Communities | The State of Ageing 2022

This data shows how different phases of the pandemic have impacted community connections for older people. Early in the pandemic, in the first six months of 2020, communities rallied round in the crisis and there was a general increase in many people’s feelings of belonging to their local area. This was especially felt by people aged 60 and over, even though many were shielding in their homes, and older people generally continued to report stronger community connections than younger people as seen previously. Neighbours helped each other out and in many areas there were local community crisis responses to support those in immediate need, and more people of all ages knew someone to rely on in a crisis.

However, this boost in community connections was not experienced equally by everyone. While, by November 2020, the proportion of people aged 50-69 who reported that the pandemic had had a positive effect on their community relationships was about the same as the proportion who reported that it had had a negative effect (23%), negative effects were more likely to be reported by men (25%), people in BAME communities (42%), people finding it difficult financially (40%), and those with long-term health conditions that significantly affect their lives (42%).

It is unsurprising that many older members of BAME communities did not feel increased connection to their local neighbourhoods in the first year of the pandemic. Health inequalities in BAME communities (see more on this in our health chapter) gave rise to greater requirements to shield as well as increased caring responsibilities, causing many to become more disconnected. The loss of social spaces that are particularly important for older BAME community members to stay socially and culturally connected was felt acutely in these communities and will also have had a significant impact. So, although people in their fifties and sixties from BAME backgrounds were as likely as White people to know people to say hello to in their communities, it is clear that having casual connections with neighbours is not enough, on its own, to create a sense of belonging to an area. However, we do need to expand data collection so that we can better understand the different experiences of people in BAME and White communities as they age.

As the pandemic continued into 2020 the initial surge in community connection seems to have waned, with fewer people helping out and lower awareness of groups to go to for support. But this wasn’t the case for everyone. Last year – early in the pandemic – we reported that people in their fifties and sixties with long-term health conditions or illnesses that greatly impacted their lives were less likely to feel connected to their neighbourhood. By November, this group of people were more likely than those unaffected by health conditions to report an increase in belonging. The same was true for other marginalised people in communities: those who were struggling financially tended to become more connected to communities later in 2020, and especially knew more people they could count on for help. Thus, those who were most in need took longest to experience that boost in belonging that others felt early in the pandemic. This delay reflects the challenges that people who face structural inequality, through for example poverty or discrimination, can face in accessing community support.

It is essential to help people maintain their sense of belonging in their local communities as COVID-19 restrictions change, and to recognise that some individuals and communities have felt the impact harder than others. We may be expected to ‘learn to live’ with COVID-19 but many people aged 50 and over, especially those labelled ‘vulnerable’ to COVID-19 infection, have lost confidence in accessing the places and activities they used to enjoy in communities.

Unless people in their fifties and sixties who are at the greatest risk of missing out are considered when planning communities and designing local services, inequalities in older age will deepen and become more entrenched. There are particular risks in crisis situations where public sector responses tend to become more centralised and top down. The Age-friendly Communities model provides an approach to community-led organising that increases resilience, should there be a virus resurgence or other crisis. At a strategic level, English devolution provides new opportunities to work with Mayoral and Combined Authorities in bringing together local authorities, public, private and voluntary sector to improve the lives of people aged 50 and over in local communities.

It is not surprising, given that many voluntary organisations had to suspend face-to-face services at the start of the pandemic, that formal volunteering across all ages decreased in the year 2020/21. It is equally unsurprising, with government direction to shield at home for many, that the largest drops in formal volunteering occurred among older age groups. However, people aged 50 and over were as likely as younger people to take up new formal volunteering opportunities. As a result, people aged 50 and over were still more likely to volunteer overall, except in the most deprived communities. Disadvantage in these communities accumulates with age, affecting, for example, health and finances, which increases the barriers to volunteering.

Other patterns of pre-pandemic volunteering continued, with volunteers being mainly healthier, wealthier and White. However, it does seem that there was less of a drop in volunteering in some BAME communities compared with White communities, and that a higher proportion of people aged under 50 from BAME backgrounds than White backgrounds volunteered. This perhaps reflects the mobilisation of people in BAME communities, which faced disproportionate challenges during the pandemic. Also, the volunteering rate gap between people living in more and less deprived communities is much smaller for informal than formal volunteering.

Community contributions are broader than formal volunteering, and include neighbourliness and informal organising. Early in the pandemic there was a groundswell of informal support in local communities, with most people both giving and receiving informal support in the first lockdown. By the second lockdown in November 2020, fewer people were providing informal support and this appears to have become more targeted towards the people who might need it most.

Contributing to our communities is important in the lives of many older people, providing sense of purpose and social connections and increased self-esteem. The loss of older people’s contributions impacts on community groups, communities and the individuals themselves. Steps need to be taken to re-engage the over 50s in their communities through inclusive approaches. The importance of informal helping out should be valued, while also increasing the diversity of volunteers by removing barriers to volunteering.

The pandemic has prompted an unprecedented increase in the number of internet users aged 75 and over – almost half a million (461,000) in 2020. Although age still remains the biggest predictor of whether someone is online, the numbers of older internet users will increase without any intervention as confident younger users age. However, there are risks that some people get left behind, and simply accessing the internet doesn’t necessarily mean you have the skills to make the most of it. While eight in ten people aged 65 and over now have internet access, only six in ten have the skills to be able to access the internet independently.

Being online has the potential to increase inclusion of disabled people by connecting them to family and friends, enabling access to services, and reducing barriers to participation in public conversations. Yet many disabled people aged 50 and over don’t have the necessary digital technology or skills, or may be excluded from inaccessible online services, and so are over-represented in those not online. Individuals with hearing or visual impairments have the lowest level of essential digital skills, and people aged 65 and over are almost twice as likely to have a visual impairment than those under the age of 65.

Education level is also an important factor: only one in three people of all ages with no formal qualifications have the essential digital skills for life, compared with nine in ten of those with a degree.

Working from home in the pandemic has been a major reason for improved digital skills for those in office-based employment, bringing benefits in other areas of their lives, but many have not had this opportunity. People who are digitally connected not only earn more on average, but are also in a position to save more on bills (more than £200 per year on average) compared with the least engaged. So, digital proficiency becomes ever more urgent given projected cost-of-living increases and energy price hikes.

As more older people get online, policies and initiatives to support digital inclusion of older people need to be targeted at those offline who are now likely to face multiple barriers. While people in their sixties mainly prefer to learn new digital skills from family and friends, many may not have access to this ongoing support, or may need more specialist help.

Community assets and services provided by local authorities are vital to provide the social and physical infrastructure that helps people maintain social connections as they age. People’s social connections and use of public spaces, such as parks, are linked to their wellbeing and therefore can play a preventative role in reducing pressure on statutory services such as health and social care.

As funding for local authorities from central government has declined, with a real-terms cut of 37% in the decade to 2019/20, local authorities have needed to make difficult decisions about spending. They must try to maintain levels of provision for statutory services, so discretionary services – such as community services – often bear the brunt of spending cuts. But, although services have been cut back, the scale of the decline in such activities may not be as great as the funding cuts. Local councils are trying to maintain similar levels of service for less money by, for example, moving them into the voluntary sector, or changing the way they are run. The figures we have available are for the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is predicted that the situation will have worsened in 2020/21 as local councils lost earned income from services and had to meet increased demand – for example, in public health services.

In contrast, there has been continued growth in employment in the voluntary sector, although the number of very small organisations declined slightly. In 2020, there was an increased movement to address structural racism within the voluntary and community sector and its funders, in the face of long-term underfunding of BAME-led community groups and catalysed by the Black Lives Matter movement. People from BAME backgrounds continue to experience inequality in public spaces. Our research has highlighted that Black and Asian people in their fifties and sixties were many more times likely than White people to avoid places in communities for fear of physical attack. While community-led services and activities are important for all, they play a particular role in maintaining social connections for people belonging to marginalised communities of identity.

The pandemic has had a huge impact on people’s access to places, spaces and people in our communities, as shown by the drop in the number of journeys that people made in 2020. People living in rural areas have been particularly affected by cuts to already infrequent public transport services. Access to regular, accessible, affordable and safe public transport becomes more important as we age, as does the quality of the public realm in our immediate locality.

Restrictions in travel during the pandemic have provided an insight for many into the importance of our local neighbourhoods. Looking forward, the three imperatives we face – the climate crisis, an ageing society and addressing inequality – mean that we will need to think differently about physical and social infrastructure. We will need to rethink our use of private transport, currently high among people in their fifties and sixties, and pay greater attention to the role that shared spaces and services in people’s immediate locality can play in improving quality of life as we age. Central and local government, and civil society, need to take action now to ensure that the benefits of spending time in public spaces, and getting out and about in our communities can be enjoyed by everyone.