The latest National Statistics from the Citizenship Survey from Communities and Local Government shows that the number of people volunteering is in decline.

The number of people engaged in civic participation at least once a week has declined to 31 per cent. This is fewer than in any previous year.

Thirty-one per cent of adults in England engaged in civic participation at least once in the 12 months prior to interview; fewer than in any previous year of the survey. Formal volunteering was also down to 24 per cent, down from 29 per cent in the previous year.

The survey also shows that 38 per cent of people felt they could influence decisions in their local area; levels are unchanged on all previous years apart from 2001 when it was higher at 44 per cent. The number of people who would like to be more involved in local decision making has declined from 49 per cent last year to 42 per cent in the current year.

The number of people satisfied with their local area as a place to live increased to 86 per cent compared to 83 per cent in the previous year.

Eighty-six per cent of people thought their community was cohesive, agreeing that their local area was a place where people from different backgrounds got on well together. This is higher than in previous years.

The survey is available from DCLG.