Social participation

Social participation is the extent of people's involvement and interaction with others in their local communities, neighbourhood and wider society. This can include volunteering, group activities, or being part of social networks that can foster a sense of belonging. Many factors can influence social participation, including the facilities and resources available in the community or neighbourhood and the ease by which people can access them.

Lancashire County Council's Community Projects team works with Lancashire residents to support projects to strengthen communities and improve health and wellbeing. Further information and examples of previous projects can be found on the community team support webpage.

Community Life Survey and Participation survey

National surveys published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport provide data on volunteering and factors influencing social participation and engagement in community activities. The latest figures for local authority districts are the 2024/25 release of the Community Life Survey and the 2023/24 release of the Participation Survey.

In all districts of Lancashire-12, more than half of people had very or fairly strong feelings of belonging to their neighbourhoods. In six districts, including Ribble Valley (76.5%), Rossendale (71.2%), Fylde (71.1%), Wyre (70.1%), South Ribble (68.7%), and West Lancashire (68.0%), this percentage was significantly higher than England (62.1%). All other districts were similar to England.

The majority of people across the districts of Lancashire-12 agreed that people from different backgrounds get on well together in the local area. This figure was significantly higher than England (80.6%) in Lancaster (87.1%) and Fylde (86.2%), but was significantly lower than England in four districts, including Hyndburn (67.4%) and Burnley (70.5%).

Rates of volunteering varied across Lancashire-12, with a third or more of people in Ribble Valley (38.5%), Lancaster (36.6%), Pendle (34.1%), Rossendale (33.3%), and Fylde (33.3%) reported to have volunteered at least once a month in the previous 12 months. The proportion in Ribble Valley (38.5%) was significantly higher than in England (32.8%), while the figure in South Ribble (27.2%) was significantly below England.

Visiting a heritage site was the most frequent arts and culture activity that people had engaged in within the past 12 months, ranging from 71.4% in Ribble Valley to 56.4% in Hyndburn (England = 66.2%). Attending a cinema screening of a film or movie was the next most frequent activity, ranging from 62.4% in Chorley to 42.1% in Pendle (England = 54.8%).

The King's Award for Voluntary Service, previously known as the Queen's Award for Voluntary service, has been given annually since 2003 in recognition of outstanding voluntary work. It is the highest honour that can be bestowed upon voluntary groups in the UK, and they are awarded for life.

In 2025, there were three award winners in Lancashire:

• Counselling in the Community – a Blackpool-based counselling charity for all age groups.

• Escape2Make (E2M) – a charity providing creative activities to help tackle boredom, loneliness and school pressures for 11 to 18 year olds in Lancaster and Morecambe.

• Helping Hearts Fylde – a charity dedicated to alleviating poverty, supporting people across Blackpool, Fylde, and Wyre.

This brings the total of voluntary organisations in Lancashire that have won an award since the inception of the King's Award for Voluntary Service to 103. Details of previous winning organisations in Lancashire can be found on the search page of the King's Award for Voluntary Service webpage.

Page updated 16 June 2026