Voluntary public sector activity valued at £34bn

Analysis we conducted for Nesta that is published today shows that the economic contribution people make voluntarily to activities that complement the taxpayer provided public services in some way is valued at around £34bn, or the same as the entire government budget for primary and pre-primary education. This includes regular formal volunteering through groups, clubs and organisations, regular informal volunteering such as helping to support elderly neighbours, and community action such as helping to run a street party or support a local project. We adapted an existing Office of National Statistics model using the Community Life Survey focusing on sub-categories that arguably related to public services, so excluding items such as “campaigning” or “looking after a pet while someone is away”.

The figure is an estimate of the economic output value of social action, not equating to taxpayer savings, as there are considerable difficulties in determining how far the activities are complementary to, or substitute for, existing budget lines.

But it does give food for thought: what if the government sought to direct this resource into the most socially useful activities?

Kitty Ussher, 3rd September 2014