Wales’ community spirit shines through despite challenges of Covid-19
Ysbryd cymunedol yn amlwg yng Nghymru er gwaetha heriau COVID-19
Wales has seen a growing sense of community spirit since the start of the pandemic according to new Covid-19 research published today.
The new monthly telephone version of the National Survey for Wales asked 1,400 people from across Wales questions on wellbeing, loneliness, employment, finances, food poverty, GP appointments, social care, and education to find out the how the pandemic has affected their lives.
The latest results show that despite the unprecedented levels of uncertainty experienced throughout the crisis there has been a growing sense of community spirit across Wales. More people are helping others, less people feel lonely and generally people continue to feel happy.
Key results from the June survey include:
- 84% of people feel they belong to their local area, with 85% of people feeling that people from different backgrounds get on well together in their local area (+9% from last year).
- 77% of people say they are happy with 39% of people feeling anxious.
- 35% of people look after or support family, friends and neighbours (+6% from last year).
- 1 in 10 people have volunteered to help with the Covid-19 situation in the last four weeks.
- 12% of people said they were lonely (-3% from last year).
Finance Minister Rebecca Evans said:
“Despite facing the biggest challenge of a generation, I am pleased to see that Wales’ community spirit has continued to thrive during the pandemic.
“I would like to thank everyone who continues to contribute to the survey. The feedback we receive is invaluable and will help inform our decision making as we begin our road to recovery.”
Full results from the survey are available on the National Survey web pages.
Notes to editors
The National Survey for Wales: 2020 monthly survey is a large, random sample telephone survey covering people from across Wales. It began on 24 April 2020, after face-to-face National Survey fieldwork was halted on 16 March 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak. The results published today are based on interviews carried out in June.
The survey covers a representative, randomly-selected cross-section of the population including people who are less literate, do not have internet access, or are otherwise hard to reach. It is carried out to the highest standards and has been independently assessed as having National Statistics status. This means the results can be relied on to give a robust picture of the lives and views of people across Wales.
The sample surveyed is selected from people who previously took part in the face-to-face of the National Survey and agreed to take part in further research. The achieved sample size each month is approximately 1,000 and the response rate is around 74% of those asked to take part.
The survey lasts 20 minutes on average and covers a range of topics that are of particular relevance to the coronavirus situation. It also includes a small number of topics that would otherwise have been covered in the face-to-face survey, but for which direct comparability with earlier results is not essential.
The results published today are only part of what is covered by the survey. Reports on specific survey topics will be reported throughout the year.
Fieldwork for the monthly survey continues, and the findings from each month will be published in the following month. The results from the July monthly survey will be published in the second half of August.
Results and more information about the National Survey for Wales can be found at: www.gov.wales/nationalsurvey.