Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2007 Core Module Report 1: Attitudes to Government in Scotland

Annex A - Detailed tables

Table A. 1 How much do you trust the UK government to work in Scotland's best long-term interest? (column %)

	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Just about always	3	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	3
Most of the time	29	16	20	17	19	20	21	19	32
Only some of the time	52	54	55	51	58	50	53	52	44
Almost never	14	26	22	26	20	26	21	24	18
(Don't know)	-	-	-	-	-	2	3	3	3
(Not answered)	-	-	-	-	-	*	*	-	*
Sample size	1482	1663	1605	1665	1508	1637	1549	1594	1508

Table A. 2 How much do you trust the Scottish Executive/Parliament* to work in Scotland's best interests?

	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
	%	%	%	%	%
Just about always	26	9	13	9	10
Most of the time	55	45	52	43	52
Only some of the time	14	34	29	34	31
Almost never	2	9	5	11	4
(Don't know)	-	-	-	-	-
(Not answered)	-	-	-	-	-
Sample size	1482	1663	1605	1665	1508
	2004	2005	2006	2007
	%	%	%	%
Just about always	9	10	8	14
Most of the time	43	46	43	57
Only some of the time	37	33	37	22
Almost never	10	7	8	4
(Don't know)	2	3	3	4
(Not answered)	*	*	-	*
Sample size	1637	1549	1594	1508

*Prior to 2004, the question asked about the Parliament. In 2004 an experiment was run whereby half the sample was asked about the Scottish Parliament and half was asked about the Scottish Executive. The change of wording made negligible difference to the responses given therefore the combined results are shown here.

Table A. 3 From what you have seen and heard so far do you think that having a Scottish parliament is giving ordinary people...

	1997 Ref	1999	2000	2001	2002
	%	%	%	%	%
...more say in how Scotland is governed	79	64	44	38	31
...less say	2	2	3	4	4
...or, is it making no difference	17	32	51	56	62
(Don't know)	-	-	-	-	-
(Not answered)	-	-	-	-	-
Sample size	882	1482	1663	1605	1665
	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
	%	%	%	%	%
...more say in how Scotland is governed	39	31	37	37	47
...less say	4	6	5	5	3
...or, is it making no difference	54	60	55	55	45
(Don't know)	-	3	4	4	4
(Not answered)	-	*	*	-	*
Sample size	1508	1637	1549	1594	1508

Note:

The question wording in each year was:

1999 "Will a Scottish Parliament…"

2000 "Do you think that having a Scottish parliament is going to…"

2001-2007 "Do you think that having a Scottish Parliament is giving…"

Table A. 4 In general how good would you say the Scottish Executive is at listening to people's views before it takes decisions?

	2004	2005	2006	2007
	%	%	%	%
Very good	1	3	2	2
Quite good	31	32	34	41
Not very good	41	38	39	35
Not at all good	17	16	14	9
(Don't know)	10	12	11	13
(Not answered)	*	*	-	*
Sample size	1637	1549	1594	1508

Table A. 5 And how good would you say the UK government is at listening to people's views before it takes decisions?

	2004	2005	2006	2007
	%	%	%	%
Very good	1	1	1	*
Quite good	14	15	17	21
Not very good	50	52	49	50
Not at all good	30	25	27	21
(Don't know)	6	7	7	8
(Not answered)	*	*	*	*
Sample size	1637	1549	1594	1508

Table A. 6 From what you have seen and heard so far do you think that having a Scottish parliament is giving Scotland.....

	1997 Ref	1999	2000	2001	2002
	%	%	%	%	%
...a stronger voice in the United Kingdom	70	70	52	52	39
...a weaker voice in the United Kingdom	9	7	6	6	7
...or, is it making no difference?	17	20	40	40	52
(Don't know)	-	-	-	-	-
(Not answered)	-	-	-	-	-
Sample size	882	1482	1663	1605	1665
	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
	%	%	%	%	%
...a stronger voice in the United Kingdom	49	35	41	43	61
...a weaker voice in the United Kingdom	7	7	6	6	4
...or, is it making no difference?	41	55	50	49	32
(Don't know)	-	3	3	3	3
(Not answered)	-	*	*	-	*
Sample size	1508	1637	1549	1594	1508

Note:

The question wording in each year was:

1999 "Will a Scottish Parliament…"

2000 "Do you think that having a Scottish parliament is going to…"

2001-2007 "Do you think that having a Scottish Parliament is giving…"

Table A. 7 Which of the following do you think has most influence over the way Scotland is run?

	1999*	2000	2001	2003
	%	%	%	%
The Scottish Parliament**	41	13	15	17
The UK government at Westminster	39	66	66	64
Local councils in Scotland	8	10	9	7
The European Union	5	4	7	5
(Don't know)	8	8	-	6
(Not answered)	-	-	-	-
Sample size	1482	1663	1605	1508
	2004	2005	2006	2007
	%	%	%	%
The Scottish Parliament	19	23	24	28
The UK government at Westminster	48	47	38	47
Local councils in Scotland	20	15	18	8
The European Union	6	8	11	9
(Don't know)	7	7	9	7
(Not answered)	*	*	*	*
Sample size	1637	1549	1594	1508

Notes:

*In 1999 the question wording was: "When the new parliament starts work, which of the following do you think will have most influence over the way Scotland is run"

**In 2004 an experiment was run whereby half the sample was asked about the Scottish Parliament and half was asked about the Scottish Executive. The change of wording made negligible difference to the responses given, therefore the combined results are shown here. In subsequent years (2005-2007), the question asked solely about the Scottish Executive.

Table A. 8 And which do you think ought to have most influence over the way Scotland is run?

	1999	2000	2001	2003
	%	%	%	%
The Scottish Parliament*	74	72	74	66
The UK government at Westminster	13	13	14	20
Local councils in Scotland	8	10	8	9
The European Union	1	1	1	1
(Don't know)	-	5	-	-
(Not answered)	-	-	-	-
Sample size	1482	1663	1605	1508
	2004	2005	2006	2007
	%	%	%	%
The Scottish Parliament *	67	67	64	71
The UK government at Westminster	12	13	11	14
Local councils in Scotland	17	15	19	9
The European Union	1	1	1	1
(Don't know)	3	4	4	4
(Not answered)	*	*	*	*
Sample size	1637	1549	1594	1508

*In 2004 an experiment was run whereby half the sample was asked about the Scottish Parliament and half was asked about the Scottish Executive. The change of wording made negligible difference to the responses given, therefore the combined results are shown here. In subsequent years (2005-2007), the question asked solely about the Scottish Executive.

Table A. 9 Thinking back over the last twelve months, that is since (month of interview) 2006, would you say that since then the standard of the health service in Scotland has increased or fallen?

	1999	2001	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Increased a lot	2	2	2	3	2	4	2
Increased a little	21	21	18	15	15	16	17
Stayed the same	35	29	25	31	38	31	45
Fallen a little	20	26	26	23	24	23	20
Fallen a lot	14	15	20	23	12	18	6
(Don't know)	8	7	8	5	10	8	10
(Not answered)	-	-	-	-	*	-	-
Sample size	1482	1605	1508	1637	1549	1594	1508

Note:

The question wording in each year was:

1999 and 2001 "Thinking back to the UK general election in 1997"

2003 "Thinking back to the last Scottish election in 1999"

Table A. 10 What do you think this has been mainly the result of?

	2001	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
	%	%	%	%	%	%
Mainly the result of the UK government's policies at Westminster	53	38	42	39	32	34
Mainly the result of the Scottish Executive's policies	11	21	20	23	25	23
For some other reason	16	17	18	14	18	17
(Both Westminster and Scottish Executive)	4	7	7	5	7	4
(Don't know)	8	8	9	9	10	13
(Not answered)1	7	8	5	10	8	10
Sample size	1605	1508	1637	1549	1594	1508

Note:

In 1999 the follow-up question simply asked whether any differences were the result of the policies of the Labour government at Westminster therefore they are not reported here.

1 NB 'Not answered' includes those routed past this follow-up question because they answered 'don't know' when asked whether standards had increased or fallen in the last 12 months. However, they are included in the base here so that the figures are representative of the views of the population as a whole as to who is responsible for public service standards in the last 12 months.

Table A. 11 And what about the quality of education in Scotland? Has it increased or fallen since (month of interview) 2006?

	1999	2001	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Increased a lot	3	3	3	3	2	4	1
Increased a little	23	24	22	23	23	26	18
Stayed the same	32	33	27	37	39	32	45
Fallen a little	17	16	18	15	12	13	10
Fallen a lot	7	5	11	7	5	5	2
(Don't know)	19	19	19	16	20	20	23
Sample size	1482	1605	1508	1637	1549	1594	1508

Note:

The question wording in each year was:

1999 and 2001 "Thinking back to the UK general election in 1997"

2003 "Thinking back to the last Scottish election in 1999"

Table A. 12 What do you think this has been mainly the result of?

	2001	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
	%	%	%	%	%	%
Mainly the result of the UK government's policies at Westminster	40	30	29	28	20	22
Mainly the result of the Scottish Executive's policies	19	25	28	30	33	28
For some other reason	14	12	15	12	15	15
(Both Westminster and Scottish Executive)	3	7	5	4	5	3
(Don't know)	5	7	7	7	6	9
(Not answered) 1	19	19	16	20	20	23
Sample size	1605	1508	1637	1549	1594	1508

Note:

In 1999 the follow-up question simply asked whether any differences were the result of the policies of the Labour government at Westminster therefore they are not reported here.

1 See note re. 'Not answered' above (below Table A.10)

Table A. 13 And what about the general standard of living in Scotland? Has it increased or fallen since (month of interview) 2006?

	1999	2001	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Increased a lot	2	3	4	4	3	4	2
Increased a little	27	27	30	27	25	30	27
Stayed the same	43	45	36	40	45	37	41
Fallen a little	18	15	17	18	17	17	16
Fallen a lot	6	4	7	6	4	5	4
(Don't know)	5	6	7	5	7	6	9
Sample size	1482	1605	1508	1637	1549	1594	1508

Note:

The question wording in each year was:

1999 and 2001 "Thinking back to the UK general election in 1997"

2003 "Thinking back to the last Scottish election in 1999"

Table A. 14 What do you think this has been mainly the result of?

	2001	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
	%	%	%	%	%	%
Mainly the result of the UK government's policies at Westminster	53	43	38	42	33	37
Mainly the result of the Scottish Executive's policies	12	18	18	17	21	19
For some other reason	18	16	24	19	22	22
(Both Westminster and Scottish Executive)	6	10	7	6	8	4
(Don't know)	7	8	9	10	9	10
(Not answered) 1	6	7	5	7	6	9
Sample size	1605	1508	1637	1549	1594	1508

Note:

In 1999 the follow-up question simply asked whether any differences were the result of the policies of the Labour government at Westminster therefore they are not reported here.

1 See note re. 'Not answered' above (below Table A.10)

Table A. 15 And what about the standard of public transport in Scotland? Has it increased or fallen since (month of interview) 2006?

	2004	2005	2006	2007
	%	%	%	%
Increased a lot	5	2	7	4
Increased a little	20	19	22	23
Stayed the same	41	36	34	38
Fallen a little	14	16	12	12
Fallen a lot	8	6	7	6
(Don't know)	13	21	18	17
(Not answered)	-	*	-	*
Sample size	1637	1549	1594	1508

Table A. 16 What do you think this has been mainly the result of?

	2004	2005	2006	2007
	%	%	%	%
Mainly the result of the UK government's policies at Westminster	17	20	13	17
Mainly the result of the Scottish Executive's policies	28	28	31	31
For some other reason	29	21	25	22
(Both Westminster and Scottish Executive)	5	4	4	3
(Don't know)	8	6	9	9
(Not answered) 1	13	21	18	18
Sample size	1637	1549	1594	1508

1 See note re. 'Not answered' above (below Table A.10)

Table A. 17 And what about the Scotland's economy? Has it got stronger or weaker since (month of interview) 2006?

	2004	2005	2006	2007
	%	%	%	%
A lot stronger	3	2	2	2
A little stronger	25	21	28	28
Stayed the same	29	34	28	36
A little weaker	22	19	18	10
A lot weaker	5	3	2	1
(Don't know)	17	22	21	22
Sample size	1637	1549	1594	1508

Table A. 18 What do you think this has been mainly the result of?

	2004	2005	2006	2007
	%	%	%	%
Mainly the result of the UK government's policies at Westminster	28	30	21	24
Mainly the result of the Scottish Executive's policies	28	27	28	28
For some other reason	17	13	18	15
(Both Westminster and Scottish Executive)	6	5	7	4
(Don't know)	5	5	4	7
(Not answered) 1	17	22	21	22
Sample size	1637	1549	1594	1508

1 See note re. 'Not answered' above (below Table A.10)

Table A. 19 From what you have seen and heard so far, do you think that having a Scottish Parliament is ...READ OUT...

	2006	2007
	%	%
...increasing the standard of the health service in Scotland,	22	26
reducing the standard of the health service in Scotland,	9	6
or, is it making no difference?	62	59
(Don't know)	7	8
(Not answered)	*	*
Sample size	1594	1508

The question above (Table A.19) was not asked before 2006. However, a similar question which asked prospectively about what difference having a Scottish Parliament would make to the NHS in Scotland was asked in 1997 (on the Referendum and Election Studies) and 1999, 2001 and 2003. Results for this question are shown below.

Table A. 20 (And as a result of having a Scottish Parliament) will the National Health Service in Scotland become better, worse or will it make no difference?

	1997 (Ref)	1997 (Elec)	1999	2001	2003
	%	%	%	%	%
Better	65	59	49	45	37
Worse	6	6	4	9	10
No difference	28	25	41	42	46
Sample size	657	882	1482	1605	1508

Table A. 21 From what you have seen and heard so far, do you think that having a Scottish Parliament is ...READ OUT...

	1999¹⁷	2001¹⁸	2002	2003	2006	2007
	%	%	%	%	%	%
...increasing the standard of education in Scotland,	56	27	25	23	30	28
reducing the standard of education in Scotland,	3	5	6	7	6	3
or, is it making no difference?	35	59	58	59	52	54
(Don't know)	5	9	11	11	11	14
(Not answered)	*	-	-	-	*	*
Sample size	1482	1605	1665	1508	1594	1508

Table A. 22 (From what you have seen and heard so far), and do you think that having a Scottish Parliament is ...READ OUT...

	2006	2007
	%	%
...increasing the standard of public transport in Scotland,	26	25
reducing the standard of public transport in Scotland,	8	6
or, is it making no difference?	53	57
(Don't know)	12	13
(Not answered)	*	*
Sample size	1594	1508

Table A. 23 Trust Scottish Executive 'just about always'/'most of the time' to act in Scotland's best interests, by demographic factors and political attitudes, 2006 and 2007 (cell %)

Sex
	2006	*Sample size*	2007	*Sample size*	Change 06 to 07
ALL	51	1594	71	1508	20
Men	53	701	73	645	20
Women	50	893	69	863	19
Age
18-24	62	108	78	99	16
25-39	57	380	72	335	15
40-64	49	707	70	705	21
65+	42	396	66	366	24
Area deprivation ( SIMD quintiles)
Most deprived	44	307	61	231	17
2	53	330	73	302	20
3	49	274	70	347	21
4	52	364	76	347	24
Least deprived	57	319	73	280	16
Urban-rural
Large urban	56	508	73	420	17
Other urban	49	375	67	376	18
Accessible small towns	45	187	68	136	23
Remote small towns	49	113	69	124	20
Accessible rural	42	219	76	255	34
Remote rural	60	192	69	197	9
Education
None	37	394	63	367	26
Degree/ HE	64	479	77	487	13
Newspaper readership
Tabloid	43	600	68	558	25
Broadsheet	58	317	77	318	19
None	56	670	69	620	13
Party identification
SNP	46	271	78	346	32
Lib Dem	61	142	75	128	14
Labour	58	532	73	503	15
Conservative	50	207	64	189	14
None	39	215	57	186	18
Other	49	227	66	156	17
Interest in politics
Great deal/quite a lot	56	440	79	469	23
Some	59	562	72	483	13
Not much/none	41	562	63	556	22
Constitutional preference
Westminster rule	36	154	61	142	25
Devolution	57	852	73	953	16
Independence	50	478	75	330	25

Table A. 24 Trust Scottish Executive 'a great deal'/'quite a lot' to make fair decisions, by demographic factors and political attitudes, 2006 and 2007 (cell %)

	2006	Sample Size	2007	Sample Size	Change 06 to 07
ALL	31	1594	47	1508	16
Sex
Men	33	701	50	645	17
Women	30	893	44	863	14
Age
18-24	36	108	51	99	15
25-39	34	380	48	335	14
40-64	30	707	44	705	14
65+	28	396	49	366	21
Area deprivation ( SIMD quintiles)
Most deprived	26	307	45	231	19
2	33	330	48	302	15
3	31	274	44	347	13
4	33	364	49	347	16
Least deprived	34	319	47	280	13
Urban-rural
Large urban	35	508	47	420	12
Other urban	31	375	49	376	18
Accessible small towns	26	187	41	136	15
Remote small towns	32	113	50	124	18
Accessible rural	25	219	47	255	22
Remote rural	34	192	39	197	5
Education
None	23	394	46	367	23
Degree/ HE	41	479	47	487	6
Newspaper readership
Tabloid	29	600	44	558	15
Broadsheet	37	317	51	318	14
None	32	670	47	620	15
Party identification
SNP	28	271	52	346	24
Lib Dem	38	142	53	128	15
Labour	40	532	53	503	13
Conservative	26	207	37	189	11
None	22	215	33	186	11
Other	26	227	37	156	11
Interest in politics
Great deal/quite a lot	39	440	55	469	16
Some	35	562	49	483	14
Not much/none	23	562	37	556	14
Constitutional preference
Westminster rule	25	154	35	142	10
Devolution	35	852	48	953	13
Independence	32	478	52	330	20

Table A. 25 Belief having a Scottish Parliament gives ordinary people more say in how Scotland is run, by demographic factors and political attitudes, 2006 and 2007 (cell %)

	2006	*Sample size*	2007	*Sample size*	Change 06 to 07
ALL	37	1594	47	1508	10
Sex
Men	36	701	48	645	12
Women	37	893	46	863	9
Age
18-24	49	108	49	99	0
25-39	35	380	49	335	14
40-64	37	707	47	705	10
65+	32	396	44	366	12
Area deprivation ( SIMD quintiles)
Most deprived	32	307	42	231	10
2	32	330	47	302	15
3	34	274	49	347	15
4	43	364	47	347	4
Least deprived	41	319	50	280	9
Urban-rural
Large urban	39	508	49	420	10
Other urban	37	375	48	376	11
Accessible small towns	28	187	38	136	10
Remote small towns	35	113	52	124	17
Accessible rural	36	219	46	255	10
Remote rural	39	192	43	197	4
Education
None	24	394	38	367	14
Degree/ HE	44	479	57	487	13
Newspaper readership
Tabloid	31	600	43	558	12
Broadsheet	40	317	53	318	13
None	40	670	48	620	8
Party identification
SNP	37	271	59	346	22
Lib Dem	48	142	57	128	9
Labour	44	532	46	503	2
Conservative	24	207	34	189	10
None	30	215	35	186	5
Other	30	227	43	156	13
Interest in politics
Great deal/quite a lot	39	440	56	469	17
Some	41	562	49	483	8
Not much/none	30	562	38	556	8
Constitutional preference
Westminster rule	11	154	16	142	5
Devolution	43	852	49	953	6
Independence	36	478	61	330	25

Table A. 26 Belief having a Scottish Parliament gives Scotland a stronger voice in the UK, by demographic factors and political attitudes, 2006 and 2007 (cell %)

Sex
	2006	*Sample size*	2007	*Sample size*	Change 06 to 07
ALL	43	1594	61	1508	18
Men	42	701	62	645	20
Women	44	893	60	863	16
Age
18-24	57	108	65	99	8
25-39	39	380	62	335	23
40-64	43	707	61	705	18
65+	39	396	57	366	18
Area deprivation ( SIMD quintiles)
Most deprived	36	307	55	231	19
2	43	330	60	302	17
3	40	274	60	347	20
4	46	364	70	347	24
Least deprived	49	319	59	280	10
Urban-rural
Large urban	43	508	61	420	18
Other urban	43	375	60	376	17
Accessible small towns	33	187	59	136	26
Remote small towns	45	113	61	124	16
Accessible rural	45	219	63	255	18
Remote rural	47	192	63	197	16
Education
None	27	394	52	367	25
Degree/ HE	52	479	69	487	17
Newspaper readership
Tabloid	37	600	59	558	22
Broadsheet	48	317	68	318	21
None	46	670	59	620	13
Party identification
SNP	43	271	77	346	34
Lib Dem	45	142	63	128	18
Labour	49	532	60	503	11
Conservative	35	207	45	189	10
None	36	215	47	186	11
Other	39	227	59	156	20
Interest in politics
Great deal/quite a lot	48	440	64	469	16
Some	48	562	67	483	19
Not much/none	34	562	53	556	19
Constitutional preference
Westminster rule	14	154	25	142	11
Devolution	49	852	65	953	16
Independence	43	478	72	330	29

Table A. 27 On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is 'not confident at all' and 10 is 'very confident', how confident are you that official statistics published by the Scottish Executive are accurate?

Raw scores	%
0 (Not confident at all)	3
1	2
2	4
3	6
4	9
5	22
6	15
7	16
8	10
9	2
10 (Very confident)	2
Don't know	9
Not answered	*
Grouped scores ¹⁹
0-3 Lo	15
4-6 Medium	45
7-10 High	30
DK/ NA	9
Sample size	1508
Mean ²⁰	5.43

Table A. 28 Confidence Scottish Executive statistics are accurate, by significant demographic and other factors (row %)

Social trust
		Low (0-3)	Medium (4-6)	High (7-10)	*Sample size*
Most people can be trusted	%	11	42	42	631
Can't be too careful dealing with people	%	18	48	22	848
Trust in the Scottish Executive to act in Scotland's best interests
Just about always	%	6	37	49	202
Most of the time	%	12	47	34	840
Only some of the time	%	22	53	17	366
Almost never	%	57	25	12	47
Socio-economic class
Routine/semi-routine	%	14	49	23	425
Lower supervisory/technical	%	10	46	35	196
Small employers/own account workers	%	25	46	26	128
Intermediate occupations	%	21	43	23	165
Employers/managers and professionals	%	14	44	38	547

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Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2007 Core Module Report 1: Attitudes to Government in Scotland

Annex A - Detailed tables