The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch) has welcomed Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan to create a Minister for Loneliness. 

The Foundation has supported efforts to reduce the chronic loneliness faced by older people for nearly a decade. Our Ageing and Social Cohesion programme brought together the organisations which helped bring about the Campaign to End Loneliness in 2011. 

Andrew Barnett, director of the UK Branch of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, says: 

“Loneliness is a chronic problem in our society. It is estimated 1.2 million older people across the UK suffer from this terrible feeling. A ministerial post focusing on this issue is testament to the hard work of the team at the Campaign to End Loneliness, which has worked tirelessly for nearly a decade to bring the problem of chronic loneliness to the public attention. 

“It is also a testament to the legacy of the late MP Jo Cox and the Commission established in her memory.”

Esther Goodwin Brown, Transitions in Later Life programme manager says:

“Our Transitions in Later Life Programme is working to ensure people from mid-life are prepared emotionally for the changes ageing can bring. Major changes, like retirement and bereavement, can trigger a person to feel less connected to others and for some chronically lonely. We hope that through our partners’ work today, older people tomorrow will feel better supported for the changes ahead.”