Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the value of volunteering to the UK economy.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport commissioned a report in 2025 from London Economics, working with Basis Social and New Philanthropy Capital, to monetise the economic and social value of volunteering in England. The report estimates the monetary value of formal volunteering activity in England in 2021/22 (the most recent data available at the time of the analysis).

The total economic impact of formal volunteering activity in England in 2021/22 was estimated at £24.69 billion. This figure includes the cost of replacing volunteers with paid staff in England, which was estimated at £16.43 billion, as well as the monetised value of the wellbeing benefits experienced by volunteers in England, which was estimated at £8.26 billion.

The full report is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/estimating-the-economic-and-social-value-of-volunteering

Volunteering policy is devolved and therefore the Department does not hold equivalent figures on a UK basis.