• Only 45% of children are meeting the Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines of one hour of physical activity a day

• The campaign seeks to inspire kids to get active by using some of their favourite stories and characters from Disney, Pixar and Marvel

Parents of primary school children across England are being encouraged to get their kids active over the summer holidays, as the government relaunches its 10 Minute Shake Up campaign.

The campaign – delivered by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) and supported by Disney ­– returns in full for the first time in three years after it was paused in the first year of the pandemic and only partially returned last year.

The 10 Minute Shake Up aims to inspire children and parents to get active together by breaking down the recommended daily hour of activity into manageable chunks by playing fun games together, using some of their favourite characters from Disney’s Frozen and Encanto, Disney and Pixar’s Lightyear, and Marvel, including Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Thor and Iron Man amongst others.

The Shake Ups are play-along games around 10 minutes in length and can be played by one or more people. From ‘Mirabel Guards the Magic Candle’ inspired by Disney’s Encanto, to Buzz Lightyear’s Ball Challenge inspired by Disney and Pixar’s Lightyear, there are over 40 games for people to choose from.

Children’s activity levels usually drop during the holidays when they no longer have daily PE sessions, playtime at school and no travel to and from school.

Public Health Minister Maggie Throup said:

“Being active is vitally important to living longer and healthier lives and helps kids to feel good, build confidence and develop important skills.

“The 10 Minute Shake Ups are a great way for children to have fun over the summer holidays, and these free activities will also help parents keep their kids entertained for less, while making sure they’re getting the daily exercise they need to stay healthy.”

Data also shows that less than half (45%) of children are getting one hour of physical activity a day, with those from more deprived backgrounds less active than those from more affluent families.

The statistics specifically show that there is also an ethnicity gap with children and young people from White British (48%) backgrounds, more likely to be active than those from Asian (39%), Black (36%) and other ethnic minority (38%) backgrounds.

Professor Kevin Fenton, OHID’s Regional Director for London, said:

“Children often find themselves bored with so much time on their hands during the summer holidays, and it’s often a challenge for parents to keep their kids entertained, particularly if people are on a tight budget.

“Data also shows that those from ethnic minority communities are also less likely to get the one hour of physical activity as recommended by the Chief Medical Officer.

“These Shake Up games are a great way for every child – regardless of their background – to have fun for less while staying active and healthy.”

Packs including sample games were sent to all primary schools in June for children to take home. All of the 10 Minute Shake Up games can be accessed for free on the 10 Minute Shake Up hub on the Better Health Families website: 10 Minute Shake Up games – Healthier Families – NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Dan Scott, UK Retail Director and Head of Disney Healthy Living UK said:

“Through our long-term collaboration with the 10 Minute Shake Up and our wider Healthy Living commitment, we know Disney stories and characters can help inspire millions of children and families to be more active by making exercise simple and fun.

“And this year will be no different, with a fantastic range of games using some of our most-loved stories there for everyone to try over the summer holidays.”

The campaign will run from 25 July until 21 August across social media, with events across the country run by summer activity providers and via the Department for Education’s Holiday, Activities and Food Programme.

Retail deals and discounts to help families over the summer holidays have been announced as part of the government’s Help for Households Campaign.

Signed with some of the UK’s biggest businesses, including Asda, Morrisons, Amazon and Vodafone, these deals are designed to reduce costs at the checkout, help provide entertainment and ensure access to necessary services for families during the summer holidays and beyond.

Agreed with the government’s Cost of Living Business Tsar David Buttress, the deals include the extension of Asda’s ‘Kids eat for £1’ scheme, where children aged 16 and under can access a hot or cold meal for £1 at any time of day in Asda Cafes across the UK.

Sainsbury’s is introducing it’s ‘feed your family for a fiver’ campaign, helping customers with budget-friendly meal ideas to feed a family of four for less than £5.

Theatres in London are uniting for Kids Week, an initiative giving children the chance to see a West End show for free throughout August with a full paying adult, with half price tickets for two additional children in the same group, while Vodafone is promoting a mobile social tariff of £10 a month.

Along with new initiatives, some deals are a continuation of successful support schemes which businesses are already running and want to promote under the Help for Households campaign to raise awareness.

These include Amazon’s new ‘help for households’ page that will provide access to free entertainment such as Freevee and Amazon Music, as well as educational resources for school-aged children and low-price essential groceries. Morrisons is also providing a free meal for every child at in-store cafes when a parent buys an adult meal.

These deals form the first part of the Help for Household retail campaign which will aim to provide deals for families over four distinct periods –the summer holidays, back to school, Autumn pressures and Christmas retail – with deals secured and hosted on the government’s new Help for Households website so that people can find them easily in one place.

The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, said:

We’re facing incredibly tough global economic headwinds and families across the country are feeling the pinch.

That’s why this government is providing an unprecedent £37bn worth of support to help households through the storm.

Both the public and private sector have a role to play here – and that’s why it’s great to see so many leading UK businesses are now coming forward to offer new deals and discounts that will provide much needed respite at the checkout.

This won’t solve the issue overnight but it’s yet another weapon in our arsenal as we fight back against scourge of rising prices and inflation.

To mark the launch of the bespoke cost of living deals, the Prime Minister and David Buttress will host a meeting of senior business leaders involved in the campaign in No10 tomorrow [Thursday] to thank the businesses involved and discuss new ideas for cutting the cost of living.

Attendees are likely to include representatives from Sainsburys, Vodafone, Amazon, Centrica and the CBI.

Cost of Living Business Tsar David Buttress will also thank businesses for their support and praise the campaign’s “good start” while making clear that “we’ve got more to do and more deals to announce – not just over the summer holidays but when kids return to school and in the run up to Christmas when costs are typically higher”.

These deals build on the £37bn package of Help for Households already being provided by government – including tax cuts and help towards energy, childcare and transport costs.

The government’s online cost of living support pages, which have been visited over 2.2 million times, are helping the public to access the panoply of different cost of living support schemes available across government. 90% of users have said that they find the site helpful.

John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager, Amazon said:

We are proud to be part of the Government’s ‘Help for Households’ campaign, as we continue to support our customers across the UK with great value and convenience.

In fact, today we’ve launched a brand-new page on amazon.co.uk which shows you how to access free or discounted products and services from Amazon.

This includes free entertainment for all, learning resources for students, along with more details of how else customers can save online.

We will continue to offer the widest selection of products at the best possible prices, with many of these products sold by the 85,000 small and medium-sized UK businesses who use Amazon to reach customers here and around the world.

Simon Roberts, Chief Executive Officer at Sainsbury’s, said:

The rising cost of living is at the forefront of customers’ minds, so we are delighted that our Feed your family for a fiver campaign is part of the initiative, helping people save money when it matters most.

We have invested over half a billion pounds since March 2021 to ensure the items customers buy most often are on the shelves at the best prices. We are keeping inflation lower than our peers and we stand side by side with colleagues too – in April Sainsbury’s became the first major retailer to pay all our colleagues the Living Wage.

Hayley Tatum, Asda’s Chief Corporate Affairs and People Officer, said:

Our latest Asda Income Tracker shows that families are on average £175 worse off per month compared to this time last year and many are finding it increasingly tough to make ends meet.

We want to do all we can to support families during these tough times which is why we’re pleased to support the ‘Help for Households’ initiative and have today launched our Essential Living Hub where families can find hints and tips from a range of experts about how to make their budgets go further, including details of our Kids Eat for £1’ offer, which we’re pleased to confirm will be extended to all cafes across the UK until the end of the year.

Association of Convenience Stores Chief Executive, James Lowman, said:

The UK’s 47,000 local shops play an incredibly important role in helping consumers to manage their money, save on fuel and other travel costs, and reduce food waste.

We strongly welcome the new Help for Households campaign, and are committed to working with the cost of living tsar David Buttress to highlight how convenience stores are supporting both customers and colleagues during this challenging time for everyone.

Many convenience store retailers are providing significant staff discounts and other benefits as part of extra support packages for colleagues in store, as well as doing everything they can to keep prices on the shelf in check despite rising costs in just about every area of their businesses.

Ahmed Essam, CEO at Vodafone UK, said:

Vodafone is proud to support the ‘Help for Households’ campaign that raises awareness and offers support to individuals and families most impacted by the cost of living challenge. Vodafone offers VOXI For Now, which is the only mobile social tariff to help those experiencing financial hardship stay connected, as well as our everyone.connected campaign to provide free connectivity to one million people living in digital poverty by the end of 2022.

• COP26 President Alok Sharma will meet with key ministers and climate leaders involved in the implementation of India’s ambitious COP26 commitments

• He will visit a solar research facility to see renewable energy generation in action as he continues to press for global delivery of the Glasgow Climate Pact

• The COP President will meet local communities and hear first-hand accounts of those living and working outdoors following the searing heatwaves across India

COP26 President Alok Sharma will travel to India from 21-22 July 2022. The visit is an opportunity to again engage with India on climate policy as well as strengthen and support progress and delivery of the Glasgow Climate Pact, following COP26 in Glasgow and in the run up to India’s G20 Presidency.

On his third visit to the country as COP President, Alok Sharma will continue the work of the UK COP Presidency in pressing for updated climate commitments from all countries, as he meets with senior ministers and climate and energy leaders to discuss India’s ambitious climate plans and progress on smart grid upgrades, electric vehicles and affordable energy storage.

Mr Sharma will travel to the International Solar Alliance (ISA) headquarters at the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) campus in Delhi. There, he will witness renewable energy generation in action, and discuss how to further advance the Green Grids Initiative – One Sun One World One Grid (GGI-OSOWOG), a product of UK-India partnership focused on strengthening global support for green power infrastructure.

While in Delhi Mr Sharma will attend a joint launch of UK-India initiatives on electric mobility, hosted by apex Government of India think-tank NITI Aayog. The partnership between the UK Government and NITI Aayog has been instrumental in taking forward Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) initiatives launched under the UK’s COP26 Presidency. He will visit the Centre for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) to hear an update on progress since COP26 and discuss future plans.

As record heatwaves are recorded in India, Mr Sharma will also meet with the local community to hear how climate change is impacting them directly and understand how extreme heat affects their livelihoods in the city.

Alok Sharma, COP26 President, said:

India’s green transition is gathering pace, with an increasing slate of renewables and commitments to phase down fossil fuel based energy. I have previously commended India on its emissions reduction targets and truly believe that delivery of its commitments will have a major positive impact.

The UK continues to stand side-by-side with India as it progresses to a low carbon, self-sufficient future. At this critical juncture ahead of COP27 and the NDC Synthesis Report deadline, I am eager to explore how the UK can further support India in translating its COP26 commitments into action.

After his visit to India, the COP President will travel to Australia, then on to Fiji, to engage with governments, states, businesses and civil society in support for stronger climate action ahead of COP27 in Egypt.

ENDS

Background

• The International Solar Alliance (ISA) was launched in 2015 jointly by India and France to scale up deployment of solar energy. There are now over 100 member countries, including the UK, which sits on the ISA’s Steering Committee as Vice President of the Europe and Others region. Please visit the ISA website for more information.

• The Green Grids Initiative (GGI) was adopted by the UK Government in the build up to COP26 and formed a key initiative as part of the wider Energy Transition Campaign. As agreed in the ‘2030 Roadmap for India-UK future relations’, Prime Ministers Modi and Johnson launched the ‘Green Grids Initiative – One Sun One World One Grid’ (GGI-OSOWOG) at COP26, and accompanying One Sun Declaration, which was endorsed by over 90 countries. In April 2022, the PMs agreed to champion this initiative under India’s upcoming G20 Presidency. Please visit the COP26 website for more information.

• The Zero Emission Vehicle Transition Council (ZEVTC) is a ZEV initiative established by the UK’s COP Presidency, bringing together governments of the world’s largest car markets to work together to accelerate the transition. At COP26, the ZEVTC set out four priorities in its Action Plan:

  • pace of the transition and technology choices for zero emission heavy duty vehicles
  • charging infrastructure;
  • CO2 or fuel efficiency standards and regulations;
  • ensuring the ZEV transition is truly global.