Scotland's People Annual Report: Results from 2013 Scottish Household Survey: Revised October 2015

12 Volunteering

INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT

The Scottish Government recognises that volunteers of all ages form a valuable national resource, vital to the success of Scotland and that volunteering is a key component of strong communities. Volunteering is all about new experiences, feeling good and making a difference and it is important to recognise the benefits of volunteering, in terms of skills development, community empowerment and strengthening public services.

The definition of volunteering currently used by the Scottish Government is: ‘the giving of time and energy through a third party, which can bring measurable benefits to the volunteer, individual beneficiaries, groups and organisations, communities, environment and society at large. It is a choice undertaken of one's own free will, and is not motivated primarily for financial gain or for a wage or salary"^[114]. This definition broadly encompasses ‘formal volunteering’ – where unpaid work is undertaken through an organisation, group or club to help other people or to help a cause (such as improving the environment). In contrast, ‘informal volunteering’ refers to unpaid help given as an individual directly to people who are not relatives.

The volunteering questions in the Scottish Household Survey (SHS) ask about providing unpaid help to organisations or groups, therefore the focus of this chapter is on formal volunteering. This chapter presents findings about the prevalence and frequency of volunteering, and the type of organisations for which individuals give up their time. Biennially, questions are asked about the activities which individuals undertake, hours spent volunteering in the past month, and reasons why people who volunteered in the past have now given up. These questions were last asked in the 2012 survey, and were asked again in 2014. A number of terms are used interchangeably to refer to volunteering throughout the chapter (e.g. unpaid help, unpaid work, unpaid activity and voluntary work).

Main Findings

• Levels of volunteering have remained relatively stable over the last 5 years, with around three in ten adults providing unpaid help to organisations or groups. In 2013, 28 per cent of adults provided unpaid help to organisations or groups in the last 12 months.
• Levels of volunteering vary according to gender across all age groups. Overall, in 2013, more women (30 per cent) than men (25 per cent) volunteered in the last 12 months.
• Levels of volunteering vary according to economic status with fewer people from lower socio-economic groups volunteering compared with higher income groups.
• The type of organisations most commonly volunteered for are youth or children’s organisations (23 per cent), health, disability and social welfare organisations (21 per cent), and children’s activities associated with schools (20 per cent).
• Younger adults are more likely to work with children and young people and help with sporting activities, whilst older adults are more likely to volunteer for religious organisations, community groups, and groups working with the elderly.

PROVIDING UNPAID HELP TO ORGANISATIONS OR GROUPS

Prevalence of providing unpaid help

Table 12.1 shows that 28 per cent of adults have provided unpaid help to organisations or groups in the last 12 months. There is a difference along gender lines with a slightly higher percentage of women (30 per cent) saying that they provide unpaid help compared with men (25 per cent). Figure 12.1 shows the trend in volunteering over the past 5 years. It can be seen that the overall rate of volunteering has remained relatively stable over the time period with the proportion of females being consistently higher than males.

Table 12.1: Whether provided unpaid help to organisations or groups in the last 12 months by gender

Column percentages, 2013 data

Adults	Male	Female	All
Yes	25	30	28
No	75	70	72
Total	100	100	100
Base	4,450	5,470	9,920

Figure 12.1: Percentage providing unpaid help to organisations or groups in the last 12 months by gender

2009-2013 data, Adults (2013 base: 9,920 minimum base: 2,450)

Figure 12.2 shows that the gender difference is true for all age groups between 16 and 59. Of those aged over 60, similar proportions of males and females reported volunteering^[115]. In 2013, the biggest difference between males and females was within the 35 to 44 age group, where a significantly higher proportion of females (38 per cent) volunteered than males (27 per cent).

Volunteering was lowest among men aged 25 to 34 compared to all of the other age groups under the age of 75, with around one fifth (21 per cent) of men in this age group providing unpaid help. After the age of 75, providing unpaid help declines: 20 per cent of both men and women aged 75 and over had provided unpaid help to organisations or groups in the last 12 months.

Figure 12.2: Percentage providing unpaid help to organisations or groups in the last 12 months by age within gender

2013 data, Adults (minimum base: 380)

There was also variation in volunteering according to individuals’ current economic situation (Table 12.2). Those who were ‘self-employed’ (36 per cent), in part-time employment (35 per cent), and those in higher / further education (33 per cent) were most likely to have provided unpaid help. Adults who were permanently sick or disabled (14 per cent) were least likely to have volunteered. Over one fifth (21 per cent) of those unemployed and seeking work had volunteered in the previous 12 months.

Table 12.2: Whether provided unpaid help to organisations or groups in the last 12 months by current economic situation

Column percentages, 2013 data

Adults	Self-employed	Full-time employment	Part-time employment	Looking after home/family	Permanently retired from work	Unemployed and seeking work	Higher/further education	Permanently sick or disabled	All
Yes	36	26	35	27	26	21	33	14	28
No	64	74	65	73	74	79	67	86	72
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	600	3,250	990	540	3,130	480	290	460	9,920

Additional categories suppressed from table due to low base totals

Table 12.3 shows the differences in volunteering by household income band. It can be seen that in general the percentage of adults volunteering increases with income. One-fifth (20 per cent) of adults in households in the lowest net income band, £0-£6,000, volunteered in the last 12 months, compared to around two-fifths (38 per cent) of those with a net household income of more than £40,000.

Table 12.3: Whether provided unpaid help to organisations or groups in the last 12 months by net annual household income

Column percentages, 2013 data

Adults	£0 - £6,000	£6,001 - £10,000	£10,001 - £15,000	£15,001 - £20,000	£20,001 - £25,000	£25,001 - £30,000	£30,001 - £40,000	£40,001+	All
Yes	20	21	22	24	26	28	32	38	28
No	80	79	78	76	74	72	68	62	72
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	310	1,010	1,860	1,530	1,180	910	1,250	1,580	9,620

Household income in the SHS is that of the highest income householder and their partner only. Includes all adults for whom household income is known or has been imputed. Excludes refusals/don't know responses.

Table 12.4 shows the prevalence of volunteering by level of deprivation, as defined using the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). It can be seen that volunteering is lower for those in the 15 per cent most deprived areas (17 per cent) than in the rest of Scotland (30 per cent).

Table 12.4: Whether provided unpaid help to organisations or groups in the last 12 months by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) 15 per cent most deprived

Column percentages, 2013 data

Adults	15 per cent most deprived	Rest of Scotland	Scotland
Yes	17	30	28
No	83	70	72
Total	100	100	100
Base	1,450	8,470	9,920

Overall, the results from 2013 looking at levels of volunteering by economic situation, household income and area deprivation continue to support evidence^[116] about the under-representation of disadvantaged groups in volunteering.

Table 12.5 shows differences in volunteering by Urban Rural classification^[117]. Similar to 2012, it can be seen that the rate of volunteering in rural areas is higher than in urban areas, with 37 per cent of adults in remote rural areas providing unpaid help to groups or organisations compared to 25 per cent in large and other urban areas (although the proportion of adults in remote rural areas volunteering fell from 45 per cent in 2012).

Table 12.5: Whether provided unpaid help to organisations or groups in the last 12 months by Urban Rural Classification

Column percentages, 2013 data

Adults	Large urban areas	Other urban areas	Accessible small towns	Remote small towns	Accessible rural	Remote rural	All
Yes	25	25	32	32	34	37	28
No	75	75	68	68	66	63	72
All	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	3,300	3,010	910	610	1,060	1,030	9,920

Types of unpaid help provided

This section explores the types of organisations that people help by Urban Rural classification and age.

Table 12.6 presents the types of organisations that adults who did voluntary work in the last 12 months provided unpaid help to. The most common types of organisations which volunteers helped with were those working with ‘youth / children’ (23 per cent), people who work with ‘health, disability and social welfare’ (21 per cent) and ‘children’s activities associated with schools’ (20 per cent). Volunteering with ‘religious groups’ (17 per cent) and ‘local community or neighbourhood groups’ (17 per cent) were also common.

Table 12.6 also shows the variation in the types of organisations that adults are volunteering with by Urban Rural Classification. Almost one-third (31 per cent) of volunteers in remote rural areas provided unpaid help to ‘local community or neighbourhood’ organisations and 27 per cent provided help to ‘children’s activities associated with schools’, compared to 14 per cent and 18 per cent respectively in large urban areas.

Table 12.6: Types of organisations or groups for which adults provided help for in the last 12 months by Urban Rural Classification

Percentages, 2013 data

Adults	Large urban areas	Other urban areas	Accessible small towns	Remote small towns	Accessible rural	Remote rural	All
Youth/children	25	21	24	19	21	21	23
Health, disability and social welfare	22	22	20	19	20	17	21
Childrens activities associated with schools	18	20	21	21	19	27	20
Religious groups	16	18	16	19	17	15	17
Local community or neighbourhood groups	14	14	15	13	28	31	17
Sport/exercise (coaching or organising)	14	17	18	11	18	20	16
Hobbies/recreation/arts/social clubs	13	14	14	18	17	18	14
The elderly	13	11	12	22	12	14	13
Education for adults	5	3	2	3	3	2	4
Citizens groups	4	3	5	4	4	6	4
Justice and human rights	4	2	1	6	3	1	3
Political groups	4	2	2	2	2	0	3
Wildlife protection	3	3	3	5	4	3	3
Environmental protection	3	3	2	6	4	4	3
Safety, first aid	3	4	3	6	3	4	3
Trade union activities	2	1	1	0	1	0	1
Domestic animal welfare	1	3	2	3	2	6	2
None	3	4	4	2	4	3	3
Dont know	1	0	1	0	0	1	1
Base	800	740	270	210	340	410	2,780

Columns may add to more than 100 per cent since multiple responses were allowed.

Table 12.7 shows the types of organisations that adults volunteered with in the last 12 months by age. Providing help with ‘children’s activities associated with schools’ was the most common type of volunteering among adults aged 35 to 44 (35 per cent). Of adults aged 16 to 24 who volunteer, they were most likely to have volunteered with organisations working with ‘youth / children’ (30 per cent). Volunteering through ‘sport / exercise (coaching or organising)’ accounts for 23 per cent of adults aged 16 to 24 who reported volunteering, compared to, at most, 19 per cent across the other age groups. In contrast, volunteering for ‘religious groups’ and organisations working with ‘the elderly’ becomes a more popular choice as adults get older, as does volunteering with ‘local community or neighbourhood groups’. Of those adults aged 75 and over who volunteer, 40 per cent did so with ‘religious groups’ and 23 per cent with organisations working with ‘the elderly’ and ‘local community or neighbourhood groups’.

Table 12.7: Types of organisations or groups for which adults provided help for in the last 12 months by age

Percentages, 2013 data

Adults who did voluntary work in the last 12 months	16 to 24	25 to 34	35 to 44	45 to 59	60 to 74	75 plus	All
Youth/children	30	31	27	25	10	6	23
Health, disability and social welfare	24	18	18	23	21	22	21
Children's activities associated with schools	23	25	35	20	7	2	20
Sport/exercise (coaching or organising)	23	17	19	16	10	12	16
Hobbies/recreation/arts/social clubs	17	10	13	14	17	15	14
Religious groups	9	8	11	17	25	40	17
Local community or neighbourhood groups	8	12	17	21	21	23	17
The elderly	8	9	7	14	19	23	13
Safety, first aid	5	5	5	3	1	1	3
Wildlife protection	4	3	3	4	3	2	3
Education for adults	3	2	3	4	5	1	4
Environmental protection	3	2	3	4	4	3	3
Justice and human rights	3	3	2	3	2	1	3
Political groups	3	3	2	3	2	3	3
Domestic animal welfare	2	3	1	3	3	1	2
Trade union activities	2	1	1	2	0	.	1
Citizens groups	1	2	2	5	7	7	4
None	4	2	5	3	3	4	3
Dont know	1	1	0	0	1	2	1
Base	230	340	480	740	720	260	2,780