In response to the new report, Promising approaches to reducing loneliness and isolation in later life, by Age UK and The Campaign to End Loneliness, Janet Morrison, Chief Executive of Independent Age, said:
“The Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has called loneliness our ‘national shame’. Under the new Care Act, councils have a duty to reach out to people experiencing isolation. We worry, however, that councils aren’t being given the necessary resources to help the 1 in 10 older people experiencing chronic loneliness today, or indeed to address the needs of the 1.5 million older people this report suggests could be chronically lonely by 2028. We welcome this timely report and the practical guidance it lays out to help health and social care commissioners – and all of us – to tackle this issue and to create lasting changes which will improve the lives of so many older people affected by loneliness.”