The intention is there, but will there be action?

Tom Walker, Editor

In recent years, the UK government has increasingly acknowledged the life-changing benefits of physical activity – from its role in reducing the risk of chronic disease to easing pressure on the NHS through improved mental and physical health. A big contributor to this recognition – and a game-changer when it comes to the government’s messaging – was the COVID-19 pandemic. In lockdown Britain, going out for exercise was one of the few things you could leave the house for, while there was no ambiguity in the government’s communication about the importance of being “fighting fit” to battle the disease.

Yet, despite the recognition and the regular talk about how exercise is good for us, the actions of successive governments continue to fall short of the rhetoric.

Take July’s Fit for the Future 10-year NHS plan. Launched with a bold promise to “put prevention at the heart of the NHS,” it makes barely a passing reference to physical activity – apart from a light-in-detail pledge to somehow get “millions of people” running with the help of Brendan Foster’s The Great Run Company.

It’s a baffling omission – especially when, just weeks earlier, the government pledged £800m to boost sport in the UK, including £400m for community facilities. On its own, that’s a hugely positive step. But where is the joined-up thinking? Why wasn’t this investment integrated into the NHS plan as a strategic tool for prevention? This disconnect highlights a deeper issue: the government’s fragmented approach to physical activity policy. Sport, health and prevention are still treated as separate silos rather than interconnected parts of a healthier society. This is not helped by there being 24 separate government departments, many of which – including the DCMS, Department of Health and Social Care, Department of Transport (for active travel) – being responsible for different elements of a truly cohesive, preventative approach to public health.

If the government truly wants the physical activity sector to play a role in a future-fit NHS focused on prevention, as it should, it needs to follow its warm words with tangible action. We need consistent, cross-departmental action, recognising physical activity as an essential part of the infrastructure needed for a well and healthy nation. It’s time for policymakers to walk the walk – and put movement at the heart of the nation’s health strategy.

Tom Walker, Editor