Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Mental Health Bill will have provisions to help tackle loneliness.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government published a draft Mental Health Bill on 23 June 2023 and it remains our intention to bring forward a Mental Health Bill when Parliamentary time allows. The Bill is designed to reform the Mental Health Act 1983, which exists to be able to compel people to stay in hospital and be treated for a severe mental illness. The legislative reforms contained in the Bill aim to provide greater autonomy to individuals to inform their care and treatment, including children and young people. They also aim to ensure that inpatients, including those detained under the Mental Health Act, have improved support to access their rights under the Act. The Bill therefore does not include provisions to tackle loneliness.
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport launched the world’s first government strategy on loneliness in October 2018. It set out a clear vision for this country to be a place where we can all have strong social relationships. The Government’s work to tackle loneliness focuses on reducing the stigma associated with loneliness; supporting organisations across society to take action; and improving the evidence base on loneliness.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress her Department has made on tackling loneliness.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Many people experience loneliness and social isolation, and the Government is committed to reducing the stigma associated with loneliness, and building a more connected society. Government, local councils, health systems and voluntary and community sector organisations all have an important role to play in achieving this.
Since publishing the first ever government Strategy for Tackling Loneliness and appointing the world’s first Minister for Loneliness in 2018, we have invested almost £80 million in tackling loneliness. These interventions include a national communications campaign that aims to reduce the stigma of loneliness, which has reached at least 25 million people across the country. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is also delivering the ‘Know Your Neighbourhood Fund’ to boost volunteering and reduce loneliness in 27 disadvantaged areas across England. We have also brought together over 750 people from across the public, private and charity sectors through our Tackling Loneliness Hub, where members can learn from events and workshops, share the latest research and collaborate on new initiatives.
Last March, we published the fourth annual report of our Tackling Loneliness Strategy. It contains over 60 new and ongoing commitments from 11 government departments. So far, we have made progress against at least 46 of these commitments and at least 7 have been completed. Due to the nature of the commitments many have now been incorporated into business as usual. The fifth annual report will provide a full update on commitments, and is due to be published in March.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with (a) farming unions and (b) other organisations on tackling (i) loneliness and (ii) isolation for (A) widowed farmers and (B) other people who live alone in rural areas.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Many people experience loneliness and social isolation, and the government is committed to building a more connected society. We know that social isolation can be particularly challenging for those in rural areas, and as outlined in the fourth Annual Tackling Loneliness Report, the Government has introduced a number of measures to provide support for rural communities and farmers. As loneliness is a devolved policy area, these programmes pertain to England only.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has committed to a range of measures. This includes providing funding for organisations and initiatives that seek to tackle loneliness in rural areas, like Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE). Additionally, DEFRA has made tackling loneliness an objective for the Farmers Welfare Forum and has brought together 15 rural community organisations working to tackle loneliness to better understand the issue and target support.
In addition, in March 2023 the Department for Culture, Media and Sport launched the Know Your Neighbourhood Fund with £30 million of funding designed to widen participation in volunteering and tackle loneliness in 27 disadvantaged areas across England, including 5 predominantly rural local authority areas.
Updates on the progress of these commitments will be published in the fifth annual report in March.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of social prescribing at reducing levels of loneliness and social isolation.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the value of social prescribing in tackling loneliness. Since 2018, the Government and its partners have invested over £80 million in tackling loneliness.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport published a report on 4 September 2023, Exploring interventions to tackle loneliness, summarising what interventions work to tackle loneliness and a report exploring the knowledge of professionals working to evaluate loneliness interventions. In this report, it was concluded that more evaluations are needed to determine the effect social prescribing has on loneliness.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make tackling loneliness and social isolation a public health priority.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We recognise that loneliness and social isolation can affect many people and impact on their health and wellbeing. In October 2018 the Department of Culture, Media and Sport published the world’s first ever cross-government strategy to tackle loneliness ‘A connected society: a strategy for tackling loneliness’.
Social prescribing is a key component of the National Health Service’s Universal Personalised Care and can work well for those who are lonely or socially isolated. Social Prescribing link workers take a holistic approach to people’s health and wellbeing. They connect people to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support. Social prescribing can work well for those who are socially isolated. Social prescribing activities are commissioned locally, utilising community assets often in the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to require healthcare professionals to (a) assess the potential (i) loneliness and (ii) social isolation when interacting with patients who may be vulnerable to those challenges and (b) signpost those patients to (A) social prescribing services and (B) other civil society engagement opportunities.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Healthcare professionals have welcomed the support from social prescribers. Social prescribing is a key component of the NHS’s Universal Personalised Care and can work well for those who are lonely or socially isolated. Social prescribing link workers take a holistic approach to health and wellbeing. They connect people to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support, such as sports and exercise projects, arts or nature-based activities. Social prescribing activities are commissioned locally, utilising community assets often in the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will provide guidance to schools on (a) ensuring that their pupils have opportunities to raise challenges relating to (i) social isolation and (ii) loneliness and (b) strategies for supporting young people that may experience those challenges.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department works closely with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the government’s strategy for tackling loneliness, which aims to reduce loneliness across all age groups through building the evidence base, reducing the stigma associated with loneliness and driving a lasting shift.
The department does not hold information on the steps schools and colleges are taking to assess the potential risks of loneliness and social isolation among their students. It does monitor children and young people’s feeling of loneliness and sense of belonging at school through regular parent, pupil and learner panel surveys. The department uses this data, alongside other sources, in its annual State of the Nation reports, which presents trends in children and young people’s wellbeing and related experiences, including loneliness, sense of belonging and relationships.
As part of the department’s approach to loneliness, it wants all schools to provide supportive, inclusive environments where all pupils feel they belong and can form positive relationships with peers and adults. The department’s Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum supports this, by teaching pupils about the features and importance of healthy, respectful relationships and the wellbeing benefits of time spent with family and friends.
The department has also produced a range of guidance for schools relevant to supporting pupils experiencing loneliness. The department’s statutory RSHE guidance states that a firm foundation in the benefits and characteristics of good health and wellbeing will enable teachers to talk about isolation, loneliness, unhappiness, bullying and the negative impact of poor wellbeing. It makes clear that isolation and loneliness can affect children and it is very important for children to discuss their feelings with an adult and seek support.
Extra-curricular activities also provide valuable opportunities for social connection, both in and outside of schools; the government is taking action to widen access to these opportunities. This includes investing £200 million a year in its holiday activities and food programme and supporting up to 200 secondary schools to improve their extra-curricular offer through the new Enrichment Partnerships Pilot. Through the National Youth Guarantee, the department is committed to every young person aged 11 to18 having access to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and opportunities to volunteer by 2025, supporting them to make new lasting social connections.
Finally, the guidance on a whole school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing can help settings ensure pupils have opportunities to raise issues affecting them, which may include social isolation and loneliness, and to support them with these challenges. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/promoting-children-and-young-peoples-emotional-health-and-wellbeing.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department holds information on the steps (a) schools and (b) colleges are taking to assess the potential risks of (i) loneliness and (ii) social isolation among their students.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department works closely with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the government’s strategy for tackling loneliness, which aims to reduce loneliness across all age groups through building the evidence base, reducing the stigma associated with loneliness and driving a lasting shift.
The department does not hold information on the steps schools and colleges are taking to assess the potential risks of loneliness and social isolation among their students. It does monitor children and young people’s feeling of loneliness and sense of belonging at school through regular parent, pupil and learner panel surveys. The department uses this data, alongside other sources, in its annual State of the Nation reports, which presents trends in children and young people’s wellbeing and related experiences, including loneliness, sense of belonging and relationships.
As part of the department’s approach to loneliness, it wants all schools to provide supportive, inclusive environments where all pupils feel they belong and can form positive relationships with peers and adults. The department’s Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum supports this, by teaching pupils about the features and importance of healthy, respectful relationships and the wellbeing benefits of time spent with family and friends.
The department has also produced a range of guidance for schools relevant to supporting pupils experiencing loneliness. The department’s statutory RSHE guidance states that a firm foundation in the benefits and characteristics of good health and wellbeing will enable teachers to talk about isolation, loneliness, unhappiness, bullying and the negative impact of poor wellbeing. It makes clear that isolation and loneliness can affect children and it is very important for children to discuss their feelings with an adult and seek support.
Extra-curricular activities also provide valuable opportunities for social connection, both in and outside of schools; the government is taking action to widen access to these opportunities. This includes investing £200 million a year in its holiday activities and food programme and supporting up to 200 secondary schools to improve their extra-curricular offer through the new Enrichment Partnerships Pilot. Through the National Youth Guarantee, the department is committed to every young person aged 11 to18 having access to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and opportunities to volunteer by 2025, supporting them to make new lasting social connections.
Finally, the guidance on a whole school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing can help settings ensure pupils have opportunities to raise issues affecting them, which may include social isolation and loneliness, and to support them with these challenges. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/promoting-children-and-young-peoples-emotional-health-and-wellbeing.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to support children experiencing (a) loneliness and (b) social isolation (i) within and (ii) outside school.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department works closely with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the government’s strategy for tackling loneliness, which aims to reduce loneliness across all age groups through building the evidence base, reducing the stigma associated with loneliness and driving a lasting shift.
The department does not hold information on the steps schools and colleges are taking to assess the potential risks of loneliness and social isolation among their students. It does monitor children and young people’s feeling of loneliness and sense of belonging at school through regular parent, pupil and learner panel surveys. The department uses this data, alongside other sources, in its annual State of the Nation reports, which presents trends in children and young people’s wellbeing and related experiences, including loneliness, sense of belonging and relationships.
As part of the department’s approach to loneliness, it wants all schools to provide supportive, inclusive environments where all pupils feel they belong and can form positive relationships with peers and adults. The department’s Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum supports this, by teaching pupils about the features and importance of healthy, respectful relationships and the wellbeing benefits of time spent with family and friends.
The department has also produced a range of guidance for schools relevant to supporting pupils experiencing loneliness. The department’s statutory RSHE guidance states that a firm foundation in the benefits and characteristics of good health and wellbeing will enable teachers to talk about isolation, loneliness, unhappiness, bullying and the negative impact of poor wellbeing. It makes clear that isolation and loneliness can affect children and it is very important for children to discuss their feelings with an adult and seek support.
Extra-curricular activities also provide valuable opportunities for social connection, both in and outside of schools; the government is taking action to widen access to these opportunities. This includes investing £200 million a year in its holiday activities and food programme and supporting up to 200 secondary schools to improve their extra-curricular offer through the new Enrichment Partnerships Pilot. Through the National Youth Guarantee, the department is committed to every young person aged 11 to18 having access to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and opportunities to volunteer by 2025, supporting them to make new lasting social connections.
Finally, the guidance on a whole school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing can help settings ensure pupils have opportunities to raise issues affecting them, which may include social isolation and loneliness, and to support them with these challenges. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/promoting-children-and-young-peoples-emotional-health-and-wellbeing.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to require his frontline officials to (a) assess the potential (i) loneliness and (ii) social isolation when interacting with people who may be vulnerable to those challenges and (b) signpost those people to (A) social prescribing services and (B) other civil society engagement opportunities.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
All new and existing staff who work with customers are trained to consider a person's circumstances and to tailor support according to their individual needs. Staff complete training that covers a wide range of claimant circumstances, including how to recognise the signs of loneliness and social isolation.
Staff also have access to information on services and support available in their local area for claimants who are vulnerable or who have complex needs, and can signpost to relevant organisations, suggest social prescribing options, or other relevant opportunities such as volunteering.
We’re committed to improving and expanding this Jobcentre Plus signposting, as outlined in Department for Culture, Media and Sport's fourth Tackling Loneliness Report.