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Active community participation

Informal and formal volunteering at least once a month in the last 12 months, 2001 and April - June 2007

The 2007 data presented are for quarter 1 of the 07/08 financial year only, meaning the sample size is relatively small and significant differences are harder to confirm.  Further 2007 data will be available later this year.

Source: DCLG

• Informal volunteering is defined as giving unpaid help as an individual to people who are not relatives. Formal volunteering is classed as giving unpaid help through groups, clubs and organisations to benefit other people or the environment.
• Just under half (48 per cent) of the population of England were regular formal or informal volunteers in April - June 2007; regionally the proportion ranged from 40 per cent in the North East to 53 per cent in the South West.
• For most regions, rates of volunteering (formal and informal) remained the same between 2001 and 2007.  However, in the North West there was a significant increase from 44 per cent to 52 per cent.
• The South West saw the biggest rise in informal volunteering (9 percentage points), and Yorkshire and the humber saw the largest regional increase in formal volunteering (8 percentage points).

• Active community participation - national indicator
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