The National Audit Office (NAO) has welcomed "positive developments" in Sport England's bid to increase participation after previously failing to meet its aims for priority groups.

During the three-year period to March 2008, Increasing participation in sport revealed that £660m was invested in the promotion of sport and physical activity but "lacked a focus" in targeting priority groups. However, the NAO said that Sport England's new strategy for the period 2008-09 to 2012-13 - including efforts to boost participation by 1 million - offered more value to the taxpayer.

The NAO said the organisation's plans to increase participation by 1.25 million more people was "reasonable" in order to compensate for what it called "inherent uncertainties" in achieving its 1 million target. Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, said: "Getting more people involved in sport is no easy task. In setting the 1 million by 2013 target, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has given Sport England a clear objective.

"The new strategy, funding process for individual sports, and performance management arrangements between the Department and Sport England and between Sport England and its funded bodies are a marked improvement on what went before." A Sport England spokesperson added: "We welcome the NAO report and the positive statements it makes about the value for money offered by our new strategy and funding processes.

"The report finds that we now have well-developed processes for making investment decisions for individual sports and holding funded governing bodies to account, based on a range of evidence and expertise from within Sport England and across the sport sector."