Key information
Request reference number: MGLA080126-1502
Date of response:
Summary of request
1. The name and role of the officer responsible for managing the "Loved and Wanted" campaign and its £1m fund.
2. A breakdown of how the £1m has been allocated and spent to date.
3. Criteria used to identify communities or individuals benefiting from the campaign.
4. Any evaluations or reports on the campaign's effectiveness.
Response
1
The Loved and Wanted campaign is overseen by the Greater London Authority (GLA) Assistant Director for External Relations. This is managed separately from the £1m Loved and Wanted Community Fund, which is overseen by the GLA Assistant Director for Communities and Social Policy.
2
The Fund for community spaces was launched in September 2025. Successful applicants will be announced in February 2026, hence no payments have been made to date.
All relevant information about the Fund is available at Loved and Wanted Fund | London City Hall
3
The criteria for the allocation of the Loved and Wanted Community Fund were set out in the fund’s prospectus, which can be found at: Loved and Wanted Fund Prospectus.
4
The Loved and Wanted community spaces will be announced in February 2026, and will deliver activity between March 2026 and March 2028. An evaluation will therefore be conducted in due course.
The Loved and Wanted campaign was launched at a time of growing polarisation across the country, when our social cohesion was being tested more sharply than at any point in recent memory.
Ahead of the campaign’s launch, polling indicated a strong public mandate for action: eight in ten Londoners (79%) said it is important to strengthen unity across the capital, and three in four (75%) said the Mayor of London has an important role to play in promoting that unity.
Experience from around the world makes it clear that a passive, “hands off” approach to social integration does not work. The campaign is a proactive attempt to build stronger, more connected communities, strengthening trust and social ties between people from all backgrounds.
Polling in May 2025 showed that Londoners who had seen the Loved and Wanted campaign were more likely to think London is becoming more inclusive and feel significantly more valued in the city (up 11pp from 52% to 63%) and two thirds of Londoners who saw the campaign took an action as a result.
We have seen an unprecedented amount of support for the campaign overall, with hundreds of organisations requesting and sharing materials in their spaces – including schools, GP surgeries, libraries and more.