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Government Report Flags 'Erosion' of Local Neighbours Ties and Launches Major Cohesion Drive By Alex Harrison, Social Affairs Correspondent, BBC News A new government analysis suggests that interaction and trust between neighbours in the UK have reached their lowest recorded point in a decade, prompting the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to announce a £75m programme aimed at rebuilding local social fabric. The findings, published today in the National Cohesion Index (NCI) annual report, indicate a worrying decline in the informal social connections that underpin community resilience. The study points to a growing phenomenon of "civic isolation," where residents are increasingly disconnected from those living on their street or within their immediate local area. This decline is disproportionately affecting younger renters and those in highly deprived urban environments. The NCI report, which compiles data from the annual Community Life Survey and bespoke behavioural indicators, reveals that only 41% of adults report knowing five or more of their immediate neighbours by name, a figure down from 59% in 2014. More critically, the percentage of residents who say they would feel comfortable asking a neighbour for a small favour, such as collecting a delivery or borrowing a tool, has fallen from 72% to just 54% over the same period. This drop in functional neighbourly reliance and trust is flagged by the government as a significant potential contributor to rising rates of chronic loneliness, particularly among the 16-24 age group, and is linked to poorer local health outcomes and diminished civic engagement. The Dynamics of Decline Analysts suggest the fragmentation of local ties is not attributable to a single factor but is instead a compounding effect of rapid social and economic changes. Professor Ella Jenkins, Director of the Centre for Social Studies at the University of Manchester, attributes much of the shift to changes in how and where people spend their time.
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"The rise of remote and hybrid working has, ironically, reduced the need for local infrastructure and daytime neighbourly contact. People are spending more time in their homes, but that time is spent in digital isolation rather than physical community engagement," Professor Jenkins told BBC News. "Coupled with this is the high rate of population churn in the rental sector, where frequent house moves prevent the accumulation of the shared history and 'social capital' needed for strong street-level bonds. " The report also highlights a stark disparity linked to wealth. Neighbourhoods in the two lowest deciles of the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) showed the sharpest decline in cohesion scores. In these areas, residents were almost three times more likely to report feeling a low sense of "neighbourhood belonging" compared to those in the wealthiest deciles. Experts warn that this creates a negative feedback loop: lower social trust impedes community action and resilience, further entrenching disadvantage. Government Response: The 'Local Trust Accelerator Fund' In response to the data, the government has announced the creation of the Local Trust Accelerator Fund (LTAF), a three-year pilot initiative designed to fund grassroots projects and boost local authority capacity to foster social mixing. The £75m commitment will be delivered through a combination of competitive grants for community organisations and direct funding to councils in areas with the lowest cohesion scores.
The LTAF will specifically target investments in physical and social infrastructure that encourages "meaningful sustained contact," a key finding from previous DLUHC rapid evidence reviews on social cohesion. This includes funding for the revitalisation of community hubs, grants for local food co-operatives, and supporting micro-interventions such as the expansion of "Play Street" schemes, where residential streets are temporarily closed to traffic to enable children's play and adult interaction. Speaking in Westminster, Minister for Social Cohesion, Sarah Linden MP, emphasised the economic and moral imperative of the new programme. "Strong communities are the bedrock of a successful society and a prerequisite for successful levelling up," Ms Linden stated. "When we lack connections with our neighbours, we lose the informal safety nets that support us through tough times. This new funding is not about telling people to be friends; it’s about investing in the shared spaces and shared experiences that allow trust to naturally flourish. The cost of social isolation to the NHS and to our national productivity is simply too high to ignore. " Expert Cautions and Outlook While the funding announcement has been cautiously welcomed by leading social charities and policy think tanks, experts have sounded a note of caution regarding the challenge of reversing entrenched patterns of behaviour. Dr.
Omar Al-Jamil, a Senior Fellow at the Resilience Foundation, noted that governmental policy alone cannot mend social ties. "You cannot mandate friendship, but you can remove barriers to interaction," Dr. Al-Jamil explained. "The real challenge lies not in funding one-off events, but in supporting the 'weak ties'—the casual, frequent, low-intensity interactions—that are crucial for building community resilience. These ties are easily broken by shifting work patterns or the constant pressure of living costs. " He further suggested that for the LTAF to be effective, it must ensure funding is flexible enough to respond to hyper-local needs, such as supporting existing volunteer networks or funding minor improvements to street furniture that encourage residents to linger outside their homes. The government maintains that the LTAF is a long-term commitment. A spokesperson confirmed that the programme includes a rigorous evaluation framework, with initial data on the impact of the pilot schemes due to be published in late 2026. The next NCI annual report, however, will be keenly watched for any early indicators of whether the decade-long decline in neighbourly trust has begun to stabilise.
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