National Factors

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Revenue

• Private Sector - 5.27t
• Public Sector - 1.1t
• Third Sector - 120b (1.8%)

Small to medium-sized charities now receive only 14.74% of the total available income in the sector, a significant decline from 33.6% in 2000.

Unable to access or afford essential technology and expertise for their under pressure teams, the income and delivery problem is critically compounding for the sector on an annual basis.

As a result of the current politico-socio-economic environment in the UK, 1 in 5 charities have been forced to cut back on the number or scope of services they offer, placing further impact and burden on communities who are already stretched to their limit.

The Facts

• 54% of charities are facing substantially increased demands on their service.
• 77% of charities are facing substantially increased running costs for their service.
• 40% of charities face significant recruiting challenges.
• Rates of monthly and annual volunteering are at their lowest levels since records began.
• Staff training and development has fallen by 25% since 2011.

The Drivers

Rising Economic Inequality

• The UK has one of the highest levels of income inequality and one of the fastest rising levels of wealth inequality in Europe.

• From 2005 to 2025, consumer prices rose by 73.5% and house prices rose by 93.2%. This was accompanied by only a 63.5% increase in median annual income.

• In a population of ~69m people:

  • 14.3m people (21% of the population) are in poverty
  • 7.2m people (11% of the population) experience food insecurity
  • More than 350,000 people (1 in 160) in England are homeless

Rising Net Migration

• The UK is the most crowded large European nation at 271 people per km², with England being Europe’s most densely populated nation at 429 people per km² - 3.5 times more crowded than France (116/km²) and nearly twice as crowded as Germany (232/km²).

• The UK has experienced net positive migration every year since 1994, with net migration reaching 728,000 in 2024, up from 184,000 in 2019.

• The UK population grew by approximately 8 million in the 20 years to 2021, with about 7 million linked to immigration

• In 2022, 1.1 million visas were granted to foreign nationals - equivalent to the population of Britain’s second largest city, Birmingham.

• Work-related immigration accounted for nearly 50% of the increase in non-EU migration from 2019 to mid-2024, with health and care workers being a key driver. International students and their dependents contributed 38% of the rise.

An Aging Population

• The UK has a rapidly aging population, with the number of people aged 50+ increasing by 6.8 million in the last 40 years.

• 19% (12.7m) of the UK population are currently aged 65 or over. In 1972, that figure stood at 13% (7.5m). By 2072, it’s predicted to rise to 27% (21m).

• Healthcare spending for this group is forecast to rise from 7.2% to 13.8% of GDP by 2072.

• Currently:

  • 2 million people aged 65+ have unmet needs for care and support.
  • 1.1 million people have difficulty dressing.
  • 600,000 have difficulty getting in and out of bed.

Worsening Public Health

• The UK has an incredibly low number of hospital beds and doctors relative to its population and, despite population growth, in December 2024 had 1,167 fewer fully qualified full-time GPs than in September 2015.

• Over 77.8% of gross current expenditure is spent on long term care, an increase of 11.2% compared to 2021-22.

• Nearly 8m people are awaiting consultant-led elective care and the number of people waiting more than 4 hours for emergency care has risen by over 4000% since 2010.

• 20% of children aged 8 to 16 had a probable mental disorder in 2023, up from 12% in 2017. Those in areas of higher deprivation are more likely to be in contact with mental health services.

Environmental Degredation

• 59% of Grade 1 agricultural land, 4.6m residential properties, 38% of all roads and railways and 34% of water pumping stations and treatment plants are at risk of flooding in the UK, with significant increases expected by 2050-2060, driven by a significantly wetter climate.

• Only 14% of rivers and lakes in England have a good ecological status and none have a good chemical status. Sewage is poured into protected habitats for over 300,000 hours per year, and 3 billion litres of water are lost to leaking pipes each day.

• Heat-related deaths in the UK are set to treble by 2050, driven by rises in summer and winter temperatures which are projected to be up to 5.1°C warmer.

• Since 1970, more than 50% of flowering plants, mosses and relatives have been lost and species have declined on average by 19%. One in six are now threatened with extinction.