Government’s social cohesion plan marks a major step forward for communities

The publication of the government’s social cohesion action plan is a crucial moment. It reflects the urgency of the challenge facing communities across Britain. Buffeted by events both at home and abroad, it is important that the government recognises that the bonds of communal ties are frequently under strain in communities across the country, not just in the flashpoints where we have seen disorder, violence and racism.

It is even more vital that the government’s new plan recognises that social cohesion is made or lost in millions of everyday acts, and not just in moments of national celebration. It is by bringing communities together through shared spaces and places accessible by people leading their ordinary lives that hope for the future lies. It is a recognition of the fundamental importance of everyday acts in fostering long-term cohesion and building the ties across difference that can be called on in times of crisis.

The UCL Policy Lab has been leading work in this area and feeding into government decision-making since our launch in 2023. Indeed, our director, Marc Stears, has published two books on the issue: Out of the Ordinary and, alongside Tom Baldwin, England. Most recently, our This Place Matters project, convened with Citizens UK and More in Common and supported by Pears Foundation and This Day, has shown how those working at the grassroots in communities - often in sports clubs, social groups and charities - are the ones doing the work of keeping communities together. We can see how the essence of a successful social cohesion strategy lies in the contributions of those on the front line of public services and the everyday economy, whether it’s the teacher who enables children whose parents sit on opposite sides of the flag debate to learn together, or the ward where patients of diverse backgrounds can be cared for together. It is here that we find the tools that enable people from all around the world to be effectively integrated into community life.

The fact that this work is happening in communities that have borne the brunt of economic stagnation and social deprivation is more vital still. Community groups have told our researchers that what gets is not only economic opportunity – crucial, though that is - but also the practical, everyday chance to socialise, mix and talk across difference. And this is why the government’s Pride in Place programme sits so centrally in its thinking: it is large in scale and is designed to help support these kinds of shared spaces, be they community centres, high streets, or local parks and football clubs.

As we set out in This Place Matters, and will continue to investigate, the kinds of places we support and forge will be crucial in building deeper connection. This is about respecting ordinary people by empowering local leaders and community organisations to respond to their challenges and to develop places they can love together, whether through community ownership or the kinds of locally led plans aspired to in Pride in Place.

On community integration, therefore, we welcome the government’s plan to focus on the need to support communities in participating in wider society. Yet it would be impossible not to note that other elements of the government's current agenda push against the very integration set out in the social cohesion plan. Researchers at UCL have increasingly expressed anxiety about the implications of the Home Secretary’s plans to increase the period in which those coming to the UK have to wait for permanent settled status. The UK remains a beacon for integration in Europe; to pretend there aren’t challenges within communities would be foolish. These must be tackled, and those local authorities and communities must be supported to act. Yet new policies both on asylum and refugee rights and on extending pathways to permanent status risk undermining decades of good work, much of which is studied by other nations for its success.

An urgent focus on mitigating these impacts, and where possible changing the approach by the Home Office, may therefore be crucial if Britain is to sustain its strong record on cohesion and enable the new action plan to work. We should learn from what has worked here in Britain, not seek solutions which neither reflect nor fit with the lives of our communities.

Find out more about our social cohesion work or get in touch with our project lead.