Charities facing a 'perfect storm' as demand rises

Chris Davies, Amelia Armour and Jack Barton from the charity Mustard Tree in Greater Manchester

Hundreds of charities are concerned about whether they will cope with rising demand for services this winter, according to research given exclusively to the BBC's Wake Up to Money podcast.

The survey of nearly 350 charity managers was carried out by the Law Family Commission on Civil Society between 18 and 24 October 2021.

Of those who took part, 210 said they expected demand to rise this winter.

The commission said charities were facing a "perfect storm" of factors.

Charity managers across the UK were asked by YouGov how demand had changed during the Covid pandemic.

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Jack Barton works for the Mustard Tree charity, which works to tackle poverty and homelessness in Greater Manchester.

The charity was busy before the coronavirus pandemic, but now staff and volunteers are seeing demand surge.

"Winter especially is always our hardest time of year - particularly on the food front," Mr Barton said.

"We're located in an area of incredible inequality. We're surrounded by a very affluent residential area, a commercial district, but we also know there's roughly 900 families within a couple of miles' radius of this hub who are living in appalling conditions."

Matt Whittaker, chief executive of the Law Family Commission on Civil Society, told the BBC's Wake Up to Money programme: "Charities have been dealing with a perfect storm of constrained resources and bigger demand. But they've coped and helped as many people as they can.

"We're now at the stage, though, where some of those problems are going to amplify."

Amelia Armour of the Mustard Tree charity is braced for a hard winter

Charities working in health and social services reported being particularly affected. Some said they would not have the capacity to meet the anticipated rise in demand over the next three months.

Cultural and recreational charities say they have also seen a rise in demand now that restrictions have lifted.

The biggest worry for charity bosses is the pressure that this puts on staff and volunteers.

Amelia Armour had a career change during the lockdown from retail to adult social care. She joined the Mustard Tree team during the coronavirus lockdown.

"Occasionally, yes, it's challenging, but I love it. Every day is like a new experience," she says.

Amelia says she has noticed the service is feeling more stretched.

"I am fairly concerned. I think it's going to get a lot busier.

"When it's really cold weather, we get crisis warnings, we need to find a bed for people. Our hubs are going to get busier as well."

The charity's food and drink manager, Chris Davies, agrees.

"When I first joined, our food clubs were probably doing around 300 to 400 visits a month. Last month, we did about 2,800 visits," he told the BBC.

There are many possible reasons for an increase in demand for the services that these charities provide.

Managers cite the rise in the cost of living, delays in medical operations, delays in the justice system, cuts to other services and the end of the Universal Credit uplift.

Charities have received additional government support during the pandemic. In spring 2020, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £750m support package for the not-for-profit sector, aimed at supporting charities that needed to continue working as part of the Covid-19 response.

Mr Whittaker says the solution lies in investing in skills and more collaboration between charities, government and business.

"It's also about the public. Better-off households haven't been spending as much," he says.

"Longer-term, there also needs to be some structural change to weather future storms."

A spokesperson for the government said it was "committed" to supporting charities, having provided "an unprecedented multi-billion-pound package of government support for them during the most critical stage of the pandemic".

The spokesperson added that the government continued to work closely with the sector.