Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to respond to the high level of transport poverty in rural areas, as outlined in the report Getting the measure of transport poverty published by the Social Market Foundation on 15 November.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government understands that the transport needs of communities in rural areas differ from those in urban environments for a variety of reasons including demographics, lower population density and travel distances.
The Department for Transport published its ‘Future of Transport: supporting rural transport innovation’ guidance in early October, and will now work to implement its pledges, such as working closer with local leadership to help deploy and scale innovative new technologies in rural communities. As part of this guide, the Department is making up to £3 million of funding available for rural innovation. This will help explore innovative solutions to long-standing issues, such as loneliness and isolation, poor access to services and economically challenging business cases for rural transport services.
The Department is also providing considerable support for bus and other transport services, including in rural areas. Our £20 million Rural Mobility Fund is supporting 16 innovative, demand-led minibus trials in rural and suburban areas across 16 local authorities, including Hertfordshire, in England. These pilots are exploring whether Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) can serve these communities more effectively than traditional public transport solutions alone. We have also announced that a new uplift of 60% will be added to Community Transport Operators’ (CTOs) Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) claims until 31 March 2025.
More widely, in May, we announced a long-term approach to protect and improve bus services backed by an additional £300 million from July 2023 until April 2025. £140 million of this funding will go to bus operators to support services, and the remaining £160 million will go to Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) to protect and enhance bus services, and support local fares initiatives.
The Government is investing nearly £600 million to deliver a £2 fare cap on single bus fares in England outside London to help passengers save on their regular travel costs, which the Prime Minister recently announced would be extended until the end of 2024.
On 4 October, as part of Network North, we announced a further £1 billion from redirected HS2 funding to level up bus services in the North and Midlands, helping to make them more frequent, reliable, cheaper, and easier to use.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has taken steps to increase support for young men suffering from mental health conditions in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We remain committed to the aims of the NHS Long Term Plan, investing at least £2.3 billion of extra funding a year in expanding and transforming mental health services in England, including in Romford constituency. This extra funding will enable an extra two million people, including young men, to be treated by mental health services within the National Health Service by March 2024. We expect integrated care boards to continue to meet the Mental Health Investment Standard by increasing their investment in mental health services in line with their overall increase in funding for the year.
The new suicide prevention strategy for England, including Romford constituency, is a five-year strategy which sets out the Government’s ambition for suicide prevention. Many of the actions within the new strategy will support suicide prevention in men by addressing the common risk factors for this group, such as a history of drug or alcohol misuse, family or relationships problems, and social isolation and loneliness.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will have discussions with local authorities on establishing community hubs with the aim of helping to tackle (a) poverty and (b) social isolation in (i) Romford and (ii) England.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government recognises how community hubs, run by local authorities, charities and voluntary and community organisations play an important role in helping to deliver local services on which communities rely.
Local councils play an essential role in the fabric of our country and are best placed to understand local funding priorities. The flexibility to make funding decisions at a local level is often why these services are so effective.
In recognition of this most of the funding made available through the Local Government Finance Settlement, worth £59.7 billion in 2023-24, is un-ringfenced in recognition of local authorities being best placed to understand local priorities.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of COVID-19 on the number of volunteers in the charity sector, and what steps they are taking to support charities to recruit a sufficient number of volunteers.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government recognises how vital volunteering is for society, reaping benefits for those who volunteer as well as the organisations they assist. The Government aims to remove barriers which prevent people from getting involved.
The Government’s Community Life Survey shows that approximately 7 million people in England (16%) took part in volunteering with groups and organisations at least once a month in 2021/22. This is in line with rates recorded in 2020/21 (17%) and lower than before the pandemic.
HM Government funded the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) to carry out the ‘Time Well Spent’ survey on volunteer experiences, which was published in June 2023. We are also working closely with the Vision for Volunteering, and funding it this financial year. This is a strategic initiative from the voluntary sector to lead the ongoing support and development of volunteering in England with the aim of changing the volunteering landscape for the better by 2032.
My Department has also funded several other initiatives to support volunteering. The Volunteering Futures Fund supports organisations to develop more inclusive volunteering opportunities. The Know Your Neighbourhood fund aims to widen participation in volunteering and to tackle loneliness. We also provided funding for the Big Help Out the day after the Coronation of His Majesty The King, on 8 May 2023, which encouraged people to help out in their communities and to volunteer with charities in their local area.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to (a) implement the Future of Transport Rural Strategy and (b) consult on reforming grant funding for bus operators.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department for Transport published its ‘Future of Transport: supporting rural transport innovation’ guidance in early October, and will now work to implement its pledges, such as working closer with local leadership to help deploy and scale innovative new technologies in rural communities. As part of this guide, the Department is making up to £3 million of funding available for rural innovation. This will help explore innovative solutions to long-standing issues, such as loneliness and isolation, poor access to services and economically challenging business cases for rural transport services.
The Government committed to reforming the Bus Service Operator Grant (BSOG) in the National Bus Strategy and intends to publish a consultation later this year. The consultation will seek views from bus operators and local authorities on several measures to modernise and future-proof the BSOG. We intend to include proposals for distance-based payments that may help rural operators and simplify the administration of the grant.
Our support for buses includes community transport too. We have just announced that the Government will continue to provide increased financial support to these community transport operators to help protect these key services by uplifting their bus service operator grant claims by 60%. This significant support will be available to operators for claims from 1 July 2023 to the end of March 2025.
Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what role public houses have in his Department's leveling up policies; and what steps his Department is taking to utilise them.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Community Ownership Fund has awarded funding to protect a wide range of community assets that are important to communities, including £8 million for 33 Pubs.
We recognise that Pubs can help to form vital parts of our social fabric and boost pride in place by bringing people together and help to tackle loneliness and social isolation.
Pubs provide a range of services for the communities they serve, and the Community Ownership Fund helps local groups to secure the futures of pubs in their communities.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry 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 trends in the levels of loneliness and social isolation in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England; and what (i) financial and (ii) other steps her Department is taking to tackle loneliness and social isolation in those areas.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS collects data on levels of loneliness in England through its annual Community Life Survey (CLS), which suggests that prevalence of loneliness in 2021-22 remained similar to pre-COVID levels, with 6% of adults reporting that they are always or often lonely. Levels of loneliness in the West Midlands in 2021-22 were similar to levels in England (7% always or often lonely). Data is not available to estimate loneliness levels at a constituency level.
The government launched the Know Your Neighbourhood (KYN) Fund in March 2023, an up to £30 million package of funding designed to widen participation in volunteering and tackle loneliness in 27 disadvantaged areas across England. The KYN Fund will run until March 2025, with funding allocations taking place up until March 2024. A key focus of the programme is to generate and share learning on how people in disadvantaged areas can be supported to volunteer and improve their social connections, which will help to support sustained action beyond the lifetime of the Fund. Four areas in the West Midlands fall in scope of the KYN Fund: Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Stoke-on-Trent and Cannock Chase.
Furthermore, the government continues to take action to tackle loneliness across England through public communications to reduce the stigma about loneliness, building the evidence base on loneliness and supporting other government departments and external organisations to consider loneliness in their work.
Copies of the fourth annual report on the government's world-first tackling loneliness strategy are available in the Libraries of the House of Commons and Lords and online.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of increases in the cost-of-living on trends in the level of social isolation; and whether her Department is taking steps to help tackle social isolation.
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, where everyone is able to build meaningful relationships. Having strong social relationships plays an important role in our physical and mental wellbeing, and government, local councils, health systems and voluntary and community sector organisations all have an important role to play in tackling loneliness.
The Community Life Survey, which the department publishes annually, measures loneliness and collects data on people’s social interactions and support networks. Last year we also published research into the factors associated with loneliness in adults, and found that being on a lower income or unemployed was a contributing factor. We also engage regularly with stakeholders like the Jo Cox Foundation, who are monitoring the impact of cost of living pressures on individuals and charities providing services that aim to reduce loneliness.
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. The £30 million fund will create thousands of opportunities to bring people together, allow them to develop skills, build relationships and feel more connected to their community.
As announced at the Spring Budget, the department is also delivering a £101.5 million package of support for charities and community organisations in England. As part of this, the £76 million Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund is currently open until 16 October 2023 for applications from frontline organisations, including those that tackle social isolation, that are seeing increased demand for their services and increased delivery costs because of cost of living pressures.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to Government grants statistics 2020 to 2021, published on 31 March 2022, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Loneliness Covid-19 Fund.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The department sets objectives for grant funding when designing the grant scheme and allocates funding in accordance with those objectives. The department also conducts post-event assurance and evaluation of the outcomes achieved. The evaluation for the Loneliness Covid-19 Fund can be accessed here.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to Government grants statistics 2020 to 2021, published on 31 March 2022, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Let's Talk Loneliness Grants.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The department sets objectives for grant funding when designing the grant scheme and allocates funding in accordance with those objectives. The department and its public bodies deliver all grant funding in line with the Government Functional Standard GovS 015: Grants. Due to the scale of funding for the Let’s Talk Loneliness Grants, this involved monitoring throughout delivery and a final outcomes report provided to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, including survey findings.