As the co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Tackling Loneliness and Connecting Communities, Loneliness Awareness Week is a deeply important time of the year. With this week also marking 10 years since the tragic passing of Jo Cox, I am proud to be honouring her memory by raising the profile of the impacts of loneliness – a topic Jo worked tirelessly on.

First, I welcomed Dr Yusuf Shamsee – a recently retired GP who led the GP service at Oaklands – to the Loneliness Awareness Week reception. Attended by Stephanie Peacock MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sport, Tourism, Civil Society and Youth, this kickstarted an active week in raising awareness of the diffuse impacts of loneliness and how we can come together to reconnect our communities.

Yusuf also attended our roundtable on social care where we met with key stakeholders across sectors to discuss ways to measure and deliver on social cohesion. Thank you Yusuf for taking the time to come and share your valuable insights.

Furthermore, Intergenerational England, the secretariat of the APPG, also announced the launch of their national enquiry into how intergenerational approaches can transform loneliness action across society.

Finally, the APPG held its inaugural Annual General Meeting, where we elected Lord Sayed Kamall as the new co-chair of the group. I am looking forward to working with Lord Kamall as we progress forwards to raise the profile of the impacts of loneliness in society.

Loneliness is a public health emergency; one made worse in the divided times we experience today. We must tackle this head on to protect our societies and communities.