Most local infrastructure bodies have seen an ongoing increase in demand for services, according to the latest survey from Navca.
The umbrella body for local infrastructure has today published the findings of its 2016 survey of chief officers, which found that 70 per cent of respondents had experienced an increase in demand for their services.
A similar percentage of chief officers reported an increase in demand in the 2014 and 2015 surveys.
Just over 70 people – around a third of Navca's members – completed the survey this year. The most important source of income was from local authority funding, with two-thirds of respondents saying it was significant.
Some 80 per cent of respondents now charge for services, with 20 per cent saying that it was a fairly important part of funding.
Role in volunteering
Navca estimates that its members helped to find 115,000 people volunteer roles last year and has said that this aspect of its members work has been ignored.
Neil Cleeveley, chief executive said: “This survey is also a timely reminder of the value of local volunteer brokerage. Stuart Etherington from NCVO was right to highlight the importance of volunteering. I would go further and call for immediate support for local brokerage provided by local volunteering infrastructure. They have been foolishly ignored by funders in recent years but if we lose these services we will also lose local volunteers and volunteer opportunities.”
He also said that the survey highlighted the role local infrastructure bodies played in social prescribing, an approach that seeks to improve health by tackling patients' social and physical wellbeing.
“Most of our members are involved in social prescribing. This creates community solutions to support people with health issues, relieving the strain on local hospital and social care services.”
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