Nationally, over 1 million older people say they always or often feel lonely, and two-fifths say the television is their main form of company. With the numbers of older people aged 65 or over predicted to rise by nearly 50% in the next 20 years, loneliness is now an urgent problem. Brightlife is supported by the Big Lottery using National Lottery funding to help reduce social isolation and loneliness in Cheshire West and Chester. Formed in April 2015 and with a scope of five years, it was awarded £5m as part of the Big Lottery's national Ageing Better Programme. Central to the Brightlife model is the engagement of people aged 50+ people in the design, delivery and evaluation of everything it does in order to understand what works best to reduce loneliness, both now and in the future. To this end, it is commissioning and promoting a range of services and activities from social groups, volunteering and food-sharing schemes whilst also helping people aged over 50 learn new skills that will help them create meaningful relationships to improve their lives. Brightlife is a partnership led by Age UK Cheshire (Registered Charity Number 1091608). • Ageing Better is a £78 million investment of National Lottery funding from the Big Lottery Fund to support people in later life. This supports 14 partnerships across England: Birmingham, Bristol, Camden, Cheshire, East Lindsey, Hackney, Isle of Wight, Leeds, Leicester, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Sheffield, Thanet and Torbay. • The Brightlife partnership includes: Age UK Cheshire, Older People’s Network, Cheshire West and Chester Council, West Cheshire CCG, Vale Royal CCG, Cheshire and Warrington Social Enterprise Partnership, Chester Voluntary Action, Deafness Support Network, Rural Community Services, Sanctuary Housing and West Cheshire Inter Faith Forum.