Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of campaigns to encourage people to walk more.

The Government supports various campaigns to encourage people to walk more, including the Walk to School programme delivered by Living Streets, and local programmes delivered by local authorities under the Department for Transport’s £20 million per annum Access Fund. The effectiveness of these and other campaigns is considered in the first Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy Report to Parliament published in February 2020.

Public Health England’s One You campaign launched the free Active 10 brisk walking app designed to encourage adults to undertake more physical activity by simply going for a brisk 10-minute walk. The app was relaunched in December 2019 to align with the new United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines that every minute of physical activity counts and provides health benefits.

Decisions on future funding for future campaigns will be a matter for the Spending Review in the autumn.