Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to A connected society: A Strategy for tackling loneliness – laying the foundations for change, published 15 October 2018, what progress has been made on his Department's commitment to fund research into the impact of community-led housing and cohousing solutions on loneliness.

We have committed to funding research into housing solutions to tackle loneliness. The research will specifically explore how community-led housing initiatives, including cohousing, can help connect communities.

This commitment was set out in the Government’s strategy paper: 'A connected society: A strategy for tackling loneliness’ https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-connected-society-a-strategy-for-tackling-loneliness.

The Department has invited bids for the provision of our Loneliness and Community Led Housing Research.

The aims behind the research are to: evaluate the value for money and impact of housing interventions on loneliness; understand the impact of community-led housing initiatives, including cohousing, on reducing loneliness across all ages; and to explore best practice in housing schemes that promote social cohesion.