Foreword from the Prime Minister
By any fair standard, Britain can be proud about of its approach to social cohesion. Simple things we take for granted – like inter-faith marriages, or religious freedom – are in fact a departure from the historical or international norm. Indeed, the ease with which people of different cultures and races live side-by-side in our diverse democracy is both envied and feared around the globe. Feared, because it provides a banal yet profound challenge to the increasingly noisy politics that says it simply cannot be done; people who are different cannot come together united under one flag. In our communities we show, daily, that it can.
This Call to Action recommits Britain to that quiet act of defiance against the forces of division and renews our approach to social cohesion. As ever, we draw deeply on our shared values. Not just our core liberal principles such as tolerance, protection for minorities, the rule of law or the freedom to live and let live. Nor just the natural pluralism that has always characterised an island country containing our four distinct and proud nations. We also draw on the distinctively British approach to integration that has always been grounded in the fairness of the two-way street: in rights and responsibilities. And we draw on our pragmatic, common-sense decency which means that people who come here to contribute can become, not just citizens, but our friends and neighbours. That bound by our common good, they become part of the greater us.
Yet as this Action Plan also sets out, we cannot be blind to the dangers or the stakes. Because the truth is while our values remain strong, in recent years their practice has often been poor. Too often, we have taken our eye off the ball when it comes to being clear about the responsibilities of cohesion, as well as the rights. We should rightly be proud of having some of the toughest anti-hate and anti-discrimination laws anywhere in the world. But this should be underpinned by a collective responsibility to pursue integration.
This has always been vital for social cohesion. But in a world as dangerous and volatile as ours it becomes an emergency. The blunt truth is that in the coming decades geopolitics will test the strength of our communities like never before. Not least because hostile states will actively seek to divide us as part of their hybrid strategies. Social cohesion is therefore not just a good in and of itself. It is also a vital front in the resilience of our national security. To put it simply: if we are to be strong on the global stage, we must have strong and united communities at home. And so, to weather the storms of this volatile world, it follows that our ‘social contract’ must now also be strengthened.
Across government, that work is already under way. On the economy, our focus on tackling the cost-of-living crisis, investing in the public realm, a confident industrial strategy and a total rejection of the failed austerity project, provides a much stronger foundation for stronger communities. On migration, we are restoring trust by recognising contribution as the fundamental principle that consent for effective migration and a compassionate asylum system depend upon. Meanwhile, our Pride in Place programme gives communities, in an uncertain world, the agency and control to strengthen themselves. It is a rejection of the remote liberalism that merely dispenses transfers and targets from Whitehall, in favour of active community-building from the ground up.
But we can and must do more. In a world where so many people – digital grifters, hostile states, politicians of grievance – have a vested interest in division, we need to be much more active in asserting British values and the responsibilities of integration. We must be stronger when it comes to rooting out extremism and rejecting the passive tolerance that sometimes prefers to look the other way. And we must be clear that patriotic pride is something to be embraced as a force for good in our communities. That it is, by its nature, a collective act of community-building that is totally opposed to exclusion and those who seek to divide us.
Because ultimately, this is the only way we can sustainably strengthen society. That is the challenge this Action Plan takes on. And in doing so it shows a new path for a united, proud, confident and cohesive Britain.
Foreword from the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government
Our first duty as a government is to protect our country. That means uniting those of us who are proud of the UK together in pursuit of a safer, stronger more prosperous country against those hostile actors who want to divide us.
As a nation we are proof that people from different backgrounds can live, work and contribute together. But the foundations on which this country has been built, from which our principles of compassion and community were originally drawn, are under threat.
Economic shocks, austerity, technological change, demographic changes and a rise in extremism have each made people feel as if they have lost a sense of control over their lives, their country and their community. Many have reacted through online echo chambers exacerbated by malevolent algorithms, and in the polarisation of public life leaving us more detached from one another and less resilient.
The threat this presents to our cohesion is not academic. People from different backgrounds getting on together isn’t a nice to have, it is a fundamental pre-condition to the Britain we have come to expect and that is needed for Britain to thrive in the 21st Century. Without our multi-ethnic democracy there is no NHS, without cohesion there is no stability to plan ahead or weather attacks, without pride in Britain, there is no better future for our children.
This call to action does not claim to address every underlying cause of division. That is a whole of government effort, which includes our reforms to create good jobs and get people into them, giving long term fairer funding to local authorities, fixing the broken asylum system and giving greater power and resources to communities through devolution. Alongside that, this call provides the first steps towards a more confident, cohesive, and resilient United Kingdom.
We also know that people around the country are already conducting acts of service to their community and their country – from litter picking to volunteering teaching English to serving in our armed forces. Those people might not be as loud as those who seek to divide us but they are far greater in number. It is those people, who have already chosen to come together to make their country and their community better, that we are backing up. Our patriotism is being on their side.
These are meaningful steps to improve social cohesion. We are protecting young people with tougher regulation of home education, and we are strengthening national pride through new major sporting moments. New investment is being made available for cohesive communities, and local areas that have been ignored and let down will benefit from an expansion of the Pride of Place programme. Decisive action will finally be taken on extremism, and unsafe campuses and workplaces will no longer be tolerated. And we are championing the importance of a shared language in bringing our communities together.
This is our expression of real patriotism. A pride which is hopeful about the future for people’s communities and the country, not pining for some imagined past. Open to all those who call these islands home, regardless of the colour of their skin.
We will welcome those who want to join us and be unwavering in our approach. We are answering the questions which previous governments have shied away from. That failure to act left the country with antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crime at a record high, extremism unchecked, and an asylum system utterly broken. We have made a different choice: in place of division, we will always choose unity.
Executive summary
The United Kingdom has endured rapid technological, demographic, and economic change, alongside a rising tide of extremism and malign foreign influence. These factors, among others, are putting social cohesion in the UK under strain. Trust in institutions is declining. Tensions between communities are worsening. And extremists are exploiting people’s fears for their own purposes.
Protecting What Matters sets out the steps government is taking to improve social cohesion and protect what matters. The approach is built on the following key pillars:
1. Confident communities
Restoring pride in place. Investment in local communities and communal life is central to rebuilding pride and belonging. The government will expand the Pride in Place programme, putting more communities at the heart of decision-making in their neighbourhoods, and providing them with the funding to deliver change. This comes alongside further support for local media, reviving our high streets, and tackling crime and environmental harm.
Bringing people together. We will invest in initiatives that create opportunities for connection across backgrounds, including cultural and sporting events, youth and community infrastructure, and targeted programmes to address loneliness and support young people. We will strengthen oversight of home education by raising legal standards. Education reforms will strengthen citizenship, British history, and religious education.
Teaching our values and history. We will mandate citizenship classes in schools and teach digital literacy to help young people navigate the modern world. We will improve the national curriculum’s teaching of our nation’s history and ensure Holocaust awareness stays a compulsory topic in schools.
Celebrating faith and belief communities. Working closely with faith and belief communities, we will expand Inter Faith Week, boost faith and belief literacy in government and wider society, and strengthen the role of Religious Education, including through improved engagement with Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education (SACREs). The government will also deliver the £92 million Places of Worship Renewal Fund to protect religious heritage buildings and support community cohesion. Internationally, the government will also champion freedom of religion or belief through diplomatic partnerships to promote tolerance and protect minorities.
2. Cohesive communities
Integration based on values. We know that migration needs to be managed to support communities and cohesion. The government will implement reforms to the points-based system, continue our efforts to reduce irregular migration, whilst restoring order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly. This will include ending the use of asylum hotels and returning them to local communities. We will also implement reforms to bolster Community Sponsorship to put power in the hands of local communities to be directly involved in welcoming and supporting those seeking refuge. We will set clear expectations for integration (including English language proficiency and participation in work) and develop a cross-government integration strategy. Efforts will focus on removing barriers to participation, supporting underrepresented groups, and fostering a shared sense of values across the UK.
Tackling hate and discrimination. We will ensure hate crimes are prosecuted with the full force of the law. We will provide further protective security funding for faith communities also take forward a series of actions to tackle religious hatred. We are adopting a non-statutory definition of anti-Muslim hostility and will appoint a special representative on tackling anti-Muslim hostility. In addition to the range of actions the government has already taken to combat antisemitism, we will also act on the recommendations of Sir David Bell’s review into antisemitism in schools and colleges, and on the recommendations of Lord Mann’s review of how the healthcare system deals with antisemitism and other forms of racism. We will roll out training on religious hatred across the Civil Service.
We will also work with schools to tackle racist abuse and understand disparities in exclusions, alongside research into improving the recruitment and progression of teachers from ethnic minority groups.
3. Resilient communities
Protecting institutions from extremist abuse. We will embed the 2024 extremism definition across government, working closely with frontline partners such as the police. We will update and embed the 2024 engagement principles so that public bodies do not confer legitimacy, funding or influence on extremist groups. We will publish an annual State of Extremism report setting out the nature of the foreign and domestic extremist threat to the UK and government’s response. We will connect our local and national networks to ensure a coordinated and effective response. Across specific sectors, we will strengthen Charity Commission powers to tackle extremist abuse, including the power to shut down charities. We will also introduce measures to tackle extremism in university campuses, including strengthening monitoring and oversight of Prevent compliance issues to enable enforcement action where necessary.
Disrupting wider extremist influence and activity. We will develop new tools and powers to disrupt organisations that spread extremism, hate, and threaten public safety. We will also introduce a State Threats Designation Power – based on counter terrorism proscription – disrupting and deterring the most egregious state and proxy organisations carrying out hostile activity against the UK. We will transform our Disruptions capacity to detect, expose, and counter extremist influence across the UK, and we will expand the reach of our VISA taskforce to stop extremists entering the UK. We will work with the Crown Prosecution Service and the Police to ensure robust use of existing hate crime and public order legislation on harmful extremist conduct, and terrorism legislation wherever conduct meets the appropriate threshold. We will also ensure the Police are equipped to respond to those who try to intimidate, threaten and harass others for so-called ‘blasphemy’ related incidents.
Securing online spaces. We will make use of robust powers to require platforms to mitigate risks related to their algorithms. We will give people greater control over what they are exposed to online and reduce accidental exposure to hateful content. We will increase transparency about how online platforms operate and how they comply with the Online Safety Act. We will give independent researchers access to platform data so they can help to build the evidence base to hold companies to account.
4. The road ahead
Building confident, cohesive, and resilient communities is a whole-of-society effort. A new Social Cohesion Taskforce will drive this work from within government to identify new policy solutions, ensuring strong ministerial oversight. Collaboration with devolved governments, local and strategic authorities, civil society, and the public will be essential. This programme marks the beginning of a sustained, transparent, and accountable effort to protect what matters and unite the country for the future.
Chapter 1: Introduction
Across all four nations, the United Kingdom is a proud, multi-ethnic, democratic country. We are accepting of our neighbours, proud of our varied experiences, traditions and customs, and of how these differences enrich our communities and our country. Throughout our history, the UK’s ability to withstand external challenges has been underpinned by a strong social fabric – a shared sense of pride, tolerance, generosity, respect, and courage.
But the social cohesion that has kept us united in the face of adversity can no longer be taken for granted. Trust in institutions is in decline, making people increasingly susceptible to finding answers elsewhere – often from those who do not share our values. Over the last decade, we have seen emerging signs that cohesion is fraying. Government will take a leading role to heal divides and protect what matters.
Trends and challenges: rapid change in the UK
The reasons for this shift are complex and include a potent mixture of factors which have brought rapid change, including:
Economic: Over the last 15 years, households have experienced the weakest real income growth in generations.<a href="
https://archive.ph/8IaBF/again?url=...nt-cohesive-and-resilient-united-kingdom#fn:1" rel="footnote">[footnote 1]</a> Polling across England, Scotland, and Wales shows that people are increasingly pessimistic about the economic situation, with 76% describing the economy as poor and 77% concerned about the personal impacts of the cost of living.<a href="
https://archive.ph/8IaBF/again?url=...nt-cohesive-and-resilient-united-kingdom#fn:2" rel="footnote">[footnote 2]</a> Austerity compounded these effects by cutting off many of the support systems that helped communities, particularly the most deprived, to navigate these struggles. The visible deterioration of public services, from closed youth centres to understaffed hospitals, has been seen as tangible evidence that the state is no longer delivering for ordinary people. When people experience prolonged hardship and a lack of opportunity, their social confidence and sense of cohesion can erode.
Technological: The deindustrialisation of the 1980s and 1990s not only reshaped the UK’s economy, but fundamentally altered the social fabric of entire regions. Mining communities, factory towns, and docklands had their own civic institutions, social clubs, trade unions, and collective identities. When industries collapsed, these structures often collapsed with them, leaving populations without their traditional sources of belonging and identity. Now, the rise of remote working and more precarious, less secure work is driving similar shifts in the amount of time people spend with their colleagues. It is another pressure on the organic community connections that historically allowed for daily exposure to neighbours and colleagues with alternative perspectives.
At the same time as work has shifted to be more online, our social lives have too. In 2025, 54.8 million individuals used social media platforms, representing 80.8% of internet users in the UK.<a href="
https://archive.ph/8IaBF/again?url=...nt-cohesive-and-resilient-united-kingdom#fn:3" rel="footnote">[footnote 3]</a> As people spend more time online, there is less immediate need to connect with the communities and places around them. It also becomes easier for people to fall into ‘rabbit holes’ or ‘echo chambers’, where they are vulnerable to misinformation and radicalisation via content they see online. As physical spaces of connection have also been in decline following years of under-investment, it becomes even more important for the government to invest in cohesion and to create the spaces and places that can support communal life and social connection.
Demographic: Immigration policy under the last government created a system that is unsustainable, and so too is the record level of net migration we inherited. Net migration reached a historic peak at 906,000 in June 2023, nearly 5 times the level recorded in 2019.<a href="
https://archive.ph/8IaBF/again?url=...nt-cohesive-and-resilient-united-kingdom#fn:4" rel="footnote">[footnote 4]</a> Since coming to office, this government has taken concrete steps to slow the pace of change, with net migration falling to 204,000 in 2025,<a href="
https://archive.ph/8IaBF/again?url=...nt-cohesive-and-resilient-united-kingdom#fn:5" rel="footnote">[footnote 5]</a> but there is more to do. Economic migration rose while training of the domestic workforce dropped and the proportion of UK residents in work fell. This rise in migration, particularly in lower skilled sectors, also saw an increase in the abuse and exploitation of workers, paid at wage levels that undercut reputable employers, and in many cases broke the law. For many living in the UK, the changes brought about by this surge in migration have been too much, too quickly and have put huge pressure on services and housing that were already struggling.
These changes have not been felt evenly across communities. This applies to the impact of the asylum system as well as to economic migration. In March 2024, the distribution of asylum seekers was concentrated in London, the North West of England, and the West Midlands. Just ten local authorities hosted 22% of asylum seekers.<a href="
https://archive.ph/8IaBF/again?url=...nt-cohesive-and-resilient-united-kingdom#fn:6" rel="footnote">[footnote 6]</a> This allocation often disproportionately affects poorer neighbourhoods where housing is cheaper and can inflame tensions between communities, as seen during the unrest of summer 2024.
The policy of housing asylum seekers in hotels is seen as a visible symptom of decline. The use of hotels has contributed to poor integration outcomes for both existing communities and new arrivals. They have been a focal point of community tensions in certain areas of the country, leaving residents worried about the consequences for crime and public safety, which is why this government has committed to ending the use of asylum hotels. While integration into the UK has generally been a success story over decades, with many communities integrating well and performing better than other European countries, this hasn’t been universal.<a href="
https://archive.ph/8IaBF/again?url=...nt-cohesive-and-resilient-united-kingdom#fn:7" rel="footnote">[footnote 7]</a> Multiple reviews, from Ted Cantle,<a href="
https://archive.ph/8IaBF/again?url=...nt-cohesive-and-resilient-united-kingdom#fn:8" rel="footnote">[footnote 8]</a> to Baroness Casey,<a href="
https://archive.ph/8IaBF/again?url=...nt-cohesive-and-resilient-united-kingdom#fn:9" rel="footnote">[footnote 9]</a> through to Dame Sara Khan have warned of communities in the UK living segregated or parallel lives.<a href="
https://archive.ph/8IaBF/again?url=...t-cohesive-and-resilient-united-kingdom#fn:10" rel="footnote">[footnote 10]</a> When communities live separate lives from others around them this can exacerbate tensions and limit the opportunities that a diverse society brings.
Extremism and wider geopolitics: Extremism poses a real threat to UK communities. Hostile nations and foreign actors – including influential figures, politically or ideologically affiliated groups and individuals, and state-backed organisations – promote extremist narratives and disinformation in an attempt to sow further division.<a href="
https://archive.ph/8IaBF/again?url=...t-cohesive-and-resilient-united-kingdom#fn:11" rel="footnote">[footnote 11]</a> Extremists foment division and target UK institutions, including schools, universities, charities, and even local bodies such as Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education, to serve their purposes. They have played on and weaponised grievances to undermine social cohesion. In addition, conflicts abroad can now more than ever directly impact social cohesion at home. Most notably, following the conflict in Israel and Gaza, tensions between and towards different faith groups has spiked, with antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate crime reaching record highs. Unrest in Leicester in 2022 was partly linked to the import of nationalist rhetoric and religious extremism, creating tensions between the city’s Hindu and Muslim communities. The Extreme Right, though fragmented across various ideologies, is becoming increasingly interconnected globally, including via social media and other channels.
Impact on social cohesion
These factors have challenged this country. They have tested, and in some cases threatened, social cohesion over the last decade and a half – slowly chipping away at community bonds to a point where, in many places, cohesion is now under strain. Communities that lack cohesion are less resilient to extremism. For example, communities with high deprivation indices have suffered disproportionately during recent civil unrest. By contrast, cohesive communities tend to be better placed to identify concerns early, support individuals, and prevent escalation towards hostility or violence.
This is accompanied by the fact that, for many UK citizens, the last decade has felt like one crisis after another, both at home and internationally. The 2008 financial crash was followed by austerity, then Brexit and subsequent political turmoil, then the pandemic, then the War in Ukraine and its resulting impact on energy bills, and throughout, a continuing and deepening cost of living crisis. Each crisis has demanded governmental attention and resources, therefore eclipsing, and at times exacerbating, social cohesion in the UK. Successive governments have failed to give this issue the attention and time it deserves.
In the face of such serious challenges, a focus on social cohesion can sometimes seem like a ‘nice to have’, but a significant body of evidence shows that not only is it vital to the wellbeing of people across the country, but a key tool of national resilience in the face of a more uncertain world.
What we are working towards
Despite these challenges, there is lots to celebrate and build upon. The UK has “strong foundations on which to build”,<a href="
https://archive.ph/8IaBF/again?url=...t-cohesive-and-resilient-united-kingdom#fn:12" rel="footnote">[footnote 12]</a> with many examples of great work across the country to improve social cohesion. Up and down the country, people show pride in their country and their community through their work supporting friends, neighbours and their local area. They are the overwhelming majority and this government is on their side.
This plan sets out the actions we are taking to back those who are already uniting against division. Councils who are making a difference. Civil society and faith groups who bring people together. And ordinary people giving up their time to improve their neighbourhoods - from those picking up litter – like the Edinburgh Litter Busters – to those who stand up to antisocial behaviour, religious hatred, racism, or extremism. There are countless examples up and down the country of where communities are already pulling together – like the community who came together and, with government backing, are restoring their local pub in Tafarn y Plu to support social clubs, create jobs and offer volunteering opportunities. Volunteering and community activity gives people from different backgrounds the chance to meet – and when they do, they are far more likely to say that communities get along well in their local area.
A great strength of our national identity is its pluralism. Whether we are from England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland; whatever our religion or belief; whether we were born here or abroad; or whatever the colour of our skin, we can all embrace our shared identity, celebrate what we have in common, and be proud of our country’s long history and heritage. People should feel empowered to express their national pride openly, while also respecting the differences between one another. We recognise the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland and the importance of the principle of parity of esteem, as set out in the “Belfast” / Good Friday Agreement.
Those in positions of power and responsibility have a role in promoting a confident, modern patriotism – not least because the failure to do so in recent years has created space for the extreme right to equate being English with being White, or being Christian – exploit national identity as an ethnic construct, tied to race or religion – something the vast majority of people reject.<a href="
https://archive.ph/8IaBF/again?url=...t-cohesive-and-resilient-united-kingdom#fn:13" rel="footnote">[footnote 13]</a>
People should feel confident celebrating national pride – flying flags, wearing colours, and marking our festivals, successes, and commemorations. Celebrating what we share helps bring people from different communities and cultures together.
This government’s vision is for everyone to have pride in Britain, and pride in place, and for people to feel a sense of belonging to their nation as they do for their family, community, and hometown.
Resetting the social contract
Strengthening social cohesion means renewing the relationships between citizens, the state and those who come to the UK. Everyone has a responsibility to contribute to the social bonds that hold the country together and respect the rights and values of others. This is the basis of our social contract. A key part of being a UK citizen is tolerance and openness to views, cultures and traditions that are different from our own: we expect everyone who lives here to treat others with respect. At the same time, we also rightly expect new arrivals to make an effort to integrate into our shared culture and respect our traditions and uphold our values.
Similarly, the rights and freedoms we enjoy should not be used to intimidate or harass others. This country has a proud tradition of free speech. For example, in recent years, many people who feel passionately about the situation in Gaza have exercised their right to peacefully protest about the situation on the streets of the UK’s major cities, in one of the largest protest movements in recent decades. However, some people have gone to protests chanting or carrying antisemitic slogans on placards, or instead misappropriated protests to target Jewish communities in the UK. Freedom of expression is fundamental to our democracy but, when people abuse these freedoms, they undermine social cohesion, leave minority groups feeling unsafe, and weaken support for freedom to protest.
Government’s role in protecting what matters
It is government’s job to support this social contract by setting the standards and expectations, enabling people to meet them, and taking action against those who undermine the rights and freedoms of others.
Government policy has not kept pace with social and political developments. Austerity, fragmented approaches and a reluctance to confront difficult issues have weakened trust and allowed frustration to build. Previous reviews led by Colin Bloom,<a href="
https://archive.ph/8IaBF/again?url=...t-cohesive-and-resilient-united-kingdom#fn:14" rel="footnote">[footnote 14]</a> Dame Sara Khan,<a href="
https://archive.ph/8IaBF/again?url=...t-cohesive-and-resilient-united-kingdom#fn:15" rel="footnote">[footnote 15]</a> and Baroness Louise Casey<a href="
https://archive.ph/8IaBF/again?url=...t-cohesive-and-resilient-united-kingdom#fn:16" rel="footnote">[footnote 16]</a> have all shone a light on difficult issues, many of which have been neglected for years, or dealt with inadequately.<a href="
https://archive.ph/8IaBF/again?url=...t-cohesive-and-resilient-united-kingdom#fn:17" rel="footnote">[footnote 17]</a>
In contrast, this government is determined to grip these challenges.
We can no longer afford to assume that cohesion and integration will occur organically. Without proactively taking steps to address what are increasingly serious problems, the risks are clear: more unrest on UK streets, more people being radicalised towards extreme viewpoints, and more opportunities for malign foreign actors to intervene in our democracy and threaten the stability of our society. The forces driving division and hate will not stop because we ask nicely. They require a deliberate, clear-eyed and resolute response – delivered with the clarity and commitment that comes from knowing we stand on the right side of a threat to all we hold dear in this country.
Government has committed to confronting these realities honestly. We will listen to people’s concerns, reset how we talk about integration and cohesion, and ensure these ideas are grounded in shared values and meaningful action that people can see and feel. Government will also work to ensure local communities are safe, supported, and able to thrive. This requires close working between central government and local partners across the UK. The devolved nature of this policy area requires close working with the devolved governments to ensure a joined-up and complementary approach to strengthening social cohesion.
From words to action
Many people feel as though they cannot air perfectly legitimate concerns about the change they are seeing in their local communities. There must always be space for honest discussion without assuming bad intentions or policing language. Otherwise, these issues will continue to be exploited by those who do not want to see solutions, but further division. Only through frank and constructive conversations can we form a basis for real common ground and respect across society. We also need to build spaces and focal points for celebrating our shared heritage, endeavours and successes, and to bring people together to build tolerance and a sense of community.
This call to action is the start of a path to get where we want to be. It outlines the state of play and the initial policy changes we are implementing to address the issues identified. It is not the end of the conversation or a ‘job done’ – we are clear that there is much more work to be done in this space and are committed to long-term focus on social cohesion. We will continue to be open with the public as we build this response, and develop the tools necessary to hold government to account for its ability to do what is required to improve social cohesion.
As part of this, the UK government will need to work closely with the Scottish Government, Welsh Government, and Northern Ireland Executive where there is an intersection between devolved and reserved responsibilities.
Annex A details which of the four UK nations each policy referenced in this document applies to. We will continue to work with the devolved governments to align priorities across governments and support social cohesion in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In a time of greater geopolitical uncertainty and technological upheaval, the UK’s ability to navigate these changes will depend on the strength of its communities. Social cohesion is not something that simply matters in of itself, it touches on almost every other area of public policy. The evidence is clear that greater social cohesion can help contribute to economic growth and prosperity, whereas fragmentation will hold us back from achieving our vision for the country we know we can be. A country where people feel connected through common values, identity, pride, trust, decency, and a sense of belonging, is a country that is stronger, fairer, and more united for generations to come.
Chapter 2: Confident communities
The government has a crucial role to play in promoting cohesion – one that has only grown more important, as technology enables frictionless forms of connection that often weaken social bonds, and the cost of socialising in person continues to rise.
But too many people feel that this sense of shared endeavour has been broken. They look at their towns and neighbourhoods and see shuttered shops, neglected public spaces, and local venues closed by funding cuts. They feel their area is changing at a pace they cannot absorb, driven by decisions made elsewhere, with little sense that those in authority are listening to their concerns.
This reflects a genuine erosion of the foundations on which local pride and belonging are built. Disrepair, disillusionment, and disengagement do not foster the shared identity and mutual trust that cohesion depends on. They strip away the time, space, opportunity, and inclination required for people to come together.
A government that asks its citizens to unite must also create the conditions that make unity possible. That means investing in places so people can take pride in where they live. It means strengthening local communities so they feel secure, full of opportunity, and worth being proud of. And it means managing the pace of change - particularly on migration - so communities have the time and support they need to adapt. Without this, it is difficult to see how people can be expected to engage meaningfully with those around them and build the bonds that are so important to our social fabric.
Restoring pride in place
People who feel proud of where they live are more likely to invest in their communities, to build relationships with their neighbours, and to feel a stake in the future of the place they call home. Pride in place gives people greater security and confidence and fosters the sense that what happens locally matters, and that individuals have a part to play in shaping it.
Conversely, when people feel that their area has been left behind or forgotten, that sense of shared investment erodes. Disillusionment with the local can feed disillusionment with the national. It is difficult to ask people to buy into a vision of the UK as a place worth belonging to if they do not feel that their own corner of it is valued. When people feel their area is on the path of decline, they understandably become increasingly zero-sum in their thinking, further fraying community relations.
Last year, the government published the Pride in Place Strategy,<a href="
https://archive.ph/8IaBF/again?url=...t-cohesive-and-resilient-united-kingdom#fn:18" rel="footnote">[footnote 18]</a> setting out the action we are taking to support local pride. At its core was the Pride in Place Programme, which announced up to £5 billion of funding and support over the next decade to 244 communities that have for too long been overlooked and left behind. At the heart of this programme is the simple idea that local people know best what change is needed to revive their neighbourhood - indeed, we see examples of this every day, from people taking care of local parks to picking up rubbish in their spare time. Local people should therefore be given the power, agency and resources to drive this change. This is a flagship programme that sees government working in a different way: not telling communities what to do, but putting them front-and-centre in determining their own futures, and providing the support so that they can achieve that vision.
Local people will come together on Neighbourhood Boards, engage their wider community in a conversation about what change they want to see and their priorities for the area and develop a joint plan for their neighbourhood. Communities will then decide how every penny of this investment is spent in their place. Through this shared endeavour communities can build common ground, strengthen their sense of belonging and improve social cohesion.
Neighbourhood Boards have already been established in 75 places and plans for the future of their area developed. This includes ideas to regenerate town centres, to revitalise community centres and social clubs. This isn’t just short-term funding for short-term projects – it’s a long-term investment in our communities and the people who live there. Pride in Place brings every part of the local community round the table to shape the future of their neighbourhood. And by building pride in local communities, we also build pride at national level – supporting a form of patriotism that is accessible to all.
Case studies: Pride in Place Programme Phase 1
Shared pride and collaborative decision making can help bring people together and foster cohesion:
- In Wrexham, more than 3,000 local young people from different backgrounds have come together to engage with the Pride in Place Programme through work led by the Senedd Yr Ifanc and supported by the Children’s University. Young people overwhelmingly emphasised the need for safer, cleaner spaces and more things for them to do in the city centre.
- In Hastings, wide-ranging in-person and online engagement with over 4,000 residents, businesses, and partners at community events, supermarkets, football games and colleges generated more than 7,000 ideas. People said they wanted improvements to their streets and the public realm, better play and sports facilities, and a vibrant town and seafront. These priorities are now at the heart of the plan with a commitment to set aside money every year to increase pride in our streets, neighbourhoods, and town.
- In Elgin, an Active Youth Engagement bus, complete with gaming set-up, is being used to reach young people and give them a place to play and chat about what they want to see in the town – they have been clear that they want more to do, and more places to have fun. As a result, the Board plans to pursue youth investment including new multi-use games areas, a pump track, and new equipment for a local park.
Pride in Place will forge partnerships across communities and build institutions that are led by and for the community, that can crowd in philanthropy and build wealth in communities well beyond this decade of funding. The Pride in Place Programme represents a genuine shift in power into our communities.
To build further on this work and restore pride in place, we will:
- Provide £800 million over ten years to a further 40 areas where social cohesion is under pressure. This will provide some of the most left behind and disconnected communities with long term funding to tackle the things that matter most to them, bringing them together to collectively set local visions for the places they live. We will encourage community organisation and faith communities to proactively work in these areas to bring people from different backgrounds together to deliver this shared endeavour.
- Give all communities across the country new powers and tools to revive their neighbourhoods and build pride in place. We will require all local authorities in England to establish effective neighbourhood governance so that communities can have a stronger voice and control over the decisions that impact on their area. Through a new Community Right to Buy, communities will be given the powers to take ownership of the spaces and assets they value in their neighbourhoods from community centres to pubs, social clubs, local parks and sports grounds. And with a new Co-operative Development Unit we will support communities to grow their co-operative and mutual sectors and build community wealth.
- Invest £1.5 billion in cultural organisations, recognising the ability of cultural organisations to unite communities in the face of division and restore pride in place. This includes continued funding of the Creative Foundations Fund, Museum Renewal Fund, Heritage at Risk Fund, Heritage Revival Fund and Libraries Improvement Fund.
- Set out our support for local media as essential for giving voice to communities that can otherwise struggle to be heard, holding local institutions to account and countering false narratives. We will shortly publish the Local Media Strategy to guarantee the long-term sustainability of local journalism. As part of this we will provide new funding for local media publishers to adapt to commercial and technological changes and revive a local news presence in areas where it has retreated. We will also further boost community radio so that it can support community radio in more places annually.
- Take action to revive high streets and town centres across England through a new High Streets Strategy, backed by a new £150 million innovation fund. We will restore pride, raise standards, and rebuild confidence in our high streets – with coordinated action on public services, community, and cultural assets to bring life back to the streets. We will back our businesses to thrive and innovate, encourage partnership between public and private sectors, root out crime and exploitation, and give local councils and the people they serve a greater stake in the future of their high streets.
- Do more to crack down on waste crime. Having respect for one another includes respecting the environment of those around us. To protect our communities, we will soon publish a Waste Crime Action Plan. This plan will outline the measures that we are taking in England to prevent future harm and disrupt and prosecute offenders. This will also set out the coordinated and targeted action across government, regulators, industry and local partners we are taking to protect our communities.
- Help communities be safer in their neighbourhood by tackling low level crime such as shoplifting, phone theft, anti-social behaviour and vandalism that can have a cumulative impact on people’s wellbeing, pride in place and community spirit. Through our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, we will increase patrols to town centres and every neighbourhood now has named, contactable neighbourhood officers to turn to. We will move police officers to the front line, with 13,000 additional neighbourhood personnel by the end of this parliament. Every police force in England and Wales has now appointed a dedicated Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) lead who will shortly publish a local ASB Action Plan developed with their communities. This will be matched by stronger police powers to tackle ASB via the Crime and Policing Bill – including new Respect Orders for persistent offenders.
- Work closely with local organisations who know their communities best and can offer the most effective support to offenders to integrate into society. This includes working with partners to halve the proportion released from prison homeless and providing support to the most complex individuals facing significant barriers, including through services like Creating Future Opportunities (CFO).
Bringing people together
As government, we strive to support communities by bringing people together from different backgrounds and creating the opportunity for connection that is the basis of a strong society. In an era where the easy option, whether facilitated by technology or made necessary by the cost of socialising, is to retreat from in-person interaction, more will be done to do more to enable people to come together and build common ground.
As an initial step, we will:
- Invest £11.5 million in Local Covenant Partnerships to bring civil society organisations, local authorities and public service providers together to deliver more services through trusted community venues, reaching people who are currently underserved or excluded. This will support the delivery of the Civil Society Covenant.
- Establish a decade-long pipeline of major cultural and sporting events – including UK City of Culture, a new UK Town of Culture competition, UEFA EURO 2028, the 2027 Tour de France and Tour de France Femme Grand Departs, and a bid for the 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cup. We will require each to deliver strong community engagement and legacy programmes that bring people together and strengthen local pride.
- Invest £500,000 to fund additional community-led school linking projects – on top of the local authorities already funded. This money will deliver new social and educational opportunities for children from different backgrounds to meet, learn and play during their formative years.
- Invest over £750 million over the next four years in youth, sport and community infrastructure to ensure people across the country have high-quality shared spaces to meet, mix and build stronger bonds. This includes £350 million to build and refurbish youth spaces and at least £400 million for new and upgraded grassroots sports facilities.
- Support adults working with young people to better spot the signs of loneliness to intervene earlier through evidence and best practice. This includes investing £15 million over the next 3 years to upskill the existing youth sector workforce in tackling issues such as online misogyny and to increase the number of trusted adults providing safe support to young people.
- Tackle loneliness among young men and boys. This will ensure that those living in the places most underserved are given access to opportunities for in-person social connection. For example, we are investing £330,000 in Rugby League Cares to deliver pilots in Wigan and Wakefield that aim to improve the confidence of young men not in employment, education or training. Rugby League legends Keith Senior and Adrian Morley are among more than a dozen former players involved in the programme.
- Strengthen oversight of home educationto ensure all children receive a suitable education and meaningful opportunities for social development. This includes:
- Mandating the introduction of local authority registers of children not in school, and for the first time ever requiring parents to notify their local authority when they are home educating their children;
- Requiring local authority consent before the most vulnerable children can be withdrawn from school for home education;
- Piloting mandatory local authority meetings with parents, in selected areas, before children can be withdrawn from school for home education. If pilots are shown to be effective we will consider national roll-out; and,
- Requiring local authorities to consider the child’s home and wider learning environments – and empowering them to request to visit the child at home – when assessing whether the education is suitable and whether a School Attendance Order should be issued. This includes consideration of whether the education enables sufficient socialisation and supports the child to participate fully in life in the UK.
Teaching our values and history
Young people should be aware of and understand our shared values, including how they shape and continue to benefit our country. As first steps, we will:
- Mandate that citizenship is taught in both primary and secondary schools to highlight the relevance of the democratic process and constitutional principles such as the rule of law, as well as raise awareness of threats to democracy. We will ensure that vital applied knowledge and skills in financial, media and digital literacy are embedded into the revised curriculum to help young people become confident and resilient when navigating our modern world.
- Strengthen the national curriculum and qualifications in Englnd to ensure high quality teaching of our nation’s history. We will also continue to include the Holocaust as a compulsory topic within Key Stage 3, as confirmed by the government last year.
- Drive up standards in the teaching of Religious Education. We will carefully consider including Religious Education in the national curriculum, subject to the sector reaching consensus on the content of, and approach to delivering, a curriculum.
Celebrating faith and belief communities
Over half of us identify with a religion and, for many, their faith or belief is the cornerstone of their way of life, including how they interact with other people.<a href="
https://archive.ph/8IaBF/again?url=...t-cohesive-and-resilient-united-kingdom#fn:19" rel="footnote">[footnote 19]</a> Faith and belief can be an enormous force for good in promoting inclusivity, understanding, and respect across our society and faith and belief groups are often anchors for their members and wider communities. They are an important part of the national conversation. To foster cohesive communities, more will be done to bring together neighbours who share values even if they are from different faiths or beliefs. We will work with and celebrate our faith and belief communities to improve societal understanding of different religions to support tolerance and build a more cohesive and resilient country. To begin with, we will:
- Continue to support programmes like Near Neighbours, an initiative led by the Church of England which brings people together in religiously and ethnically diverse neighbourhoods to get to know each other better, build relationships of trust and collaborate on community initiatives.
- Grow Inter Faith Week to strengthen understanding and interaction between people of different faiths – supporting its development into a more sustainable, grassroots and youth-led annual event, building on the findings of the recent MHCLG funded consultation.
- Boost faith and belief literacy – recognising Colin Bloom’s recommendation to do so. This will include gauging our current levels of faith and belief literacy in government, identifying ways to upskill, and developing an approach that improves the quality and inclusivity of policy making. We will also consider how to strengthen faith and belief literacy across society as a whole.
- Promote the role of Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (SACREs) by supporting improved analysis of their annual reports, to better understand the role they play in communities including in relation to cohesion.
- Deliver the £92 million Places of Worship Renewal Fund. This will target our capital funding to the areas where it is needed most, focusing on repair and conservation of our religious heritage buildings and the role they play in our wider communities. The Fund will help to secure the future of our heritage while supporting the government’s missions for national renewal and community cohesion.
- Champion freedom of religion or belief globally through sustained diplomatic engagement and multilateral partnerships. Working with the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), we will use our diplomatic network to press for laws and policies that protect religious or belief minorities and promote inclusive, tolerant societies. Promoting freedom of religion or belief internationally strengthens UK security, strengthens our response to extremism and helps address the drivers of instability and migration.
Giving communities the confidence to practice their values and the spaces to come together is one of main ways the government can build confidence and pride. However, this will be more difficult if these communities are fractured by language or religious divides. The next chapter outlines how the government can start to address this fragmentation and make our communities more cohesive.
