St Davids named UK's most generous city after report

Western Telegraph

12-05-2025

Research by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) shows that residents of St Davids donate an estimated 1.61 per cent of their disposable income to charity.
This is the highest proportion of any city in the UK.
The wider Mid and South Pembrokeshire constituency, which includes St Davids, gives 1.3 per cent of disposable income to charitable causes.
The UK Local Giving Report, which explores regional trends in different parliamentary constituencies and places throughout the country, found that generosity does not always correlate with wealth.
On average, people give 1.1 per cent of their income to charity.
Despite contributing an estimated £49 million to good causes, Kensington and Bayswater residents donate approximately 0.5 per cent of their disposable income.
The report also highlights the disparity in charitable contributions across the country.
Some of the UK's most affluent areas donate the lowest proportion of their disposable income to charity.
The least generous constituencies, by proportion of income, are Kensington and Bayswater (0.5 per cent), Chelsea and Fulham (0.6 per cent), Holborn and St Pancras (0.6 per cent), Battersea (0.7 per cent), and Tooting (0.7 per cent).
In contrast, the most generous constituencies are Sheffield Hallam (1.9 per cent), Sutton Coldfield (1.9 per cent), Wirral West (1.6 per cent), Manchester Withington (1.6 per cent), and Sefton Central (1.6 per cent).
The report also uncovers an imbalance between generosity, where charities are located, and where their services are most needed.
London, which has some of the UK's least generous areas, recorded the highest levels of people using charities for day-to-day needs.
More than 40 per cent of residents in Tower Hamlets, Peckham, and Hackney said they, or someone in their household, rely on charities.
Tipton and Wednesbury, with 88 charities for a population of around 114,000, was found to have the lowest number of charities per capita.
However, generosity in the area was only marginally lower than the UK average, with one per cent of disposable income donated to charitable causes.
Neil Heslop OBE, chief executive of the Charities Aid Foundation, said: "Giving plays a vital role in building more resilient charities, to continue their work at the heart of our communities, improving outcomes and strengthening social cohesion.
"But with uneven levels of generosity, we need to consider how we encourage those who can afford it, to give more and how we can empower places to attract more philanthropic investment to translate into a more resilient social fabric.
"This is not just a challenge for local places.
"The answer also starts at a national level, through a new strategic framework for giving that has place – and local communities – firmly at its heart."