Deborah Alsina MBE, Chief Executive at Independent Age the national older people’s charity welcomed the report and said:
"The unprecedented experiences of the pandemic has brought to life what it means to be lonely. At Independent Age we have heard through our helplines how some people in later life have lost critical social connections and how others have found lockdowns to be no different to the isolation they faced before the pandemic. As the world starts to return to normality, we welcome the APPG’s call for the Prime Minister to commit to a “connected recovery” out of the Coronavirus crisis.
"We agree with the APPG’s recommendations and urge government to implement them in full to help older people emerge from the pandemic with dignity and purpose. We particularly welcome the call for greater community funding for the services underpinning social prescribing. This will connect people to the community services that help enrich their lives such as gardening or art classes. These services are going to become increasingly important as more older people face poor mental health and complex grief because of the pandemic.
"There must also be a strong focus on addressing inequalities, such the impact of living on a low income or in poor health as these can both cause and intensify loneliness. The Government must commit to a reinvigorated cross-departmental effort to address inequalities as part of tackling loneliness and ensure that long term funding is allocated to make real change possible and sustainable."