Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to (a) support and (b) expand community-based physical activity programmes specifically designed for older people.

The Government and the National Health Service recognise that prevention will always be better and cheaper than a cure. Reducing physical inactivity in people of all ages, including in older people, is important in helping people live longer, healthier lives, and a key part of the Department’s shift from treatment to prevention.

The Department supports the NHS, together with local authorities, to provide a range of community services to support older people, such as exercise on referral and social prescribing, aquatic/swimming classes, dance classes, and fall prevention training through strength and balance classes. The Government continues to encourage local authorities to invest in and prioritise leisure facilities and community-based services.

In addition to the above, the NHS Better Health Campaign promotes ways for people of all ages to move more, and signposts to digital support like the NHS Active 10 walking app, an accessible way of building movement into everyday life.