Our evidence to the Health and Social Committee's inquiry on Healthy Ageing

Last year, the Health and Social Committee's launches a call for evidence for its inquiry on Healthy Ageing. People's Health Trust's response, submitted in August 2025, was based on consultation with our network of experts by experience and has now been published by the Committee

The Committee was especially interested in the role of physical activity in improving the health and wellbeing of our older population, given that health life expectancy has stalled. Our evidence underlined the social and economic conditions which often have a greater influence on whether people age well, especially in deprived areas. We also highlighted the evidence from our Active Communities and Local Conversations funding programmes that shows peer-led activities and practical support, combined with health-focused activities, tend to achieve more sustained participation among older adults than short-term or individually focused initiatives.

Finally, we called for ‘A Health in All Policies approach’, to ensure that there is cross-departmental responsibility for improving population health and reducing inequalities.

You can read our full response to the Committee below.