Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress has been made against the commitment set out in the Loneliness Strategy to work in partnership with Campaign to End Loneliness, British Red Cross, the Association of Convenience Stores and others, to explore how businesses can provide community space out of business hours or engage with the wider community in other ways.

Employers can play an important role in tackling loneliness in their workforce and wider society.

The Department continues to work with the Campaign to End Loneliness to run an Employers’ Leadership Group on Loneliness. The group strengthens cooperation and coordination between Government, business and other groups with an interest in tackling loneliness. The group, which includes the Association of Convenience Stores and the British Red Cross, is currently carrying out work to identify good practice and produce case studies and guidance to help employers tackle loneliness – both in the workforce and in the wider community.