Coronavirus: Rural community groups threatened by crisis

One in four community groups in rural areas said the pandemic is threatening their future financial viability.

Such organisations have provided vital services in recent weeks, providing telephone support, checking on the elderly and vulnerable people and delivering food and medicines.

An umbrella body said it would have expected more of its 225 members to be under financial pressure.

It said bigger organisations are facing more problems than smaller ones.

That is because they tend to own a premises and employ full-time staff whereas the smaller organisations rely on a volunteer workforce.

The findings were in a survey for the Rural Community Network.

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"Groups in rural communities have really stepped into the breach in terms of responding to need during the lockdown," said policy officer Aidan Campbell.

"The government couldn't have done it without them, but the concern has to be how long that can keep going."

Many of the groups have been checking on the elderly and vulnerable people and delivering food and medicines

Groups reported that they had to cancel events and restrict services. More than half had lost income and many only make about £25,000 a year.

About 30% of community groups had to lay off or redeploy staff, or reduce hours and one in five had put some of their people on furlough.

Many said that while they could continue with current levels of activity for several months, they would need support if they were to continue.

Financial help would be needed to pay for food parcels, volunteers' expenses and personal protection equipment, they said.

Seventy five groups responded to the survey - some 32% of its total membership.