The vast majority of people in England and Wales trust their neighbours according to the main findings from the 2003 Home Office Citizenship Survey, published today. The survey suggests that neighbourliness is on the rise, with two out of three people socialising with friends or neighbours at least once a month, and an increasing number feeling that people in their neighbourhood could be trusted. More and more people are also getting involved in improving their communities, with an increase of 1.6 million people who participate in civic activities or volunteering since 2001.

Home Office Minister Fiona Mactaggart said: "This survey shows signs of a growing commitment to civic activity, neighbourliness and community life. In 2005, the Year of the Volunteer, we need to build on this progress and develop more opportunities for more people to play a role in their wider community.

"The value of the contribution made by those who volunteer in their community, both formally and informally, is enormous; not just in terms of its financial value - which amounts to some 42.6 billion a year - but in the social benefits and improvements it brings to our quality of life. Volunteering brings benefits both to the volunteer, in the form of building personal skills and boosting confidence, and to the community through solving problems and strengthening bonds of trust and belonging.

"The Citizenship Survey raises challenges too. While more and more people are willing to be active in their communities, the proportion of people who felt able to influence local decision-making has declined. That has to be improved. Local people are uniquely placed to understand and develop solutions to their own problems, and good governance - at local and national level - means developing tools to allow them to do that. Communities need the opportunity to engage with decision-making when it affects them - that is to the benefit of all.

"It's also a responsibility of all to tackle disadvantage and discrimination on the basis of race, wherever it is to be found. Encouragingly, the survey shows that people living in multi-ethnic areas have the most positive views about the extent of racial prejudice, and that people from minority ethnic groups are less likely to feel that racial prejudice is on the increase. But the survey also shows that people from minority ethnic groups are more likely to feel discriminated against by public bodies. In 2005, the Government-wide Community Cohesion and Race Equality Strategy will form the basis of a renewed programme of action to reduce race inequalities."

ABOUT THE CITIZENSHIP SURVEY

The 2003 Home Office Citizenship Survey is a biennial Home Office large-scale survey, collecting information to inform Home Office community policies. It is playing an important part in the development of Home Office community policies. The first survey was undertaken in 2001, these are the findings from the second survey (2003) and the third survey goes into the field in February 2005.

The Home Office Citizenship Survey 2003 also shows that:

• People's trust in political institutions rose between 2001 and 2003.
• * 51 per cent of people trusted their local council in 2001, compared with 54 per cent in 2003;
• * the proportion trusting Parliament went up from 36 per cent to 38 per cent;
• * levels of trust in the CJS are high and stable: 80 per cent of people said they trusted the police and 73 per cent trusted the courts; and
• * the proportion of people who felt people in their neighbourhood could be trusted rose from 40 per cent to 47 per cent.
• High levels of social engagement with friends and neighbours compliment the strong feelings of neighbourliness evident from the survey.
• * 65 per cent had friends or relatives round to their homes and 67 per cent went out with them at least once a month; and
• * there were high levels of mixing among people from different social and ethnic backgrounds - in 2003 66 per cent of people said they had friends from different ethnic groups to themselves.
• Active participation in communities rose between 2001 and 2003.
• * Informal volunteering at least once a month showed an upward trend - increasing from 34 per cent in 2001 to 37 per cent in 2003. But informal volunteering at least once in the twelve months prior to interview declined - from 67 per cent in 2001 to 62 per cent in 2003;
• * in 2003, 42% per cent of people volunteered formally (through groups, clubs or organisations) in the twelve months before interview, increasing from 39 per cent in 2001. But monthly formal volunteering (28 per cent of people in 2003) was static; and
• * in England only, the percentage of people who participated at least once a month in civic activities, informal volunteering or formal volunteering (the measurement required for PSA 8) increased from 48 per cent in 2001 to 51 per cent in 2003, an increase of more than 1.5 million people.
• People were more likely to believe they could influence decisions affecting their local area than decisions affecting Britain. However, proportions of people feeling they could influence decisions fell between 2001 and 2003.
• * The proportion of people who felt they could influence decisions in their local area fell from 43 per cent to 38 per cent; and
• * the proportion who felt they could influence decisions affecting Britain as a whole fell from 24 per cent to 19 per cent.
• The proportion of people feeling there is now more racial prejudice in Britain than five years ago increased from 43 per cent in 2001 to 47 per cent in 2003. But:
• * The perception that racial prejudice had increased was only evident among people describing themselves as White;
• * people living in ethnically mixed areas had the most positive views about the extent of racial prejudice;
• * people from minority ethnic groups were more likely than White people to feel public sector organisations would treat them worse than people of other races;
• * the organisations felt to be most discriminatory were the immigration authorities, police, local housing departments, Prison Service and the armed forces; and
• * whilst people from minority ethnic groups expressed the most concerns about public sector discrimination, White people were particularly concerned about being discriminated against by local housing departments.

Click here to download a copy of the Citizenship Survey (1.63MB, PDF)

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