To ask the Minister of Health for an update on the development of a loneliness strategy.

Currently, Northern Ireland does not have a specific strategy to address loneliness, however it is acknowledged as an important but cross cutting issue that no one organization can tackle working alone. It requires a collective response and a collaborative approach involving all sectors, central government, agencies, voluntary and community sector and beyond. As a society we need to give the issue of loneliness greater priority, given its impact on society’s health and wellbeing.

My department has established a small loneliness working group who are responsible for collecting information and consulting with colleagues in the DoH, other NICS departments as well as the wider HSC family. We continue to engage with these departments and organizations through an established interdepartmental and regional HSC Trust loneliness forum.

My Department has completed a scoping exercise inclusive of a literature review across the Northern Ireland to identify how the issue is being addressed in existing policies and services across a variety of agencies. This work will now continue in the form of a loneliness framework, which will have a focus on health and well-being and will support HSCTs and those they work with to address loneliness.