On October 31st 2019, at the ukactive National Summit, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson called on the Government to commit to four key policy calls which must be addressed in order to make a lasting impact on the health of the nation.
This includes the decline in our high streets and town centres, the deteriorating health of our children and young people, the sedentary nature of working life, and the growth of an ageing population.
Regenerating the high street through physical activity ukactive is urging the main political parties to commit to addressing high rates of retail vacancy on the high street by changing the restrictive aspects of the ‘use class system’ to encourage fitness and leisure operators to open on the high street and primary business centres.
Opening schools as community hubs to support children and families ukactive’s Schools as Community Hubs model offers subsidised kids clubs with nutritious food and physical activities led and delivered by experts from across the physical activity sector. All main political parties should commit to taking this model to national scale, starting from next summer, and reaching over 6,500 school facilities by 2022.
Improving accessibility to active travel and wider activity opportunities for the nation’s workforce ukactive is urging the main political parties to commit to expanding the Cycle to Work scheme to include a broader array of physical activity opportunities and accessories, including fitness trackers and gym memberships, and to commit to conducting a feasibility study with ukactive to explore how the fitness and leisure sector can strategically partner with active travel initiatives.
Supporting older adults to access the health benefits of physical activity ukactive is asking the main political parties that every recipient of long-term prescribed medication also receives an activity prescription providing guidance and support to increase their activity, and that any future green or white paper on social care makes prevention a key priority.
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