£400,000 funding for adult activity in Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire County Council has received £400,000 National Lottery funding from Sport England to help older adults get active and remain independent.

The Active Ageing funding will be used to provide a personalised exercise service for older people living independently in their homes, tailored according to their ability, motivation and current health.

The council will work alongside social enterprise Hertfordshire Independent Living Service (HILS) to help reduce the number of inactive older adults. There are roughly 5.8 million inactive people over 55 in England and the number of inactive people is growing as people are living longer.

Richard Roberts, cabinet member for Public Health, said: “We know that there is clear and compelling evidence of the benefits of exercising at any age to promote independence and wellbeing in later life. Yet too many of our residents aren’t benefitting and lack tailored opportunities to take part. The great thing about this programme is that we are making the most of the unique partnership we have with HILS to offer exercise in people’s homes and on their doorstep. This will make the world of difference to their quality of life.”