Committees

Healthy Ageing: physical activity in an ageing society

Inquiry

The Committee is undertaking an inquiry into the role of physical activity in improving the health and wellbeing of our older population.  

Progress on improving healthy life expectancy in England has stalled and people are spending longer living with ill health in their older years. Physical activity can help prevent ill health, but activity levels in England are decreasing and are lowest among older people. A small increase in activity by an older person can be substantially beneficial in improving health and reducing or delaying the development of multiple long-term health conditions.  

This inquiry will focus on the ways that physical activity can prevent and reduce ill health, pushing it further into older age. The Committee will also explore how increasing physical activity levels could have an impact on reducing the gap in healthy life expectancy between older people in the most and least deprived regions.  

Call for evidence closed at 23:59pm on Thursday 7 August 2025. 

This inquiry is no longer accepting evidence

The deadline for submissions was 11:59pm on 7 August 2025.

Upcoming events

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No upcoming events scheduled

Past events

Wednesday 10 December 2025
9:15am Private
9:30am Public
Healthy Ageing: physical activity in an ageing society - Oral evidence 10 December 2025
9:30am
  • Jeanette Bain-Burnett (Executive Director for Policy and Integrity at Sport England)
  • Huw Edwards (CEO at UKactive)
  • Charlotte Osborn-Forde (CEO at National Academy for Social Prescribing)
  • Graeme Sinnott (Director of Place and Strategy and Deputy CEO at Active Partnerships National Organisation)
10:30am
  • Bethany Badrock (Ageing Well Programme Manager, GM Ageing Hub at Greater Manchester Combined Authority)
  • Siobhan Farmer (Director of Public Health at Gloucestershire County Council)
  • Ryan Hughes (Head of Programmes and Partnerships at Active Norfolk)
The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
Wednesday 12 November 2025
9:15am Private
9:30am Public
Healthy Ageing: physical activity in an ageing society - Oral evidence 12 November 2025
9:30am
  • Adam Blaze (Chief Executive at Activity Alliance)
  • Professor Martin Green OBE (Chief Executive at Care England)
  • Emma Hutchins (Physical Activity and Health Influencing Manager at Richmond Group of Charities)
10:30am
  • Professor Elizabeth Orton (Professor of Public Health at The University of Nottingham)
  • Professor Dawn Skelton (Professor of Ageing and Health at Glasgow Caledonian University)
  • Professor Chris Todd (Deputy-Director at NIHR Policy Research Unit in Healthy Ageing)
The Wilson Room, Portcullis House
Wednesday 29 October 2025
9:15am Private
9:30am Public
Healthy Ageing: physical activity in an ageing society - Oral evidence 29 October 2025
9:30am
  • Professor Chris Whitty (Chief Medical Officer at Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC))
10:30am
  • Dr Lis Boulton (Health and Care Policy Manager at Age UK)
  • Sir Muir Gray (Director of the Optimal Ageing Programme at University of Oxford)
  • Dr Carole Easton (Chief Executive at Centre for Ageing Better)
The Grimond Room, Portcullis House

Contact us

We receive a significant number of emails each day. All requests and invitations are considered but we do not respond directly to everyone. Please be aware, the committee does not look at individual cases or specific complaints.

  • Email: hsccom@parliament.uk
  • Address: Health and Social Care Committee, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA