Volunteering remains stuck at lowest level for 10 years

22 Sep 11
The number of people who take part in voluntary and civic activities remains at its lowest level for a decade, despite the government’s emphasis on the Big Society.

By Mark Smulian | 22 September 2011

The number of people who take part in voluntary and civic activities  remains at its lowest level for a decade, despite the government’s emphasis on the Big Society.

Data from the final CitizenshipSurvey, published today, shows that 25% of people volunteered formally at least once a month in 2010/11, a rate unchanged for two years and lower than at any point between 2001 and 2008.

The survey, carried out by National Statistics for the Department for Communities and Local Government, also found 29% of those surveyed informally volunteered at least once a month, the same as last year, which was also the lowest level for a decade.

Formal volunteering is defined as giving unpaid help to benefit other people or the environment through groups, clubs or organisations. Informal volunteering is unpaid help to individuals who are not relatives.

The survey also found that levels of civic participation followed a similar pattern of decline, with 34% of people saying they had engaged in it at least once in the past year.

That was unchanged from 2009/10, but again lower than in any year in the preceding decade.

Civic participation is defined as contacting an elected representative or public official, attending a public meeting or demonstration or signing a petition.

Parliament was held in higher esteem than at the height of the MPs’ expenses scandal, with 36% of people trusting it either ‘a lot’ or a ‘fair amount’, against 29% in 2009/10.

Trust in local councils rose to 64%, its highest level in a decade in a trend that has shown a consistent increase from the 52% recorded in 2001/02.

The survey sampled data from 10,000 adults in England and Wales through face-to-face interviews. Ministers have discontinued it after this year on cost grounds.

Civil society minister Nick Hurd said: ‘It’s very encouraging that the decline in volunteering and civic participation has stopped.

‘And community spirit is on the rise, more people feel like they belong strongly to their neighbourhood than recorded at any time in the last decade. ‘We all want a bigger, stronger society where people get involved and do their bit so it’s vital that we keep up the pace of reform and make it easier for more people to take part.’

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