The Scottish Government

STATISTICS PUBLICATION NOTICE

Scottish Household Survey (2007 - Quarter 1)

This is the latest in a series of quarterly Statistics Publication Notices which announces the availability of the Scottish Household Survey for a particular quarter. In accordance with National Statistics, this will help to ensure orderly and open access to the Scottish Household Survey (SHS). In practice, this means that the SHS for this quarter can be used to answer questions to inform policy from people within and outwith the Scottish Executive.

The SHS is a rich source of information covering communities, transport and local government. This publication notice presents a range of results based on the main findings from the survey. Further details on the trends over time for the above topics can be found at the Data Trends section of the SHS website.

Communities

• Since the question was introduced in 2001, the percentage of adults who make use of the internet for personal use has risen steadily from 29 per cent in the first quarter of 2001 to 57 per cent in the first quarter of 2007. Men make greater personal use of the internet than women with the figures for men generally being around seven percentage points higher than those for women, although this gap has narrowed in recent quarters.
• The data on respondents' perceptions of their neighbourhood as a good place to live showed very little change over eight year period. In 2007 quarter 1, 53 per cent said it was a very good place to live, and a further 40 per cent agreed that it was a fairly good place to live.
• Since the survey started, the percentage of households where either the respondent or their partner has a bank or building society account* has risen from around 85 per cent in 1999 to about 95 per cent in the first quarter of 2007.
• Since the survey started, around 12 per cent of households contain at least one person who needs regular help or care.

Transport

• Since the survey started in 1999, the percentage of households without a car has fallen from about 37 per cent to under a third, and the percentage with two cars has risen from roughly 15 per cent to over 20 per cent.
• Roughly three-quarters of men aged 17+ have a full driving licence compared with around 58 per cent of women. There has been little change since 1999 in the male percentage, and a slight increase in the proportion of women who have a full driving licence.
• The percentage who said that they work at or from home has increased from around 7 or 8 per cent in 1999 to around 11 or 12 per cent.
• Around two-thirds of those who travel to work usually go by car or van, roughly 13 per cent walk and about 12 per cent take the bus - figures which have not changed greatly since the survey started, although the percentage driving appears to have increased, and the percentage travelling to work as a passenger has decreased.

Housing

• Data on tenure from the Scottish Household Survey show gradual but relatively consistent changes for home ownership and renting from public authorities (local authorities or Scottish Homes):
• While the overall proportion of owner-occupiers has increased between 1999 and 2007 quarter 1 to 66 per cent, the proportion who are buying with help of a mortgage has fallen since 2002. This coincides with the rise in house prices in Scotland at that time and the associated drop in the proportion of first-time buyers.
• The proportion of respondents renting from public authorities (local authorities and Scottish Homes) has nearly halved since 1999 to 16 per cent in the first quarter of 2007.
• The data show a small but consistent increase from 2003 onwards in the proportion of respondents renting from a housing association or co-op, which is likely to be due to transfers of local authority housing stock in Glasgow, Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders, and more recently in Argyll & Bute and Eilean Siar. The other data on tenure show a situation of relative stability.

Recycling

• Since the question was introduced in 2000, the percentage of both adults and households reporting recycling various items has increased. The percentage of adults reporting recycling glass, paper, metal cans or newspaper/magazine/paper/cardboard increased from just under 44 per cent in the first quarter of 2000 to just under 49 per cent in the first quarter of 2003. The percentage of households reporting recycling one or more of these items increased from just under 53 per cent in the second quarter of 2003 to just under 83 per cent in the first quarter of 2007.
• The greater increase in the percentage of households recycling paper, plastic and cans compared with glass is a result of the introduction of kerbside collection of materials.

Detailed results from the 2005/2006 survey are available in the Annual Report.

Contacts:

SHS Project Manager Telephone: 0131 244 8420

e-mail: shs@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

This is a National Statistics publication

This publication has been produced to high professional standards set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice and Release Practice Protocol.

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about_ns/cop/default.asp

These statistics undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference.

National Statistics publications are grouped under a number of broad subject headings (themes). This publication belongs to the Social and Welfare theme.

Details of pre-release access will be provided in the Scottish Executive Statistics Website under 'Forthcoming Publications'.

Background

The Scottish Household Survey is a continuous survey based on a sample of the general adult population in private residences in Scotland. The survey started in 1999 and is financed by the Scottish Executive and undertaken by a consortium of Ipsos-MORI Scotland, TNS System Three and the Scottish Centre for Social Research.

The aim of the survey is to provide representative information about the composition, characteristics and behaviours of Scottish households, both nationally and at local authority levels (every two years). The survey covers a wide range of topics to allow links to be made between different policy areas. There is a particular focus on information to inform policy on Transport, Communities and Local Government. Results are reported in a series of quarterly publications, annual reports, topic reports and other Scottish Executive publications which can be found on the survey's website at www.scotland.gov.uk/shs.

Anonymised copies of the survey are deposited with the UK Data Archiveafter each calendar year, together with supporting documentation to facilitate wider access to, and analysis of, the information gathered.