Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gareth Thomas and Stephanie Peacock

Thursday 26th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) (Lab/Co-op)]

9. What steps she plans to take to ensure that people are adequately supported to maintain an active lifestyle at each stage of life.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Stephanie Peacock)]

The Government are committed to ensuring that people of all ages have the opportunity to maintain an active lifestyle. Sport England invests over £250 million of lottery and Exchequer funding annually into grassroots sport to support people of all ages. That includes multiple campaigns designed to encourage active lifestyles.

[Gareth Thomas]

The clearly remarkable Fay Bond took up athletics at the age of 90 and won three gold medals last year at the US senior Olympics at the age of 101—the oldest of over 12,400 older athletes who took part. Given the many benefits of an active lifestyle in later life, when might the first UK senior Olympics take place?