Agenda item

Report ACH23-021

The Committee considered a report providing an update on the delivery of the Tackling Loneliness Strategy Action Plan. The Tackling Loneliness Strategy was approved by the Adult Care and Health Policy Development and Scrutiny Committee in November 2021 and was launched later that year. At the time, Members were advised that an updated action plan would be brought to the Committee with evidence of progress throughout the lifetime of the strategy.

The Principal Loneliness Champion informed Members that a bespoke London Borough of Bromley (LBB) Tackling Loneliness Workshops had commenced in March 2023. The workshop was aimed at professionals and volunteers working with residents of all ages, stages of life and backgrounds who may be experiencing loneliness. Over 100 people, from various areas, had already attended the workshop, and Councillors were encouraged to attend future sessions which they would look to hold in the evening. The workshops had received fantastic feedback with 95% of participants having found it to be ‘useful’ or ‘extremely useful’. In response to questions, the Principal Loneliness Champion advised that the remaining 5% had said it was useful to have an understanding about loneliness, however they could not put anything into practice within their role. It was also confirmed that the Tackling Loneliness Workshop was a recommended training session for LBB officers. The Chairman advised that he had attended one of the workshops and recommended that Members attend future sessions. It was agreed that holding them in the evening was a good suggestion, which could increase the number of attendees.

The Principal Loneliness Champion advised that she had been connecting with other local and national organisations, including local authorities across the UK, to share ideas and good practice via the Tackling Loneliness HUB. The HUB was a free online platform, managed by the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS), for professionals, policy makers and those helping people experiencing loneliness. The Principal Loneliness Champion advised that this had been extremely insightful, and she was now an ambassador for the HUB.

Members were informed that Loneliness Awareness Week had taken place from the 12^th–16^th June. A Tackling Loneliness Summit had been held at Bromley Civic Centre on Friday 16^th June which had been attended by over 100 people. Discussions had been held regarding loneliness and the work being undertaken both nationally and locally. A video had been received from the Minister for Sport, Tourism, Heritage and Civil Society and there had been speakers from various organisations. There had also been a marketplace of 10 stalls to showcase and promote local activities and projects – such as Bromley Football Club, Shared Lives and the Platinum Jubilee Parks Fund. Members extended their thanks and congratulations to all those involved in organising and participating in the Tackling Loneliness Summit. A copy of the press release, which contained a video of the event, can be accessed via the following link: Bromley - Tackling Loneliness Summit 2023

The Principal Loneliness Champion informed Members that a number of Big Lunches had also been held. Two had been held internally, attended by 80 LBB staff, and three Community Big Lunches had been held at the Queens Gardens (Bromley), Betts Park (Anerley) and the BEECHE Centre at High Elms Park (Orpington), attended by over 120 people. The Bromley Children’s Project had attended to facilitate arts and crafts activities and there had been a number of stalls promoting the services available within the local area.

A Member considered that the social isolation element seemed to have “slipped off” from the initial proposal of the strategy – loneliness and social isolation were related, but were slightly separate issues. The Assistant Director Strategy for Performance and Corporate Transformation advised that when this initiative had first commenced discussions had been held regarding the difference between loneliness and social isolation and definitions had been included within the strategy. When the document had been co-produced it had been agreed that social isolation was sometimes an individual’s choice, whereas loneliness was not. It was important to target and keep those on board who did not wish to be lonely. However they needed to hold on to the understanding of the difference between loneliness and social isolation, and ensure that residents understood this too. It was considered that the campaign language should be kept as simple as possible in terms of what residents could do if they wanted to participate. The Member acknowledged the points made but highlighted that some residents would be impacted by both loneliness and social isolation, and this needed to be recognised. The Strategy Officer noted that a number of the initiatives being taken forward in the action plan were also relevant for people experiencing social isolation. This included promoting the Home Library Service and the sporting memories group for people with dementia which was hosted by Bromley Football Club. The Assistant Director Strategy for Performance and Corporate Transformation suggested that the social isolation elements could be drawn out more clearly in future reports.

A Member noted the action to support families from Ukraine to connect with other refugees and their local communities. It was questioned if a similar service could be provided to other refugees as they entered the borough and if advice could be given to community groups. The Principal Loneliness Champion said this was something that would need to be explored. This year they would be looking to connect with other minorities in the borough, but this work was not yet underway. In response to further questions, the Principal Loneliness Champion advised that the social prescribers were very aware of Community Links Bromley (CLB) and their service, and were able to share information with each other. The Principal Loneliness Champion noted that part of the role was to help promote organisations listed on the Simply Connect Bromley database. With regards to the Platinum Jubilee Parks Fund, the Strategy Officer advised that further rounds of funding were in place, and this had been promoted at the Tackling Loneliness Summit. They were making contact with a number of residents and would follow up with Friends of Parks. The Principal Loneliness Champion noted that the cut off for the next round of funding would be 23^rd October 2023.

In response to a question regarding the network of organisations that provided support, the Principal Loneliness Champion advised that the organisations received lots of support from CLB, including a weekly newsletter highlighting funding opportunities. It was noted that a survey would be undertaken later in the year to understand the impact of people using the service – they would ask where people had found out about the organisation, which could help in terms of how they promoted their services. The Strategy Officer highlighted that people often chose to attend smaller local groups that were in a walkable distance from their home – such as lunch clubs, coffee mornings and groups run by housing associations. They would be looking to encourage more local cafés to join the ‘Chatty Café’ scheme this year and information would be provided within community hubs to help people access their local offer. The Principal Loneliness Champion informed Members that people could search the Simply Connect Bromley database by postcode to list groups in the local area, and then filter by activity.

In response to a question from a Co-opted Member, the Principal Loneliness Champion advised that lots of work was also undertaken within the Children, Education and Families directorate and she had a regular slot at the school mental health forum. Updates were provided regarding the support available for students, parents, guardians and school staff in relation to loneliness and social isolation. An intergenerational project had taken place with schools, Children and Family centres and afterschool clubs to create cards for various different religious festivals. An intergenerational pen-pal project was also underway in small number of schools. The Principal Loneliness Champion said she would be very happy to attend school parent evenings/open mornings. The Strategy Officer noted that the Principal Loneliness Champion had been delivering assemblies in a number of the borough’s primary and secondary schools.

RESOLVED that the progress made in delivering the Tackling Loneliness Strategy Action Plan 2022–2026 be noted.