Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:55 pm on 24 April 2018.
Ffrind i Mi is an excellent project, of course, that's been developed by Aneurin Bevan board. We know that, where people are lonely, it's not just a question of them not having company and a sense of isolation, but it affects people's health. That's why, obviously, as a health board, it's correct to actually get involved in making sure that loneliness as an issue is dealt with.
I can say to the Member that, on 23 April, we commissioned research looking at the basic principles of sustainable community-based volunteering approaches to tackling loneliness and social isolation amongst older people. It is not, perhaps, the snappiest title ever invented by Government— nevertheless, it does explain what it's going to do. That is there, of course, to enable us to find out what the most effective ways of tackling loneliness actually are, to make sure that what is developed in months and years to come is as effective as it can be.