Recession hits voluntary sector in Wales, survey reveals

Voluntary organisations in Wales have been hit by loss of income, redundancies and increased demands on their services – all caused by the recession, a survey by third sector umbrella group WCVA has revealed.

The survey, the largest undertaken to date on the recession’s impact on Wales’ charities and voluntary organisations, had responses from almost 500 groups. Seven per cent of organisations that employ staff have made redundancies within the last three months, while 40 per cent think further redundancies are likely over the next year.

More than half (54 per cent) of the groups interviewed felt the situation would worsen, with a third (33 per cent) believing there would be no change, and 13 per cent saying they thought things would improve.

They told WCVA financial problems were being caused by a lack of a cost of living increase in grants while energy and staffing bills were rising; the ending of funding streams that would not be replaced; a reduction in income from earned sources such as room rental; and a drop in public giving.

Sports clubs, after-school clubs and children’s activities organisers felt that members and other users now viewed them as too expensive because they had less disposable income. Organisations providing debt advice or personal loans were seeing people queuing to access services or become a member.

Common effects of the recession included:

• advice and advocacy providers experiencing an increase in requests for help from people with disabilities, carers and people made redundant.
• more debt counselling, with one organisation having had an 80 per cent increase in consultations and a 60 per cent rise in debt handled.
• services for people in difficulty reporting an increase in demand - from victims of domestic abuse to substances or alcohol misusers and homeless people. Animal charities reported a rise in the number of pets abandoned for by their owners.
• youth and after-school clubs and older peoples’ social support groups - where admission was paid for - reporting lower attendance. Some felt transport costs prevented people attending otherwise free events/services.

WCVA Senior Research Officer Bryan Collis, who analysed the results, said ‘Organisations seeking to alleviate personal and community consequences of the recession have seen - and will continue to see - an increase in demand for their services. But the restriction of funding and the uncertainties of employment in the sector will hamper its ability to meet these needs.’

WCVA Chief Executive Graham Benfield OBE said: ‘The survey reinforces the central messages of WCVA’s recession action plan. This 40-point plan, launched in January, calls on stakeholders - including funders - to act now, rather than wait for services and organisations to collapse.

‘In particular, it calls on funders to help these services experiencing increased recession-related demand and to honour existing agreements, compacts and codes of practice in making future decisions.’

The survey report will be the subject of a presentation at WCVA’s recession conference at the Parc Hotel, Cardiff on 14 May. Tough times – management and funding challenges in – and beyond – the recession, aims to steer Wales’s voluntary organisations through the recession and give its members the opportunity to listen to advice on survival from some of the sector’s most influential figures.

They will also be able to quiz Welsh Assembly Government and key public sector agency officials on how they intend to fulfil commitments on sector support and funding made in more prosperous times.

Among the speakers will be Gretel Leeb, Director of Programme Management Division at the Wales European Funding Office, and Dr Brian Gibbons AM, Minister for Social Justice and Local Government. A panel discussion will also feature Huw Vaughan Thomas, Chair of the Big Lottery Fund’s Wales Committee, Steve Thomas from the WLGA and Harry Iles, Head of the Charity Commission Wales Office.

For more information on the survey or the conference, please contact WCVA's Helpdesk on 0800 288 329 or visit www.wcva.org.uk