New research revealing the importance of voluntary organisations in delivering services has prompted charity leaders to warn they should not be seen as a soft target for public sector spending cuts.

Comprehensive data published today by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) shows the voluntary sector's earned income from delivering statutory contracts has increased to £9.1bn, up 128 per cent since 2000/01.

Charities provide essential public services, such as meals on wheels and refuges for victims of domestic violence through to sports activities for disadvantaged children and support and advice for people looking for work.

Stuart Etherington, NCVO's chief executive, said: "Central and local governments have rightly recognised and made greater use of the voluntary sector's knowledge and expertise, particularly at a grassroots level.

"We know there will be severe cuts in public spending in the coming months. But we should not be seen as a cheap or fluffy addition to core public services. Our work is with some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people and communities in the country, and they stand to lose the most if vital services are cut."

NCVO's new data, published in its annual UK Civil Society Almanac, shows government spending on the voluntary sector accounts for two per cent of the overall national budget.

However, it also shows that three-quarters (133,074 organisations or 78 per cent) of charities receive no government funding at all and that income from individuals remains the single most important funding stream for the entire voluntary sector, accounting for £13.1bn (37 per cent) of its total £35.5bn annual income.

A total of 38,000 charities (22 per cent) do receive government money and of those, 23,000 receive more than half their funding in this way (13 per cent of all charities).

Organisations that provide employment and training opportunities receive the largest proportion of their income from government, receiving nearly three-quarters (70%) of their funding from statutory sources.

Other sub-sectors that receive a substantial proportion of income from government include education (51%), law and advocacy (51%), social services (50%) and housing (50%).

Larger charities are also more likely to receive a greater proportion of their income from statutory sources.

Large charities, with an income of between £1m and £10m and which represent 2.4 per cent of the sector, receive 38 per cent of their income from government.

By contrast, micro charities, with an income of less than £10,000 and which represent 53.2 per cent of the sector, receive just five per cent of income from government.

Other findings include:

UK "civil society" organisations employ an estimated 1.6m people, which represents 5.6 per cent of the total UK workforce, and is a similar size to the NHS, which employs 1.4m people. ("Civil society" includes voluntary organisations as well as other groups such as universities, housing associations and faith groups)

Voluntary organisations employ 668,000 people and account for one third (32%) of the civil society workforce. This equates to two people in every hundred in the total UK workforce.

Between 1999 and 2008 the voluntary sector workforce increased by 23 per cent (124,000 people). The public sector grew by 18 per cent and the private by seven per cent in this period.

More people with degrees work in the voluntary sector (38% have a degree) than the public (37%) or private (19%) sectors.

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