Fit for the future: 10 Year Health Plan for England calls to get millions more moving

Being physically active is good for physical and mental health and has a measurable positive impact on relieving NHS pressures, worth an estimated £10.5 billion in savings a year. Despite that, inactivity levels remain stubbornly high for adults and children, with huge inequalities across the country. (Fit for the future, P65)

Solving this challenge will require cross-system join-up. The evidence is clear, where investment in physical activity is designed with local people, physical inactivity rates fall 2.5 percentage points more than otherwise without this reform.

Working with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), we will move to a place-based approach to physical activity across Government Departments: through £250 million of investment into 100 places by Sport England; at least £400 million of investment into local community sport facilities; new partnerships on school sport, and local health plans. DCMS will set out more detail on the strategy for physical activity in due course.

The long-term aim is to have millions more people moving and exercising regularly as part of their lifestyle, as well as showcasing communities with the best initiatives.

Following the Government’s launch of the 10 Year Health Plan on 3 July 2025, the Active Partnerships National Organisation has responded. 

Annie Holden, Strategic Lead for Health for APNO, said:

“We welcome the Government’s new ‘Fit for the Future’ 10 year health plan, and the Active Partnerships network looks forward to continuing conversations with senior Government officials on how it can support its implementation.

“It is great to see the focus on prevention as one of three key shifts, as this very much aligns with the aims of Active Partnerships. We know through our work that physical activity has an essential role to play when it comes to helping everyone to live well for longer and physical activity also needs to be recognised as a crucial component to deliver on the Government’s ambition of raising the healthiest generation of children ever.

“We believe that our recent and continuing work with national and local partners on integrating physical activity into health and care will become increasingly important with the 10-year health plan in mind, as this programme of work focuses on preventing and managing long-term conditions and diseases.

“We also welcome the shift to community-led healthcare through the ‘Neighbourhood Health Service’, especially as our network has a wealth of experience of working at the heart of communities, to understand and deliver on the needs of local people.

“Our network of 42 Active Partnerships already takes a place-based approach to reducing inactivity for adults and children and young people and is focused on reducing the inequalities that exist when it comes to being active. We work in partnership with local organisations and local communities to understand how best to increase activity levels in each specific area. We were therefore encouraged to see the Government’s clear endorsement for this approach and commitment to working in this way across different Government departments.

“Just like the Government, our long-term vision is to help millions more people live an active life, so we stand ready to support the new campaigns and initiatives that will support and showcase movement, exercise, and active travel that were also highlighted in the new plan.”

Overview

The 10 Year Health Plan is part of the government’s health mission to build a health service fit for the future. It sets out how the government will reinvent the NHS through 3 radical shifts:

• hospital to community
• analogue to digital
• sickness to prevention

To support the scale of change we need, the government will ensure the whole NHS is ready to deliver these 3 shifts at pace:

• through a new operating model
• by ushering in a new era of transparency
• by creating a new workforce model with staff genuinely aligned with the future direction of reform
• through a reshaped innovation strategy
• by taking a different approach to NHS finances

The government committed to co-developing the plan with members of the public, health and care staff and partner organisations.

Read the plan