Sector Structure in Local Authorities and former district councils (%)9 Carlisle Allerdale Copeland Barrow in Furness Eden South Lakeland Micro (Income below £10,000) 46.6 54.4 47.5 38.0 56.1 44.0 Small (income £10,000 - £49,999) 19.5 22.9 24.3 22.8 24.3 31.1 Medium (income £50,000 - £249,000) 19.9 16.7 23.2 25.0 12.6 16.7 Large (income £250,000 – £999,999) 9.6 3.4 4.5 12.0 5.6 5.9 Big (income £1m-£25m) 4.4 2.5 0.6 2.2 1.2 2.3 Total 251 353 177 321 598 1,011 Carlisle has a higher percentage of large and big charities and a lower percentage of small and micro charities than both Allerdale and Copeland. One reason for this could be Carlisle’s role as a regional centre with good transport links. Sector income stands at just under £71.5m. The estimated value of sector energy is £78.9m. This is calculated by combining sector expenditure, the proxy value of the financial value produced by regular volunteers, the value of in-kind support provided to the sector and the income produced trading free goods in charity shops. Data relating to Cumberland only reveals that the employment of this energy leads to approximately £859.5m of value.10 A lot of people in Carlisle are doing a great job and that is sometimes overlooked. When I close my eyes and look at Carlisle it feels like we've got all these organisations doing great things, but a little bit more joined up thinking and sharing of resources could go a long way. Voluntary Sector Representative EMPLOYMENT AND VOLUNTEERING Across Cumberland, there are an estimated 4,810 full time equivalent employees in the voluntary and community sector. Estimates also suggest that there are 7,893 regular volunteers in Carlisle, collectively working an impressive 568,320 hours annually. When the value of their time is calculated using National Living Wage figures, the contribution of these volunteers equates to just over £5.6 million.11 But Carlisle is facing challenges in relation to both paid and volunteer workforces. Immediately following the Covid-19 crisis, workforce mental health and burnout emerged as pressing issues across the UK. In June 2022, 97% of organisations identified mental health as their top challenge and 82%12 expressed concerns about staff burnout. There are also difficulties in recruiting and retaining both paid staff and volunteers. For example, at the present time, Cumbria CVS report that there are 86 volunteers currently registered who would like to volunteer, with 54 vacancies not yet filled. One key challenge is the declining engagement of older volunteers, who traditionally make up a large portion of the voluntary workforce but may now be stepping back due to health concerns, personal commitments, or health-related lifestyle changes. While there has been gradual improvement in terms of diversity within organisations, especially in Board leadership, continued and focused efforts are needed to ensure that leadership roles are representative of the wider population. This includes increasing representation from women, individuals with disabilities, and those from black and ethnically diverse communities. Enhancing diversity is vital for fostering inclusion and ensuring that decision-making reflects the communities that groups serve.13 When we talk about people falling through the gaps it feels to me postCovid, cost of living and mental health pressures , that those gaps have got wider, so more people have fallen through the gaps. But you need that little bit of energy and when you're weary, looking out for others is harder. Weariness has set in in some of our hearts and some of our minds and that is holding us back a little bit. But there is always hope, always. We may just need a reminder from time to time. Voluntary Sector Representative CARLISLE’S VOLUNTARY AND COMMUNITY SECTOR There are an estimated 323 voluntary and community organisations in Carlisle. This includes registered charities, Charitable Incorporated Organisations, Community Interest Companies, Community Amateur Sports Clubs and registered societies. Data regarding income levels is only available for 251 of these 323 organisations8 and is summarised in the table below. 1For Give a Day to Carlisle see: http://www.giveadaycarlisle.org/join-the-movement 2For Love Carlisle see: https://www.facebook.com/LoveCarlisle.uk/ 3Carlisle Matters is a district wide network of 11 Community Centres and Hubs and 1 community organisation offering a range of activities across Carlisle, Longtown and Brampton: https://carlislematters.co.uk 4Carlisle Community Groups network is a volunteer led group that links community organisations together. 5For Age UK Carlisle and Eden see: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/carlisleandeden/our-services/well-home-5a836fc6-a441-ee11-a81c-000d3abf9821/ 6There are four Community Panels operating across Carlisle District. These are Petteril (covering Botcherby, Currock, Harraby South, Harraby North and Upperby); Carlisle West (covering Castle, Belle Vue, Morton, Denton Holme and Yewdale); and Borders, Fellside and North Carlisle (covering Belah, Stanwix Urban, Longtown, Brampton, Houghton and Irthington, Corby and Hayton and Wetheral). The Fells and Solway Community Panel includes Dalston and Burgh by Sands). https://www.cumberland.gov.uk/community-panels 7By way of example of the current debate see: https://www.lgbce.org.uk/news/press-release/have-your-say-new-political-map-cumberland-council 8Chapman, T and Wistow, J: Local Health and Social Wellbeing: p26 in The Contribution of the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector in Cumbria: Durham University. The figure includes those registered with the Charity Commission as Charities or CIOs and other groups such as CICs, Cooperatives, Community Benefit Societies and Community Amateur Sports Clubs. The data does not include national or regional third sector organisations registered outside of Cumbria. 9Chapman, T and Wistow, J: Local Health and Social Wellbeing: p25 in The Contribution of the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector in Cumbria: Durham University, 2023. Please note this table only refers to registered charities and CIOs, due to insufficient data sources on the sizes of other organisations within the sector. 10For a description of sector energy and income see Chapman, T and Wistow, J: Local Health and Social Wellbeing: p27, p45 and p46 in The Contribution of the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector in Cumbria: Durham University, 2023. 11Chapman, T and Wistow, J: Local Health and Social Wellbeing: p30 and p31 in The Contribution of the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector in Cumbria: Durham University, 2023. 12The Impact of Covid-19 on the Mental Health of Grassroots Voluntary and Community Sector Workers: Peoples Health Trust, 2022, https://ph-trust.files.svdcdn.com/production/ documents/We-were-absolutely-invisible_The-impact-of-Covid-19-on-mental-health-of-VCS-workers.pdf?v=1655974991&dm=1655974992 13Chapman, T and Wistow, J: Local Health and Social Wellbeing: p36 in The Contribution of the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector in Cumbria: Durham University, 2023. 14How Live Has Changed in Carlisle: Census 2021: Office for National Statistics, 2021 www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/censusareachanges/E07000028/ 15Ethnic group, England and Wales: Census 2021: Office for National Statistics , 2022 https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/ethnicity/bulletins/ ethnicgroupenglandandwales/census2021 16How Live Has Changed in Carlisle: Census 2021: Office for National Statistics, 2021 www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/censusareachanges/E07000028/ Carlisle: Opportunities & Challenges 2025 66 67
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