Formal Volunteering Participation Rises Again to 27%

That the Parliament welcomes the publication of the Scottish Household Survey data for 2025; celebrates the rise in overall formal volunteering participation, with 27% of adults volunteering at least once in the last year; recognises that this marks the second year-on-year increase in formal volunteering and believes that this indicates a sustained recovery from the all-time low of 18% recorded in 2023; notes with concern the continued participation gaps relating to deprivation and disability, with adults in Scotland’s least deprived communities volunteering at double the rate of those in the most deprived communities and an eight percentage point gap between disabled and non-disabled adults; recognises the continued efforts of Volunteer Edinburgh and Volunteer Centre East Lothian in promoting volunteering and supporting voluntary organisations across Edinburgh Eastern, Musselburgh and Tranent, and celebrates the essential contribution that volunteers make to communities across Scotland.