​97% of Scots will use a charity at some point in their life

The majority of people living in Scotland rely on charities at some point in their life, major new research shows.

In a wide ranging study, Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) revealed a staggering 97% of us have already used a charity service of some kind.

The figures, which form part of Charity Street II - a report examining the way people use charitable services and their awareness of them - demonstrate that charities are now ingrained and integral to life north of the border, able to help meet almost every need of Scots including essential services such as medical care, counselling and clothing.

A huge amount of public life is supported by generosity. And a lot of us are unaware of the scope of charities

Released in a time when benefit sanctions are attacking the poorest and budget cuts are making it even harder for safety net services to meet rising demand, the statistics show that in the past year eight out of 10 Scots has relied on the sector for something.

The average Scot makes use of almost five charities per year with people even turning to charities for leisure activities, religion and pet services.

However researchers found that around a quarter are unaware that the charity services that they or someone in their household used were, in fact, run by charities.

“Our research highlighted how much we all rely on charities without necessarily realising it.” Susan Pinkney, head of research at the Charities Aid Foundation, said.

“Given a list of 16 services provided by charities, less than one in 10 people were aware they were all provided by the voluntary sector.

“A huge amount of public life is supported by generosity. And a lot of us are unaware of the scope of charities.”

The most used service in Scotland is charity shops with over half of us having purchased something from a one in the last year.

Since birth 46% of people have accessed advice from a charity such as The Samaritans, Relate or The Citizen's Advice Bureau.

One in four have attended counselling, a support group or received mental health support and 7% of people have ever received medical care from a charity such as Macmillan Cancer Support or St. John's Ambulance.

Looking at the past year alone, 14% have sought advice or information from a charity, 8% have sought counselling and 1% have been given medical care.

The other most common ways people have used charity services in Scotland are visiting a charity run gallery, museum, garden or stately home (66%); visiting a church or religious institution run by a charity (41%) and attending a community, youth or voluntary group such as the Scouts, Girl Guides or Age Concern (38%). 18% of the population have adopted a pet from a charity such as the RSPCA.

Across the UK 98% of Brits said they had used a charity with charity shops again the most used with 86% of the population having done so.

“Gone are the days when there was a stigma attached to charity shopping with our figures showing that people in more affluent areas are on average more likely to be charity shoppers,” Pinkney added.

“Charity shops can be high street treasure troves, selling cheaper, second hand goods and often promoting ethically produced and ‘fair trade’ items.”

The CAF study comes just six months after a Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations study which found 84% of Scots had used a charity in the past year and that 90% had contributed in some way to one.