Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of pubs on (a) community cohesion and (b) reducing loneliness in new towns.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answers to Question UIN 35940 on 13 March 2025, Question UIN 42674 on 7 April 2025, and Question UIN 36088 on 14 March 2025.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of rules on pension entitlements for survivors of police officers on levels of loneliness.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The 2015 police pension scheme is the scheme currently open to serving police officers. This scheme provides life-long survivor benefits for spouses, civil partners and unmarried partners, including those who remarry or cohabit after losing a spouse. These benefits were first introduced for all eligible police officers in the 2006 police pension scheme, which was superseded by the 2015 scheme.
For officers who joined policing prior to 2006, the 1987 police pension scheme provides a pension for the widow, widower or civil partner of a police officer who dies. In common with most other public service pension schemes of that time, these benefits cease to be payable where the widow, widower or civil partner remarries or cohabits with another partner.
From 1 April 2015, the 1987 police pension scheme was amended to allow widows, widowers and civil partners of police officers who have died as a result of an injury on duty to receive their survivor benefits for life regardless of remarriage, civil partnership or cohabitation.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps she has taken to provide funding to the (a) voluntary, (b) community and (c) social enterprise sector in (i) the North East and (ii) Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government has taken a range of steps to provide funding to the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector in the North East.
The Government recently committed up to an additional £2.8 million for the Know Your Neighbourhood Fund, which is designed to widen participation in volunteering and tackle loneliness. The Government has also committed up to an additional £1 million for the Social Enterprise Boost Fund, a fund which provides business support and grant funding to social entrepreneurs. These place-based programmes will continue delivering funding to the VCSE sector in the North East, specifically Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, County Durham, South Tyneside and Sunderland, as well as other areas in England until March 2026.
Asked by: Natasha Irons (Labour - Croydon East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of funding grassroots bowls on (a) tackling loneliness and (b) public health.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are committed to providing support for grassroots clubs who provide access and opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity. Bowls has a unique and important role to play in tackling loneliness through supporting people to have the social connections they need and in driving positive public health outcomes.
Our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England has a long-term partnership with the Bowls Development Alliance. It has awarded them over £1.8m (since 2022) in investment and funding. Sport England also provides free resources and support to grassroots sports clubs and volunteers through its Buddle tool. Furthermore, Sport England’s Movement Fund also offers crowdfunding pledges, grants and resources to improve physical activity opportunities for the people and communities who need it the most which includes the refurbishment or upgrading facilities.
Asked by: Natasha Irons (Labour - Croydon East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what support she provides to grassroots bowls clubs.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are committed to providing support for grassroots clubs who provide access and opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity. Bowls has a unique and important role to play in tackling loneliness through supporting people to have the social connections they need and in driving positive public health outcomes.
Our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England has a long-term partnership with the Bowls Development Alliance. It has awarded them over £1.8m (since 2022) in investment and funding. Sport England also provides free resources and support to grassroots sports clubs and volunteers through its Buddle tool. Furthermore, Sport England’s Movement Fund also offers crowdfunding pledges, grants and resources to improve physical activity opportunities for the people and communities who need it the most which includes the refurbishment or upgrading facilities.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question
To ask the Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church Commissioners have had discussions with local churches in coastal areas on steps to encourage young people to join church related (a) youth clubs and (b) weekend events.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
One of the key priorities set by the National Church Institutions, working with the dioceses, is to grow our mission to children and young people. Significant funding has been committed to support this vital work.
In 2023/24, the Diocesan Investment Programme invested £158 million to deliver the Church's vision and strategy in local communities and parishes. This funding has been directed towards areas of deprivation and seaside towns where young people often have fewer opportunities for personal growth and development.
The last funding round supported the Diocese of Carlisle to support missional, younger and more diverse faith communities, including in Barrow-in-Furness with an investment of £6.8 million, you can read more about the project here: https://www.carlislediocese.org.uk/news/2025/03/10/diocese-carlisle-awarded-68-million-fund-missional-growth/
Many churches offer opportunities for young families via toddler groups, Messy Church and a range of other intergenerational activities to improve wellbeing and tackle loneliness and isolation. In addition the Church is actively encouraging, inspiring, and equipping local churches to support youth clubs, run bespoke youth events, before school breakfast groups, after school clubs, and various activities especially during weekends or holiday periods.
A recent partnership with Youthscape has successfully launched around 200 new youth-related missional activities, with a large number in Portsmouth Diocese and the Channel Islands. Missional Youth Church Network is focusing on working with young people in areas of socio-economic deprivation including in Southampton.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve support for care leavers in rural areas.
Answered by Janet Daby
The department knows that care leavers have some of the worst outcomes in society and we are committed to ensuring that all young people leaving care, irrespective of where they live, have stable homes, access to health services, support to build lifelong loving relationships, and are engaged in education, employment and training.
While many of the issues that care leavers face will be common to all young people leaving care, the department knows that those who live in rural areas can face additional challenges, such as fewer employment opportunities, limited public transport and increased risk of loneliness and isolation, which can make their transition to independence more difficult.
All local authorities are required to publish their ‘local offer’ for care leavers, which provides information about the statutory support that all care leavers are entitled to, and any discretionary services the local authority provides, to support care leavers in their transition to adulthood. Each local authority’s local offer should reflect the particular circumstances faced by its care leavers, including those that arise due to the fact that they live in a rural location.
The department is strengthening the local offer through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to drive forward our manifesto commitments on children’s social care. The Bill will provide ‘Staying close support’ across the country, including in rural areas, for care leavers up to the age of 25. Staying close will increase support for young people leaving residential care through move-on accommodation and ongoing support from a keyworker.
The Bill will also require each local authority to publish the arrangements it has in place to support and assist care leavers, particularly around accommodation and joint working between local authority care leaver and housing teams.
Local housing authorities owe various duties to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. In certain circumstances local housing authorities have a duty to secure settled accommodation for them, but this is only the case where, in addition to other criteria, the person is not found to have become homeless intentionally. Through the Bill, we are removing intentional homelessness decisions for eligible care leavers to further strengthen support for this vulnerable cohort.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question
To ask the Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment the Church has made of the potential impact of rural parishes on social isolation amongst elderly people.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
Churches in rural areas often play an important role as a community hub and a place to connect with others. The Church of England has many examples of communities tackling social isolation and loneliness; this may be through traditional offering of worship services, via a home visit for the housebound, or through providing social spaces in the church or church hall for people to gather.
Across the country, and especially in rural communities, churches run around 31,000 community-based initiatives, offering warm spaces, intergenerational children and community projects, coffee mornings, health and wellbeing groups, dementia cafés, community libraries, village shops, as well as spaces for cultural experiences and art exhibitions.
A good example of this work can be found in the research produced by the Archbishops' Commission on Reimagining Care. Commission Members visited a church-led cafe in Kirkby Thore in Cumbria, part of the Renew Wellbeing movement. This provided space for refreshments, games and quiet reflection for people of all ages, but proved particularly popular with older people.
The growing movement towards social prescribing in primary care recognises the important role that faith groups, including churches, play in the health of their communities. Churches are working closely with local GPs in many parts of the country to offer a wide range of specific activities that encourage group work or physical activity. Some good examples of this have been the development of churchyard working groups and gardening projects, community book group and discussion groups, and craft clubs, which all offer people the opportunity meet, chat and make new connections. A recent report has been published by the think-tank Theos, assessing some of the range of projects churches are engaging with, which can be found here: https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/research/2023/08/09/faith-in-social-prescribing
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she plans to take to tackle loneliness in rural communities.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government is committed to improving the quality of life for people living and working in rural areas, so that we can realise the full potential of rural communities. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s current work to tackle loneliness includes supporting a range of organisations through the Tackling Loneliness Hub, an online platform for professionals working to reduce loneliness (including those based in rural areas); working to improve the evidence base around loneliness; and providing advice through the Better Health: Every Mind Matters campaign’s advice pages.
Asked by: Kirith Entwistle (Labour - Bolton North East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of loneliness on the (a) mental and (b) physical health of (i) elderly and (ii) vulnerable people.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) assesses multiple sources of evidence on loneliness including research on the impact of loneliness on physical and mental health across a range of demographic groups, including elderly and vulnerable populations. Chronic loneliness (feeling lonely often or always) can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender or background, although some groups are known to be at a higher risk.
Research by DCMS highlights that this covers a range of demographics which are likely to include vulnerable adults. Data from the latest Community Life Survey suggests older people are not more likely to experience loneliness than the general population, although risk factors including having a disability or long-standing health condition, being widowed and living alone could increase the likelihood of experiencing chronic loneliness in this cohort.
DCMS research shows a bidirectional and cyclical relationship between chronic loneliness and mental health, with people experiencing chronic loneliness 3.7 times more likely to experience mental health distress compared to those who do not experience chronic loneliness. Furthermore, external research suggests that chronic loneliness can have negative impacts on physical health, including higher risk of heart disease, stroke and susceptibility to infection.