The government must work with local government to support a place-based approach that puts social cohesion at the heart of levelling up

Trust in government is at an historic low. Yet levels of local trust in certain local areas in England that had strategically prioritised social cohesion before the pandemic have remained stronger than elsewhere. Jo Broadwood, Fanny Lalot, Dominic Abrams and Kaya Davies Hayon write that this may be reflecting the strength of relationships that were developed via local social cohesion programmes. These relationships could then be relied on as communities mobilised to support and protect the vulnerable during the COVID-19 crisis, further strengthening and deepening those connections

People largely perceive local government communications about COVID-19 as embodying greater honesty, credibility, and empathy than those of the UK government

Dominic Abrams, Jo Broadwood, Fanny Lalot, and Kaya Davies Hayon present the findings of research examining whether people from across the UK found communication about COVID-19 honest and credible, empathic, clear, accessible, and whether it met the needs of their community. They find that both UK and local government communications were perceived on average as fairly clear and as using understandable language, but that significant differences exist on other measures

All in it, but not necessarily together: Divergent experiences of keyworker and volunteer responders to the Covid-19 pandemic

Thousands of people across the UK are working to deal with the direct impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. But their experiences are very different, depending on whether they are front-line key workers or community volunteers. This report presents findings from a survey of people from six local authorities in England and from a sample of community organisations and volunteers to examine social cohesion in the UK. The project, “Beyond Us and Them”, is led by the University of Kent, and Belong - The Cohesion and Integration Network, with funding from the Nuffield Foundation

Beyond Us and Them: Perception of Covid-19 and Social Cohesion

This report presents first findings from our research project, “Beyond Us and Them” by the University of Kent with Belong – the Cohesion and Integration Network. The research is funded by the Nuffield Foundation. We are exploring how social cohesion within and between different groups and parts of the UK is being affected by the Covid-19 crisis. Many communities are responding positively to the crisis, as neighbours organise for mutual support to help vulnerable people. But some groups and individuals are suffering more than others. We want to understand what aspects of people’s experiences might be increasing or reducing the potential for positive relationships between different groups in society. Our questions should help policy makers to understand how their decisions can support individuals and local communities as the effects of the pandemic continue to develop or change. This first report presents some preliminary findings from our second wave survey conducted in June. We describe the demographic characteristics of the respondents, show where the research fits in the timeline of significant national events, and the report details some key findings from our questions about trust and perception of changing relationships during lockdown

The social cohesion investment: Local areas that invested in social cohesion programmes are faring better in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic

Research has consistently observed that social cohesion (the strength of relationship between the individual and the state, and between individuals and their fellow citizens) rises in the aftermath of natural disasters or mass tragedies. However, this sense of “coming together” is often short-lived and comes back to pre-disaster level within a matter of weeks. But what happened in the UK as the Covid-19 pandemic progressed? The first stages of the Covid-19 pandemic saw an extraordinary increase in kindness and social connection with people organising spontaneously to support those affected through neighbourhood support groups, reaching out to isolated community members through telephone calls, and the ‘clap for carers’. However, as months pass social tensions appear to be rising again, along with increasing distrust of central government. Minority ethnic and religious communities have been accused of spreading the virus by not taking recommendations seriously, as have younger people – potentially fuelling increased tensions between groups within and across local communities. As the impact of the pandemic persists, so do the challenges for local authorities. Strong connections, local community knowledge and good relations have already proved important for local test, track and trace systems and to tailor health messages for diverse local groups and communities. With winter and tighter lockdown rules both imminent, we believe cohesion and integration will remain crucial in helping communities through the next six months and beyond. The “Beyond Us & Them” research project funded by the Nuffield Foundation aims to track people’s perceptions of social cohesion in different places in the UK. An important feature of the project is that we collect the views of people living in six different local authority areas (five of which are a part of the government Integration Area programme and all of which have invested in social cohesion over the last two years), as well as other places and regions. This brief report presents headline findings on trust and cohesion from comparisons between these local authority areas versus other places in the UK. These included broadly representative samples from Scotland, Wales and Kent (the most densely populated non-metropolitan county in England). We found that people in the six local authority areas were significantly less cynical about both national and local politicians and more accepting of government decisions and guidelines. They also reported stronger and better social relationships with other citizens, and warmer feelings towards immigrants compared to other areas. Taken together these findings indicate stronger social cohesion in the six local authority areas, despite the fact that respondents from these areas reported higher levels of concern and were experiencing higher local infection rates

Distrustful Complacency and the COVID ‐19 Vaccine: How Concern and Political Trust Interact to Affect Vaccine Hesitancy

We test the hypothesis that COVID‐19 vaccine hesitancy is attributable to distrustful complacency—an interactive combination of low concern and low trust. Across two studies, 9,695 respondents from different parts of Britain reported their level of concern about COVID‐19, trust in the UK government, and intention to accept or refuse the vaccine. Multilevel regression analysis, controlling for geographic area and relevant demographics, confirmed the predicted interactive effect of concern and trust. Across studies, respondents with both low trust and low concern were 10%–22% more vaccine hesitant than respondents with either high trust or high concern, and 26%–29% more hesitant than respondents with both high trust and high concern. Results hold equally among White, Black, and Muslim respondents, consistent with the view that regardless of mean‐level differences, a common process underlies vaccine hesitancy, underlining the importance of tackling distrustful complacency both generally and specifically among unvaccinated individuals and populations

How accepting is the British public of COVID-19 vaccine passports, and why?

This brief report uses data from the latest Beyond Us and Them survey of 9351 people to address the question of how much appetite the British public has for vaccination passports and why. We examine people’s attitudes to their use and perceptions of their fairness. We explore possible demographic differences in these attitudes, and whether having received a vaccine makes a difference

Public Perceptions of UK and Local Government Communication about COVID-19

As the government lifts the last of the restrictions on movement and social mixing, this report shares the ‘Beyond Us and Them’ project’s most recent findings, exploring public perceptions of communications about COVID-19 from the UK government and from local government

Community, Connection and Cohesion During Covid-19: Beyond Us and Them Report

Community, Connection and Cohesion During Covid-19: Beyond Us and Them Report is the latest report in our Beyond Us and Them project looking at the effects of Covid-19 on social cohesion, presenting findings from May 2020 - December 2020. Beyond Us and Them is funded by the Nuffield Foundation and examines the impact of Covid-19 on social cohesion across the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic

Beyond Us and Them: Policy and Practice for Strengthening Social Cohesion in Local Areas

Beyond Us and Them: Policy and Practice for Strengthening Social Cohesion in Local Areas is a companion piece to the report, Community, Connection and Cohesion during COVID-19: Beyond Us and Them Report, released on Tuesday 23rd February. It calls on government to embed principles of social cohesion into relevant national policy agendas. It recommends they work with local government to support a locally-tailored approach