Report

Lonely Nation – Part 5

This report from UK think tank the Centre for Social Justice looks at tackling the human and economic costs of Britain’s loneliness epidemic.

Britain is a lonely nation. The government’s own statistics show that 2023/24 was the loneliest year on record. Polling for the CSJ reveals that nearly six in ten adults feel lonely most, often or some of the time.

This equates to 32 million people. Over one in five adults (22 per cent) feel existentially lonely, a fundamental separateness from other people and the wider world. Loneliness is a public health emergency. The effects of loneliness and social isolation have been shown comparable to smoking, obesity and physical inactivity. Loneliness is endemic and getting worse. It leaves lives marked by sadness and despair, without the fundamental relationships essential for true flourishing.

In addition to the human cost, loneliness is contributing to the Treasury’s financial black hole, costing the taxpayer billions of pounds. The cost to health and social care services of severe loneliness in older people is in excess of £6,000 per person. Researchers found that preventing loneliness could see savings of £3.6 million. The impact of loneliness on the workforce has been estimated to cost employers £2.5 billion per year (including health outcomes, depression and lost productivity). Other research has identified that the wellbeing, health and work productivity cost associated with severe loneliness is £9,900 per person per year.

These costs will only rise unless government acts on the root causes of the loneliness epidemic. This will require a refreshed loneliness strategy, resolutely focused on addressing four key areas: strengthening family relationships, tackling the acute causes of loneliness among older people, ensuring planning reform delivers good quality, well-designed communities, and responding to increasing poverty, particularly the relationship between loneliness and surging food bank use.