Rachel Ormston & Susan Reid, Scottish Centre for Social Research (ScotCen)
ISBN 978 1 78045 219 7 (Web only publication) ISSN 2045 6964
DPPAS 11652
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This report is accompanied by research findings
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Changing attitudes to government in Scotland
How do attitudes vary?
Views of the economy and living standards
How do attitudes vary?
Views of standards in public services in Scotland
How do attitudes vary?
Attitudes to local service delivery and responsiveness
1 INTRODUCTION
Why measure public attitudes?
Changing contexts
The data
Analysis and reporting conventions
Use of 'Scottish Government' and 'Scottish Executive' in this report
Report structure
2 CHANGING ATTITUDES TO GOVERNMENT IN SCOTLAND
Trust in government
Public engagement and awareness of government
Perceptions of responsiveness
Influence and voice
How do attitudes to government vary?
Gender and education
Newspaper readership and interest in politics
Party political identity
3 VIEWS OF THE ECONOMY AND LIVING STANDARDS
Introduction
Priorities for Scottish Government action
Public views of Scotland's economy and living standards in 2010
Who do people think is responsible?
Who gets the 'credit' and who gets the 'blame'?
How do views of the economy and living standards vary?
People's satisfaction with their own lives
Variations in people's views of their own living standards
4 VIEWS OF STANDARDS IN PUBLIC SERVICES IN SCOTLAND
Views of public service performance
How do views of recent standards in public services vary?
Changing views of the health service 2009-2010
Who do people hold responsible for changing standards?
5 ATTITUDES TO LOCAL SERVICE DELIVERY AND RESPONSIVENESS
Perceptions of influence over local service delivery
How do views of influence vary?
Perceptions of councils' responsiveness to local people's views
Views of private and voluntary sector involvement in delivering care
6 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
REFERENCES
ANNEX A - DETAILED TABLES
Notes on tables
Chapter 2 detailed tables
Chapter 3 detailed tables
Chapter 4 detailed tables
Chapter 5 detailed tables
ANNEX B - TECHNICAL DETAILS OF THE SURVEY
The Scottish Social Attitudes series
The 2010 survey
Sample design
Response rates
Sample size for previous years
Weighting
Fieldwork
Analysis variables
National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification ( NS- SEC)
Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation ( SIMD)
Analysis techniques
Significance testing
Regression analysis
Regression models
References in technical annex
List of tables and figures
Figure 2.1: Trust in the UK and Scottish Government to act in Scotland's interests? (1999-2007, 2009-2010, % trust 'just about always'/'most of the time')
Figure 2.2: Trust in the UK and Scottish Government to make fair decisions? (2006-2007, 2009-2010, % trust 'a great deal'/'quite a lot')
Table 2.1: How much have people seen or heard about the activities of the Scottish Government/Scottish Executive1 in the last 12 months? (2004-2006, 20092 - 2010, column %)
Table 2.2: How much have people seen or heard about the activities of the UK Government in the last 12 months? (2004-2006, 20091 - 2010, column %)
Figure 2.3: How good are the Scottish Executive/Government and the UK government at listening to people's views before taking decisions? (2004-2007, 2009-2010, % 'very good'/'quite good')
Figure 2.4: Does having a Scottish Parliament give ordinary people more say in how Scotland is governed, less say, or is it making no difference? (1999-2007, 2009-2010, %)
Table 2.3: Who has most influence over the way Scotland is run? (1999-2007, 2009-2010, %)
Figure 2.5: Who ought to have most influence over the way Scotland is run? (1999-2007, 2009-2010, %)
Figure 2.6: Perceptions of the impact of having a Scottish Parliament on Scotland's voice in the UK (1999-2007, 2009-2010, %)
Table 3.1: What should be the Scottish Government's* highest priority? (2004-2007, 2009-2010, column %)
Figure 3.1: 'Net balance' scores for views of Scotland's economy and the general standard of living in the last 12 months (2004-2007, 2009-2010)
Figure 3.2: Views of what recent performance of Scotland's economy and general standard of living are mainly a result of (2010)
Figure 3.3: Who/what people 'credit'/'blame' for perceived improvements/falls in Scotland's economy (2010)
Figure 3.4: Mean scores for satisfaction with different aspects of life (2007, 2009, 2010)
Table 3.2: Satisfaction with own standard of living - mean scores by objective and subjective economic factors (2007, 2009-2010)
Figure 4.1: Perceptions of public service performance over the last 12 months
Table 4.2: Recent trends in perceptions of standards in public services in Scotland
Table 4.3: Proportion who think standards have fallen, by sex, age and newspaper readership (2010)
Table 4.4: Proportion who think standards in health service have fallen, by sex, age and newspaper readership (2009 - 2010)
Table 4.5: Trends in what people think standards in public services are mainly a result of (2001, 2003-2007, 2009-2010)1
Table 4.6: 'Credit' and 'Blame' for standards in public services in the last 12 months (2010)
Table 5.1: Beliefs about who has and who ought to have most influence over how schools in the area are run and services for older people in local area (2010, column %)
Table 5.2: Percentage who think local councils ought to have most influence, by views of how good local council is at listening (cell %)
Figure 5.1: Views of how good Scottish Government, UK government and local councils are at listening to people's views before making decisions (2010, %)
Figure 5.2: Views of how much notice council would take of local people's views on plans to move schools, build houses, or change services for older people (2010, %)
Table 5.3: Percentage who think local councils would take a great deal/quite a lot/some notice of local people's views, by age and gender (cell %)
Table 5.4: Percentage who think local councils would take a great deal/quite a lot/some notice of local people's views, by household income and area deprivation (cell %)
Figure 5.3: Support for private companies and charities or 'not for profit' organisations providing personal care for older people (2010, %)
Table A.1: How much do you trust the UK government to work in Scotland's best long-term interest? (column %)
Table A.2: How much do you trust the Scottish Government/Executive /Parliament* to work in Scotland's best interests?
Table A.3: How much do you trust the UK government to make fair decisions? (column %)
Table A.4: How much do you trust the Scottish Government to make fair decisions? (column %)
Table A.5: How much would you say you've seen or heard about the work of the UK government over the last twelve months?
Table A.6: And how much would you say you've seen or heard about the work of the Scottish Government/Executive* over the last twelve months?
Table A.7: In general how good would you say the Scottish Executive/Government* is at listening to people's views before it takes decisions?
Table A.8: And how good would you say the UK government is at listening to people's views before it takes decisions?
Table A.9: From what you have seen and heard so far do you think that having a Scottish parliament is giving ordinary people…
Table A.10: Which do you think ought to have most influence over the way Scotland is run?
Table A.11: From what you have seen and heard so far do you think that having a Scottish parliament is giving Scotland.....
Table A.13: Trust Scottish Government/Executive 'just about always'/'most of the time' to act in Scotland's best interests, by demographic factors, newspaper readership and political attitudes, 2009 and 2010 (cell %)
Table A.14: Trust Scottish Executive 'a great deal'/'quite a lot' to make fair decisions, by demographic factors, newspaper readership and political attitudes, 2009 and 2010 (cell %)
Table A.15: Belief having a Scottish Parliament gives Scotland a stronger voice in the UK, by demographic factors, newspaper readership and political attitudes, 2009 and 2010 (cell %)
Table A.16: Belief having a Scottish Parliament gives ordinary people more say in how Scotland is run, by demographic factors, newspaper readership and political attitudes, 2009 and 2010 (cell %)
Table A.17: Belief that Scottish Government is 'very/quite good' at listening, by demographic factors, newspaper readership and political attitudes, 2009 and 2010 (cell %)
Table A.18: Trust UK Government 'just about always'/'most of the time' to act in Scotland's best interests by party identification, 2009 and 2010 (cell %)
Table A.19: Trust UK Government 'just about always'/'most of the time' to make fair decisions by party identification, 2009 and 2010 (cell %)
Table A.20: UK Government 'very good'/'quite good' at listening to people's views before it takes decisions by party identification, 2009 and 2010 (cell %)
Table A.21: What about the Scotland's economy? Has it got stronger or weaker since (month of interview) 2009?
Table A.22: What about the general standard of living in Scotland? Has it increased or fallen since (month of interview) 2009?
Table A.23: Views on what strength/weakness of Scotland's economy in last 12 months is mainly the result of
Table A.24: Views on what general standard of living in last 12 months is mainly the result of
Table A.25: Attribution of 'credit' and 'blame' for strength/weakness of the economy and general standard of living last 12 months (2003, 2006, 2009, 2010 column % within area)
Table A.26: Views of Scotland's economy over last 12 months, by socio-demographic factors, 2010 (%)
Table A.27: Views of general standard of living in Scotland over last 12 months, by socio-demographic factors, 2010 (%)
Table A.28: Satisfaction with different aspects of life (2007, 2009, 2010)
Table A.29: Sample sizes for Table 3.2
Table A.30: Thinking back over the last twelve months*, that is since (month of interview) 2009, would you say that since then the standard of the health service in Scotland has increased or fallen? (1999, 2001, 2003-2007, 2009-10)
Table A.31: And what about the quality of education in Scotland? Has it increased or fallen since (month of interview) 2009?*
Table A.32: And what about the standard of public transport in Scotland? Has it increased or fallen since (month of interview) 2009?
Table A.33: Views of standards in public services, by gender and age (2010)
Table A.34: Views of standards in public transport, by feelings about present income and whether have a long-term health problem or disability (2010)
Table A.35: Views of standards in public services, by newspaper readership (2010)
Table A.36: Views of standards in public services, by what believe standards in that service are mainly a result of (2010)
Table A.37: Sample sizes for Table 4.4
Table A.38: Views on what standards in the health service in last 12 months are mainly the result of
Table A.39: Views on what standards in education in last 12 months are mainly the result of
Table A.40: Views on what standards in public transport in last 12 months are mainly the result of
Table A.41: Sample sizes for Table 4.6 (2010)
Table A.42: Beliefs about who does have most influence over how schools in the area are run, by demographic factors (2010, row %)
Table A.43: Beliefs about who ought to have most influence over how schools in the area are run, by demographic factors (2010, row %)
Table A.44: Beliefs about who does have most influence over care provided for older people in the area, by demographic factors (2010, row %)
Table A.45: Beliefs about who ought to have most influence over care provided for older people in the area, by demographic factors (2010, row %)
Table A.46: In general how good would you say the Scottish Government/ UK Government/your local council is at listening to people's views before it takes decisions? (2010)
Table A.47: Views of how much notice local council would take of local people's view (2010)
Table A.48: Support or opposition to private companies providing personal care for older people (2007, 2010)
Table A.49: Support or opposition to charities or other 'not for profit' organisations providing personal care for older people (2007, 2010)
Table A.50: % support private sector involvement in providing personal care, by demographic factors and political attitudes, 2007 and 2010 (cell %)
Table A.51: % support charities/not for profit organisations providing personal care, by demographic factors and political attitudes, 2007 and 2010 (cell %)
Table 1: 2010 Scottish Social Attitudes survey response
Table 2: Scottish Social Attitudes survey sample size by year
Model 1: Factors associated with thinking standards in the health service in Scotland had fallen in the last 12 months (2010)
Model 2: Factors associated with thinking standards in education in Scotland had fallen in the last 12 months (2010)
Model 3: Factors associated with thinking standards in public transport in Scotland had fallen in the last 12 months (2010)
Model 4: Factors associated with supporting private companies providing personal care for older people (2007 and 2010 models)
Model 5: Factors associated with supporting charities or other not for profit organisations providing personal care for older people (2007 and 2010 models)
The views expressed in this report are those of the researcher and
do not necessarily represent those of the Department or Scottish Ministers.