Recommendation 10

Partnerships between health services and the physical activity sector can deliver effective programmes in local settings, support long-term condition management and improve older people’s health and wellbeing. Expanding these approaches could also ease pressure on hospital-based services and support the government’s ambition to shift care from hospitals into the community. A lack of national strategy and the deterioration of leisure facilities mean opportunities to embed physical activity in community-based care remain limited. We welcome the £400 million the government has announced to support grassroots sports facilities. The government must use this funding strategically to support the infrastructure that the NHS will rely on to deliver care—particularly physical activity-based interventions—in the community. (Conclusion, Paragraph 42)