Title page

Contents

Foreword from the Prime Minister 4

Ministerial foreword 5

Executive summary 7

Our vision 8

The focus of government's work 9

The structure of this strategy and government's key policy proposals 12

About this strategy 15

Purpose of this strategy 16

The development of the strategy 16

Guiding principles 16

Scope of the strategy 17

The role of government, communities and the individual 17

What good looks like: measuring success 18

Chapter 1: Evidence and insights 19

What do we mean by loneliness? 20

What impact can loneliness have? 20

What causes loneliness? 21

Consistent measurement of loneliness and the evidence on effective interventions 23

Chapter 2: Organisations that support and enable people's relationships 25

Our ambition 26

Improving how organisations and services connect people at risk of experiencing loneliness to support 27

Improve how organisations and services connect people experiencing loneliness to support at certain trigger points 30

Making it easier to access information about local community groups, activities and support services for loneliness 34

Spreading good practice and encouraging knowledge-sharing on tackling loneliness 35

Chapter 3: Community infrastructure that empowers social connections 37

Our ambition 38

Unlocking the potential of underutilised community space 39

Creating a transport network that enables people's social connections and helps people be connected to their community 42

Supporting communities to come together through good planning and housing 44

Maximising the power of digital tools to connect people 46

Chapter 4: Building a culture that supports connected communities 48

Our ambition 49

Building a national conversation to raise awareness and reduce the stigma around loneliness 52

Supporting grassroots opportunities to strengthen local social relationships and community ties 54

Chapter 5: Next steps - building on this strategy 61

Building the evidence base 62

Taking forward the cross-government approach 63

Next steps - how we can all take action to build a more socially connected society 64

Annex A: Summary of insights from the call for evidence 65

Annex B: Measures for success 68

Thank you 70

References 75