Official Statistics

Community and Engagement Survey 2025/26: summary report

Updated 14 August 2026

Applies to England

This report summarises the headline findings from the Community Engagement Survey (CES) on how people interact with their community and with culture, media and live sport. The CES replaces the Participation Survey and Community Life Survey and runs as a joint survey. In 2025/26, DCMS partnered with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to boost the Community pathway (previously the Community Life Survey) of the CES. Full demographic and geographic breakdowns are available in the data tables, which can be found on the main landing page. Detailed reports covering these breakdowns will be published on 14 August 2026.

The CES is representative of people aged 16 and over in England. For simplicity, we will sometimes refer just to ‘people aged 16+’ in our reporting. 

For information on how to use and interpret these statistics, see the guidance available on the supplementary documents page^{[footnote 1]}.

1. Community

Questions within the Community pathway of the Community and Engagement Survey were asked to respondents from October 2025 to March 2026.

1.1 Civic engagement

The CES asks respondents how much they took part in civic engagement, civic participation, civic consultation, and civic activism over the last 12 months. This section focuses on civic engagement which is the involvement in any civic participation, consultation, or activism at least once in the last 12 months. For full definitions, see Annex A.

In 2025/26:

46% of people aged 16+ had engaged in civic participation, civic consultation, or civic activism at least once in the last 12 months, a 5 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (41%).

38% of people aged 16+ engaged in some form of civic participation at least once in the last 12 months, a 4 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (34%).

20% of people aged 16+ engaged in some form of civic consultation at least once in the last 12 months, a 2 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (19%).

9% of people aged 16+ engaged in some form of civic activism at least once in the last 12 months, a 1 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (8%).

1.2 Influencing local decisions

The CES asks respondents how much they agree that they can personally influence local decisions. This included whether people felt that they could personally influence decisions affecting their local area, how important it was to be able to personally influence decisions affecting their local area, and people’s level of involvement in decisions made by their council that affect their local area.

In 2025/26:

26% of people aged 16+ “definitely” or “tended” to agree that they can personally influence decisions affecting their local area, a 3 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (24%).

59% of people aged 16+ reported that it was “very important” or “quite important” to personally be able to influence decisions affecting their local area, an 8 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (50%).

29% of people aged 16+ said that they would like to be more involved in decisions made by their council that affect the local area, a 1 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (28%).

1.3 Loneliness

The CES asks respondents a series of questions to understand their level of loneliness, using both direct and indirect measures. See Annex B for the loneliness questions used in the 2025/26 survey.

In 2025/26:

7% of people aged 16+ reported that they felt lonely often or always, no significant difference to 2024/25 (7%).

20% of people aged 16+ reported that they never felt lonely, a 1 percentage point decrease from 2024/25 (21%).

9% of people aged 16+ reported high levels of indirect loneliness (a composite score of 8 or 9), no significant difference from 2024/25 (9%).

1.4 Neighbourhood and community

The CES asks respondents how they interact with their neighbourhood, how often they chat with neighbours, and how attractive their neighbourhood is.

In 2025/26:

61% of people aged 16+ felt they belonged “very strongly” or “fairly strongly” to their immediate neighbourhood, a 1 percentage point decrease from 2024/25 (62%).

69% of people aged 16+ reported they chatted to their neighbours, more than just to say hello, at least once a month, no significant difference from 2024/25 (68%).

61% of people aged 16+ reported that people pull together to improve their neighbourhood, a 5 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (56%).

38% of people aged 16+ reported that many of the people in their neighbourhood can be trusted, a 3 percentage point decrease from 2024/25 (40%).

79% of people aged 16+ agree that people from other backgrounds get along, a 2 percentage point decrease from 2024/25 (81%).

11% of people aged 16+ think that over the past two years, their local area has got better to live in, no significant difference from 2024/25 (11%). 31% reported that it had got worse, a 1 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (30%).

1.5 Pride in local area

The CES asks respondents for their feelings of attachment towards the local area, reasons people were proud or not proud of their local area, overall satisfaction with local area, change in the local area over two years, and satisfaction with facilities and amenities in your local area.

In 2025/26:

62% of people aged 16+ agreed that they were proud to live in their local area, a 2 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (60%).

61% of people aged 16+ agreed that they would still like to be living in their local area in five years’ time, no significant change from 2024/25 (61%).

65% of people aged 16+ agreed that they would recommend their local area to others as a good place to live, a 1 percentage point decrease from 2024/25 (66%).

73% of people aged 16+ were either “very” or “fairly” satisfied with their local area as a place to live, no significant change from 2024/25 (73%).    89% of people aged 16+ reported that they were satisfied with the facilities and amenities available in their local area. This question is new for 2025/26 and has no historic data to compare to.

70% of people aged 16+ reported they were satisfied with facilities and amenities used in their local area, a 5 percentage point decrease from 2024/25 (75%).

1.6 Support networks

The CES asks questions regarding respondents’ access to support networks.

In 2025/26:

96% of people aged 16+ “definitely agreed” or “tended to agree” that if they needed help, there are people who would be there for them, a 2 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (94%).

93% of people aged 16+ “definitely agreed” or “tended to agree” that if they wanted company or to socialise, there are people they could call, a 1 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (92%).

96% of people aged 16+ had at least one person they could really count on to listen when they needed to talk, a 1 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (95%).

1.7 Volunteering and charitable giving

The CES asks about physical engagement with volunteering and whether respondents had given money to charity. For definitions of the types of volunteering, see Annex C.

In 2025/26:

18% of people aged 16+ engaged with formal volunteering at least once a month in the last 12 months, a 2 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (17%).

25% of people aged 16+ engaged with informal volunteering at least once a month in the last 12 months, a 1 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (24%).

35% of people aged 16+ engaged in either formal or informal volunteering at least once a month in the last 12 months, a 2 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (33%).   66% of people aged 16+ said they had given money to charitable causes in the last four weeks, no significant change from 2024/25 (67%).

2. Engagement 

The headline physical and digital engagement estimates are based on data collection from April 2025 to March 2026 through the Participation Survey (April to September 2025) and the Community and Engagement Survey (October 2025 - March 2026). It is worth noting that the sample size is considerably larger for the latter 6 months through the Community and Engagement Survey and therefore the estimates are biased towards responses collected from October 2025 to March 2026.

2.1 Archives

The CES asks about physical engagement with archives, such as visiting an archive or records office in person, and digital engagement with archives, such as using an archive or records office online. The full list of included activities we asked about are in Annex D.

In 2025/26:

9% of people aged 16+ engaged with archives or record offices physically or digitally at least once in the last 12 months, no significant change from 2024/25 (9%).

3% of people aged 16+ engaged with archives or record offices physically at least once in the last 12 months, no significant change from 2024/25 (3%).

7% of people aged 16+ engaged with archives or record offices digitally at least once in the last 12 months, no significant change from 2024/25 (7%).

2.2 Arts

The CES asks about physical engagement with the arts, such as reading or attending a live comedy event, and digital engagement with the arts, such as watching a live comedy event or recorded theatre. The full list of included arts activities and events we asked about in the CES are in Annex E.

In 2025/26:

84% of people aged 16+ engaged with the arts at least once in the last 12 months, a 6 percentage point decrease from 2024/25 (91%)^{[footnote 2]}.

83% of people aged 16+ engaged with the arts physically at least once in the last 12 months, a 6 percentage point decrease from 2024/25 (90%).

36% of people aged 16+ engaged with the arts digitally at least once in the last 12 months, a 1 percentage point decrease from 2024/25 (35%).

2.3 Heritage

The CES asks about physical engagement with heritage sectors, such as visiting ancient monuments or archaeological sites, and digital engagement with the heritage sectors including activities such as taking virtual tours, or researching local history online. The full list of included heritage activities we asked about are in Annex F.

In 2025/26:

65% of people aged 16+ engaged with the heritage sector physically or digitally at least once in the last 12 months, a 2 percentage point decrease from 2024/25 (67%).

62% of people aged 16+ engaged with the heritage sectors physically at least once in the last 12 months, a 2 percentage point decrease from 2024/25 (65%).

25% of people aged 16+ engaged with the heritage sectors digitally at least once in the last 12 months, a 1 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (24%).

2.4 Libraries

The CES asks about physical engagement with libraries, such as visiting a public library building or using another library outreach service, and digital engagement with libraries, such as using online catalogues or borrowing e-books and downloading audiobooks. The full list of included libraries activities and events we asked about in the CES are in Annex G.

In 2025/26:

36% of people aged 16+ engaged with libraries at least once in the last 12 months, a 5 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (31%).

31% of people aged 16+ engaged with the libraries physically at least once in the last 12 months, a 5 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (26%).

18% of people aged 16+ engaged with the libraries digitally at least once in the last 12 months, a 2 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (16%).

2.5 Museums or galleries

The CES asks about physical and digital engagement with museums or galleries in the 12 months prior to completing the survey. For physical engagement this includes visits to museums or galleries. For digital engagement activities included taking a virtual tour of a museum or gallery or researching items from a collection online. The full list of included museum or galleries activities and events we asked about in the CES are in Annex H.

In 2025/26:

45% of people aged 16+ engaged with museums or galleries at least once in the last 12 months, no significant difference from 2024/25 (45%).

42% of people aged 16+ engaged with museums or galleries physically at least once in the last 12 months, no significant difference from 2024/25 (41%).

15% of people aged 16+ engaged with museums or galleries digitally at least once in the last 12 months, a 2 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (14%).

2.6 Live sport and gambling

The CES asked about attendance at live sport events and engagement with gambling during sporting events in the last 12 months.

In 2025/26:

30% of people aged 16+ watched live sports in person at least once in the last 12 months, no significant difference from 2024/25 (30%).

71% of people aged 16+ watched live sports on TV at least once in the last 12 months, a 4 percentage point decrease from 2024/25 (75%).

5% of people aged 16+ placed a bet on a sporting event while attending in person, no significant change from 2024/25 (5%). This compares to 10% of people who placed a bet on a sporting event online, no significant change from 2024/25 (10%). 

44% of people aged 16+ placed a bet on a horse racing event while attending in person. This compares to 98% of people who placed a bet on a horse racing event online. This question is new for 2025/26 and has no historic data to compare to.

2.7 Domestic tourism

The CES asks about any domestic holidays (i.e., holidays in England) the respondent had taken in the last 12 months.

In 2025/26:

63% of people aged 16+ in England took a holiday in England at least once in the last 12 months, a 1 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (62%).

2.8 Major events

The CES asks about respondents’ awareness of different major events and their participation in related events.

In 2025/26:

Bradford City of Culture

24% of people aged 16+ were aware of Bradford City of Culture 2025, a 7 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (17%).

Of those aware of the event, 7% of people aged 16+ participated in the Bradford City of Culture 2025 major events.

UEFA Euro 2028 UK and Ireland

45% of people aged 16+ were aware of the UEFA EURO 2028 UK & Ireland major event.

Of those aware of the event, 42% of people aged 16+ were interested in participating in the UEFA EURO 2028 UK & Ireland event.

Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025

44% of people aged 16+ were aware of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, a 7 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (37%).

Of those who were aware of this event, 14% of people aged 16+ participated in the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 major event.

3. Annexes

3.1 Annex A: definitions of civic engagement

• civic participation is defined as engagement in democratic processes, both in person and online, including contacting a local official (such as a local councillor or MP), signing a petition, or attending a public rally (excludes voting).
• civic consultation is defined as taking part in a consultation about local services or problems in the local area through completing a questionnaire, attending a public meeting or being involved in a face-to-face or online group. 
• civic activism is defined as involvement in local community roles such as being a local councillor, school governor, volunteer special constable or magistrate (for those aged 18 or over). Civic activism also includes involvement, either in person or online, in decision making groups in the local area. Examples of this are a tenants’ association, groups making decisions about local health or education services, or groups set up to either regenerate a local area or address issues such as crime.

3.2 Annex B: Loneliness

GSS harmonised questions on different aspects of loneliness were included in the 2025/26 survey.

• how often do you feel lonely? (direct measure)
• how often do you feel that you lack companionship? (indirect measure)
• how often do you feel left out? (indirect measure)
• how often do you feel isolated from others? (indirect measure)

For further information, see Measuring loneliness: guidance for use of the national indicators on surveys - Recommended measures for people.

3.3 Annex C: Definitions of volunteering

• formal volunteering refers to giving unpaid help to groups or clubs, for example, leading a group, administrative support, mutual aid groups or befriending or mentoring people. 
• informal volunteering is defined as giving unpaid help to individuals who are not a relative. For example, babysitting or caring for children, keeping in touch with someone who has difficulty getting out and about, or helping someone with their household tasks such as cleaning, laundry or shopping.

3.4 Annex D: Archives

We define archives as collections of important documents that have been created by people, families, businesses or organisations, and kept forever. Archive records can include paper or digital records, letters, diaries, maps, photographs, videos or sound recordings and more. Archives are stored in places like record offices, archive centres, businesses or universities.

Physical engagement: 

Respondents were asked in which of these ways have you used archives or records offices (not including paid work, school or college or structured academic activities): 

• to research family history or genealogy, for example tracing their family tree
• to learn about their local area or community
• to inspire creative projects, for example books, films or art
• for journalism and investigative reporting
• to gather evidence for personal legal claims
• to support national inquiries and justice processes
• for school, college, or university study
• for academic research
• for personal enjoyment, or wellbeing
• for another reason

Digital engagement:

Respondents were asked in which of these ways have you used archives or records offices online (not including paid work, school or college or structured academic activities): 

• researched family history
• researched local history
• other types of research
• looked at original historic documents
• looked at a display/exhibition
• listened to sound recordings or watched videos
• attended an event or talk
• something else

3.5 Annex E: Arts

Respondents were asked whether they had participated in a given list of arts activities, or attended a given list of arts events (not including paid work, school or college or structured academic activities). Eligible activities and events were as follows: 

Physical participation:

• written stories, plays, or poetry
• read books, graphic novels or magazines
• written, practiced or performed music
• painting, drawing, printmaking, calligraphy, colouring
• crafts (textile, ceramic, sculpting, carving, woodwork)
• choreographed or performed a drama or dance routine
• designed or programmed video games including on a smartphone or tablet
• made films or videos as a hobby including original animations
• photography as a hobby
• read news in a national printed newspaper
• read news in a local printed newspaper
• other art or creative activities at home

Physical attendance: 

• an exhibition of art, photography or sculptures
• a theatre play, drama, musical, pantomime, ballet or opera
• an event connected with literature, books, reading, poetry reading or writing
• A cinema screening of a film or movie
• A craft exhibition (not a crafts market; crafts include for example textiles, woodworking or ceramics)
• A live music event (for example, pop, jazz, electronic, choral, orchestra or folk)
• an arts festival and or carnival (for example, a food, craft or other cultural event)
• A street art event 
• A live dance event (for example, contemporary, world, street or ballroom)
• A fashion show
• A comedy event
• an in-person esports contest or video game competition event 
• Some other cultural event in England

Digital engagement: 

• A live arts event including theatre, visual arts or literature
• A pre-recorded arts event including theatre, visual arts or literature
• A live music or dance event, watched as it was happening
• A pre-recorded music or dance event

3.6 Annex F: Heritage

Physical engagement: 

Respondents were asked whether they had visited any of the following historic places in person (not including paid work, school or college or structured academic activities). 

By historic we mean a place of exceptional cultural or heritage value: 

• A city or town that you visited specifically for its historic nature
• A historic, non-religious building open to the public 
• A historic place of worship attended as a visitor (not to worship)
• A park or garden open to the public with historic or artistic features
• A place connected with industrial history (such as an old factory, mine or railway)
• an ancient monument or archaeological site (such as a castle, fort, burial site)
• A site connected with sports visited for its heritage
• A site connected with maritime or underwater heritage (such as shipwrecks)
• A historic landscape or habitat (such as coastline, countryside)
• Some other heritage site or historic place

Digital engagement: 

Respondents were asked which of these virtual or online activities they had done (not including paid work, school or college or structured academic activities): 

• taken a virtual walking tour of a historic town or city, heritage site, castle or monument in England (Not including drone flights)
• researched your local history online
• viewed documents from an archive in England online
• engaged with text, image, audio, video, or animation, games, or podcast content from heritage sites in England

3.7 Annex G: Libraries

Physical engagement: 

Respondents were asked in which of these ways have you used public library services (not including paid work, school or college or structured academic activities): 

• visited a public library building or mobile library in-person in my leisure time 
• visited by a home library service 
• used another library outreach service (for example, attended a community event where the library staff or volunteers were present) 

Digital engagement:

Respondents were asked whether they had done any of the following things when accessing library services online (not including paid work, school or college or structured academic activities):  

• reserved or renewed books or paid a fine
• searched online catalogues or dictionaries or made an enquiry
• borrowed digital or online resources such as e-books, e-audio or e-magazines but without visiting the library
• viewed or participated in an online event or activity organised by the library
• checked information online about the library such as opening hours, available facilities or services offered
• accessed online services via library membership such as journals or family history sites
• accessed information about the library via social media 
• been supported by library staff over the phone 
• accessed some other library service online

3.8 Annex H: Museums or galleries

Physical engagement:

Respondents were asked if they had visited a museum or gallery in person in England in the last 12 months. 

Digital engagement:

Respondents were asked which of these virtual or online activities they had done (not including paid work, school or college or structured academic activities): 

• taken a virtual tour of a museum or gallery in England
• researched items from a museum or gallery collection in England online
• engaged with text, image, audio, video, or animation, games, or podcast content from museums in England

1. The majority of estimates in this report are rounded to the nearest whole number. Where there has been a small but significant statistical change, estimates may be presented to one decimal place for clarity. As data are rounded, some changes may appear bigger or smaller than they are. The unrounded numbers are available in the corresponding data tables. ↩

2. The 2025/26 figure for the arts sector is lower than anticipated. Consequently, further analysis is being undertaken to establish whether this represents a genuine downward trend. ↩