Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure local authorities address isolation and loneliness among people with a learning disability.

During the pandemic we supported local councils and providers to continue to offer safe services. As social distancing measures have relaxed, the Department continues to work with local councils to monitor capacity and explore how the resources of day services and social activity can be used, including for people with a learning disability. In addition, we recently engaged with local authorities to identify the challenges in delivering day services for local communities and understand their long-term strategy to deliver these services.

During the pandemic, more than £34 million of the £750 million provided to the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector was allocated to measures to reduce loneliness. In addition, £1.6 million was provided to charities supporting autistic people and people with a learning disability for activities such as virtual peer support and helpline capacity.