Community has been strengthened during pandemic
From a report by New Local Government Network (NLGN)
NLGN conduct a quarterly Leadership Index survey of chief executives, leaders and mayors from local authorities across the UK. The survey asks council chiefs about their level of confidence in key service areas as well as wider indicators of community wellbeing.
In their latest survey conducted in April 2020, some interesting data emerged about community cohesion during the Covid-19 pandemic.
As suspected, community cohesion and trust has reached a new high and there has been a flourishing in community volunteering.
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Council chiefs are more confident that people in their area trust each other, with confidence level rising to its all-time high of 70.4, an increase of 6.5 per cent since last quarter.
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Likewise, council chiefs are more confident that there is community cohesion in their area, with confidence level rising to its all-time high of 71.9, an increase of 5.6 per cent since the last quarter.
There has been significant contribution of Community groups to Council's efforts in responding to the Covid-19 crisis.
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47.4 per cent of respondents consider their contribution very significant
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48.2 per cent consider it significant.
Nearly half of respondents (48 per cent) said that they have set up some form of community support hub, including “virtual support hubs”, “community networks for a humanitarian response”, and “infrastructure to support vulnerable and shielded individuals”.
Many local authorities have worked closely with Mutual Aid groups and others to deal with the effects of Covid-19. Local volunteers have helped with tasks such as distributing food and medicine, volunteering in health and social care services, building shielding hubs, and more.
Adam Lent, NLGN Director commented, "It is amazing to see indications of greater community trust and cohesion, as people and council key workers band together to face the crisis. This survey is a striking endorsement of community power. Those who lead councils almost universally praise the involvement of community groups in tackling COVID-19... We hope that these partnerships and spirit of collaboration between communities and councils will continue to flourish long after the pandemic is over.”
Read more here.
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From a report by New Local Government Network (NLG, 28/05/2020