The All Party Parliamentary Group on Social Integration held a two-part enquiry about social connection during the Covid-19 crisis.

In late March 2020, the APPG put out a call for written evidence, supplemented by three online evidence sessions held in mid-April 2020.

Questions that the first part of the inquiry looked at included:

• What issues has the COVID-19 crisis raised in relation to social connection and integration?
• Who is at risk of social isolation?
• What challenges have you encountered in your work to reach and support socially isolated groups?
• Are there best practices you would like to share with others working in similar situations?
• What should the Government be doing to support you in your work to reach and support socially isolated groups?
• What support would be useful from other relevant groups such as councils, the NHS and other civil society bodies

The enquiry and report looked at a number of areas including:

1. The impact of Covid-19 crisis on social isolation

2. Community relations

3. Responses to the crisis

4. Volunteering

It set out the following recommendations for both the short and long term:

Short-term

• A consideration of social connection and social isolation should be embedded into the Government’s overall response to COVID-19, the work of Local Resilience Forums, as well as into the day-to-day activities of organisations delivering food and medicines to isolated individuals.
• During the crisis period, all councils should have a Cabinet lead whose remit covers social isolation and volunteering.
• It is essential that learning from initiatives to reach socially isolated people is evaluated and shared.
• Digital champion schemes, where volunteers support those who lack digital skills and confidence, should be extended, using some of those who have offered themselves as NHS volunteers.
• With public libraries closed, people living in asylum or homelessness accommodation should have access to wifi, to enable them to go online without the need to use expensive data. The Home Office and accommodation providers should review access to wifi for asylum-seekers at the soonest opportunity. 
• The Covid-19 crisis has seen hundreds of thousands of volunteers coming forward to offer practical and social support to vulnerable and isolated people. Organisations who are recruiting volunteers, as well as the Government, need to start planning to harness this legacy now.
• Social media companies must remove content that supports conspiracy theories or breaches hate speech policies. They should also report to the Government on these issues to help build an evidence base to counter harmful misinformation.

Long-term

• The Covid-19 crisis has exposed a huge digital divide in the country. It is essential that, when the current crisis period ends, there is long-term commitment from the Government, educational institutions, employers and civil society to reduce digital exclusion.
• The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government should review the Integrated Communities Action Plan and other relevant policy to take into account the Covid-19 crisis. This review should make sure that areas with a weaker social infrastructure and less volunteering and mutual aid are not further left behind. Similar reviews should take place in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
• The Government should put in place a new programme of work to strengthen local volunteering and increase its levels among groups less likely to volunteer.