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The eighth annual and technical reports of the Scottish Household Survey (SHS) are released today.

The annual report outlines the main findings from interviews carried out with 31,013 households throughout Scotland in 2005 and 2006, providing detailed information about people living in Scotland today. It reports at both national and local authority level.

The survey has been commissioned to provide accurate, representative and up-to-date information on the characteristics, composition and behaviour of households in Scotland in a number of areas, particularly relating to communities, transport and local government.

Some of the key findings include:

Who we are

• Almost a third of households (32 per cent) contain only one adult, and a third (33 per cent) contain two adults. Only five per cent of households contain five or more people
• Households with children represent about a quarter (26 per cent) of households
• Where we live
  
  Owner occupation accounts for 66 per cent of households, up from 62 per cent since the first Scottish Household Survey in 1999/2000. 25 per cent rent from a social landlord (31 per cent in 1999/2000) and seven per cent rent privately (five per cent in 1999/2000). Highest rates of owner-occupation are in East Renfrewshire (86 per cent) and East Dunbartonshire (84 per cent); lowest rates are in Dundee (54 per cent) and Glasgow (51 per cent)
• In 2006, 30 per cent of all households owned their properties outright. This is a increasing trend, in 1999 the figure was 23 per cent
• Homelessness had been experienced by four per cent of adults now living in private households, at some point in their lives
• Adults' assessments of their neighbourhoods are overwhelmingly positive, with 93 per cent saying their local area is either a 'very good' or 'fairly good' place to live. This has remained fairly stable since 1999, ranging between 91 per cent and 93 per cent each year
• The proportion of adults saying their neighbourhood is either a 'very good' or 'fairly good' place to live, ranges from 85 per cent in Glasgow to 99 per cent in Eilean Siar
• Just under half of all adults (47 per cent) say there is nothing they dislike about their neighbourhood. The main 'dislikes' mentioned were 'young people hanging around/nothing for young people to do' (16 per cent) - up from 11 per cent in 1999/2000 - and 'vandalism and graffiti' (8 per cent)
• When asked about their perceptions of how safe it is or would be to walk alone in their neighbourhood after dark, 73 per cent of all adults think it is very or fairly safe to do so, although women (64 per cent) and those over 60 are less likely to feel it is fairly or very safe to do so. Virtually all adults perceive they are very or fairly safe when at home alone at night (97 per cent)

How we live

• 68 per cent of households have access to one or more cars for private use, up from 64 per cent in 1999/2000. However, there is a lot of variation - for example, across Scotland: only 46 per cent in Glasgow compared with 86 per cent in Aberdeenshire; and also with income: 38 per cent for those with an annual net household income of up to £6,000; and 99 per cent for those in the "over £40,000" category
• 63 per cent of adult commuters travel to their place of work or education in a car or a van, 16 per cent walk, 14 per cent travel by bus, two per cent cycle and four per cent travel by rail. These figures have changed very little since 1999-2000, although there has been an increase in the proportion who drive, from 52 per cent to 56 per cent, and a corresponding decrease in the number of car passengers, from 11 per cent to seven per cent
• 56 per cent of households in Scotland had home internet access by the end of 2006. The figure at the start of 2001 was 26 per cent
• 50 per cent of households had some savings or investments, a decrease compared to previous years (53 per cent in 1999/2000). This percentage ranged from 76 per cent in Orkney to 38 per cent in Glasgow and 34 per cent in Dundee
• The percentage of households with a bank or building society account has risen steadily over time, from 85.8 per cent in 1999 to 91.1 per cent in 2006
• In 2006, 25 per cent of adults (aged 16 and over) smoked cigarettes - a one per cent decrease from the 2005 results, and a continuing downward trend from 30 per cent in 1999
• Around a third of all households (34 per cent) contain at least one person with a long-standing limiting illness, health problem or disability
• Just over half of adults (53 per cent) perceived their health to be 'good' and a further third (33 per cent) perceived it to be 'fairly good'

Our Communities

• One in four adults (25 per cent) had taken part in formal voluntary activities in the last 12 months. Volunteering was more common in rural areas, with 41 per cent of adults in remote rural areas volunteering compared with 22 per cent in large urban areas
• Volunteering was also more common among those who were self-employed (36 per cent) or working part-time (31 per cent) and among higher income households, for example, 45 per cent of adults in households with an annual income of more than £40,000
• Recycling rates have increased from 61 per cent of all households in 2004 to 80 per cent in 2006 reporting recycling at least some glass, paper, metal or plastic in the past month
• 43 per cent of adults in Scotland strongly agree or tend to agree that their council provides high quality services - 33 per cent disagree or disagree strongly with this statement
• 39 per cent strongly agree or tend to agree that their council does the best it can with the money available, and 36 per cent disagree or disagree strongly
• The most common affiliation is with the Church of Scotland, with just over four in ten (41 per cent) of all adults being of that faith. This figure is down from 47 per cent in 2001/2002
• Overall, a third (34 per cent) of all adults have no religious affiliation although this varies by age, with younger adults being more likely to have no religious affiliation. This shows a rise from 28 per cent in 2001/2002

The Scottish Household Survey (SHS) is a continuous, multi-purpose survey which started in February 1999. From 1999 to 2006 it was carried out on behalf of the Scottish Executive by TNS System Three and Ipsos-MORI Scotland. The survey is based on a random sample of private households in Scotland.

The results presented in this report are based on face-to-face interviews which took place between January 3, 2005 and December 31, 2006, collecting information from private households in Scotland. Unless otherwise indicated, figures provided are for the whole of the two-year period.

The survey is designed to provide nationally representative samples of private households and of the adult population in private households. The survey is also designed to provide data nationally every quarter and annually and for each local authority over a two year period. This is achieved by disproportionately sampling in each local authority to achieve a target of at least 550 interviews over the two years.

Although the survey is chosen at random, the people who take part in the survey will not necessarily be a representative cross-section of the whole population. Like all sample surveys the results of the SHS are estimates of the corresponding figures for the whole population and these results might vary from the true values in the population. For further information on the representatives and statistical significance of the SHS, please refer to the Appendix 3 of the annual report.

Regarding questions posed about social rented sector, although Scottish Homes changed it's name to Communities Scotland, some tenants still refer to renting from Scottish Homes and for this reason, the wording of the questionnaire has remained the same.

The 2005-2006 SHS annual report has published data on economic activity, qualifications and training data. Please note that the official source for all the above statistics is the Labour Force Survey (LFS) which provides data on levels and rates. Further information on LFS/SHS comparisons can be obtained in the SHS 2005-2006 Methodology and Fieldwork Outcomes publications. Please refer to the Annual Population Survey in Scotland 2006 report, which contains LFS data, (published 28 June 2007).

Related Information

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/08/01084217/0-2

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/07/30135618/0

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/07/30135546/0