to launch this week, it felt like a real scam. Jane Ashworth, one of the Commission’s administrators, who had seen little skin or hair from me for two years, was kind enough to let me off the hook. “Don’t worry,” she said. “You came, got it right away, realized it was all bloody obvious, and kind of lost the will to live. No problem. Just think of those of us who have driven it around the house a dozen times already.”

point taken.

Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, author and columnist for The Guardian.