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Scottish Social Statistics

Scottish Social Statistics Home Population Housing Education Labour Market Income, Wealth and Expenditure Health and Care Crime and Justice Transport Environment Attitudes, Social Participation and Lifestyles Appendices

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2001 Scottish Social Statistics

Lifestyles

People have more leisure time than they used to. This is partly due to technological progress. Less time is spent on household chores because of various household durables which we now take for granted. The Family Resources Survey found that in 1998-99, 93 percent of Scottish households had a washing machine and 89 per cent had a deep freeze/freezer. Over three-quarters of Scottish households had a microwave oven and almost a quarter had a dishwasher (Table 10.12). Not unsurprisingly, households with higher incomes were more likely to have these consumer durables.

Table 10.12: Households with selected durable goods, Scotland

Source: Office for National Statistics: General Household Survey and Family Resources Survey, Department of Social Security
Note: 1. Data for 1998-99 is from the Family Resources Survey, but data for all other years is from the General Household Survey.

The proportion of households with consumer durables has increased over the past 20 years: twice as many households owned a computer in 1998-99 than in 1985-86; over three times as many households owned a video in 1998-99 than in 1985-86; over seven times as many people owned a dishwasher in 1998-99 than in 1981; and over 1.5 as many households owned a microwave oven in 1990-91 than in 1998-99.

Equality between men and women has not yet been reached in the home, where women still remain responsible for many household chores. 64 percent and 77 percent of Scottish women claimed to be mostly responsible for cleaning and washing/ironing respectively, compared to the 9 percent of Scottish men who claimed to be mostly responsible for both of these tasks (Table 10.13). More men than women claimed that they shared the responsibility for grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning and washing/ironing. This perhaps indicates that mens' perception of sharing household tasks is different from womens'.

One in twenty households claimed that someone else (probably a cleaner), had the main household responsibility for cleaning.

Table 10.13: Division of household tasks between couples in Scotland⁽¹⁾

Source: British Household Panel Survey, produced by the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex
Note: 1. The data was collected between September 1998 and March 1999. They are unweighted.
2. Totals may not add to 100 due to rounding.
3. This question was only asked to couples with children so the sample size is lower.

Results from the Family Resources Survey indicate that 27 per cent of households had a computer in Scotland in 1998-99. Further Family Resources Survey results show that 14 per cent of Scottish households had access to the internet from home during the period April 1999 to March 2000, increasing to 19 per cent of households for the period October 1999 to September 2000. Scotland has the lowest proportion of households with internet access of all UK regions, except Northern Ireland. Internet access is highest in London and the South East where, during the period October 1999 to September 2000, 34 per cent and 30 per cent respectively, of households had internet access from home.

Entertainment and the media

Almost all households now have televisions and television viewing is a very popular pastime. Table 10.12 shows that 85 per cent of Scottish households now have a video and 26 percent have a satellite dish. Research by the British Audience Research Board (BARB) has shown that in 1969, the average number of television sets per TV household was 1.0 and this had increased to 1.8 by 1998. There were 24.3 million televisions in the UK in December 2000 (BARB), almost one for every two people.

The Independent Television Commission's (ITC) quarterly cable statistics show that the number of homes with cable TV is rising. Just over a quarter of UK homes to which a cable service had been marketed and was available, had cable television by October 2000 (ITC 2000). The proportion who take any cable service (cable TV, cable telephony or high speed internet access), was even higher, at 39 per cent of people in the UK in October 2000 (ITC 2000). In April 2000, the proportion of homes that took cable TV in Scottish areas where a cable service had been marketed and was available, (most of Scotland outwith the central belt is not cabled), was higher in each area, than the average UK cable TV take up rate, except in Dundee and Aberdeen.

Adult television viewing in Scotland was the highest of all viewing regions in the UK in 1999, with people in Scotland watching at least two hours more TV per week than the UK average. Average weekly viewing of television in Scotland was 26.2 hours per week for males, and 29.5 hours per week for females (Table 10.14). This gives an average of 3.7 and 4.2 hours of TV viewing per day for males and females respectively. Since many people work or study during the daytime, these viewing figures suggest that many people spend all evenings with the TV on.

Those aged 65 and over watch twice as much TV as 16-24 year olds. Older people spend more time watching TV than other age groups, possibly because they have more opportunity to, since they are less likely to be working, looking after children or studying. Those in lower social classes tend to watch more television (Table 10.14).

Table 10.14: Television viewing and radio listening by gender, age and social class, BBC Scotland Region 1999

Source: British Broadcasting Corporation
Note: 1. For radio listening the age categories are 4-14 and 15-24.

Evidence from BARB suggests that people watch more television in winter than summer. For the UK, in July 2000 people watched an average of 23.5 hours of television per week, compared to 28.0 hours of television in January 2000.

Despite the amount of time spent watching TV in Scotland, listening to the radio is still very popular. The fact that one can listen to the radio while doing other things such as housework, driving and getting ready in the morning may have contributed the continuing popularity of radio. In 1999, men spent an average of 19.0 hours and women an average of 16.1 hours per week, listening to the radio (Table 10.14).

Table 10.15 illustrates the changes in the viewing shares of different channels over the past twenty years in the UK. The increase in the number of channels available has affected the viewing shares of the mainstream channels (BBC1 and ITV) more than BBC2 and C4. For example ITV's viewing share decreased by eighteen percentage points between 1981 and 1999, compared to a one percentage point decrease for BBC2. This is probably because BBC2 and C4 cater for more specialised audiences than the mainstream channels, and are therefore less likely to lose their audience to other more generalist channels such as C5 and the cable and satellite networks.

Broadcasters' Audience Research Board figures show that the most popular TV channel in December 2000 was ITV which accounted for 29 per cent of viewing time in Scotland. Nearly one fifth of viewing time was accounted for by satellite and cable television, reflecting the increased choice in this area of the television market.

Soaps are the most popular type of television programme. Research by the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board for the week ending 31st December 2000, showed that the top thirteen television programmes with the highest viewing figures in the UK were all soaps. Eastenders regularly attracts the largest viewing audiences and during the Christmas week 2000, one in three people in the UK watched a particular Eastenders episode.

Table 10.15: Television viewing (of individuals), by television channel, UK 1981 to 1999

Source: Broadcasters' Audience Research Board
Note: Includes RTE Ulster

Chart 10.16 shows the most common radio stations listened to in the UK. The BBC accounted for 51 per cent of all hours listened to the radio, with Radio 2 the most popular BBC station. Local commercial radio stations are much more popular than national commercial stations. In many areas in Scotland, the local commercial radio station for the area accounts for over a third of all radio listening. Radio stations attracting over a third of the radio listening hours in their marketing area include Radio Clyde 1 & 2, Tay FM & AM, Northsound 1 & 2 and Radio Borders. National Scottish commercial radio stations such as SCOT FM and Beat 106 attract less than 10 per cent of radio listening hours for their defined area.

Chart 10.16: Radio listening⁽¹⁾ by adults⁽²⁾, by radio channel, UK, June-September 2000

Source: Radio Joint Audience Research Limited
Note: 1. The percentage listening to a particular station is calculated from total hours listened to the station compared to hours listened to all stations.
2. Adults aged 15 and over.

Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 1999 results show that 76 per cent of adults read a daily newspaper at least three times a week. The most widely read newspapers in Scotland are regional papers or Scottish versions of British papers. 40 per cent of adults living in Scotland read the Daily Record, making it the most popular daily newspaper in Scotland (Table 10.17). The Sunday Mail is the most popular Sunday paper with 44 per cent of the adult population reading it. Readership figures for any given newspaper are generally three times higher than the circulation figures, since more people read papers than buy them or have them delivered.

Table 10.17: Newspaper readership of the fourteen most popular newspapers in Scotland, October 1999-September 2000

Source: National Readership Surveys Ltd
Note: 1. This survey estimates the potential readership figures of a newspaper so does not measure the number of people that actually bought or were delivered a paper, but estimates the proportion of people that read a copy.
2. Respondents are shown a prompt card and asked if they read the paper "yesterday" or "last week", depending on whether it is a Sunday or a daily paper.

Newspaper readership can give an indication of the views of a country, since it is a major way that people are informed about local and national affairs and can influence political views and voting patterns. The Royal Commission on the Press is concerned that the press should show truthfulness and diversity and avoid sensationalism, so that readers are well-informed about the issues of the day.

Free newspapers are becoming more widely available. Most major towns and cities have their own free advertising paper, but recently a free newspaper called Metro has started being distributed to morning commuters in the major cities in Europe, now including Edinburgh and Glasgow. The idea started off in Sweden where the paper achieved a circulation of 240,000 a day. Since then it has spread to other European cities and has become the major morning newspaper in Prague and Budapest. When Metro was first distributed in the central belt of Scotland in Winter 1999, 100,000 copies were circulated.

There are a wide range of magazine titles available now. The most popular magazine in Scotland is Sky/Sky View TV (the Sky TV Guide), which 13 per cent of adults read (Table 10.18). This is a free TV Guide that households which subscribe to Sky TV, automatically receive. Magazines which are free to subscribers are among the most widely read in Scotland, and include Cable Guide, M&S magazine, and the AA members' magazine (Table 10.18).

Almost a quarter of 15-24 years olds read FHM which makes it the most popular magazine for this age group. Readers Digest is more popular among older than younger people. Of the 11 most popular magazines, almost half are TV guides illustrating the popularity of TV watching as a pastime.

Table 10.18: Reading of popular consumer magazines in Scotland, October 1999-September 2000

Source: National Readership Surveys Ltd
Note: 1. This survey estimates the potential readership figures of a magazine so does not measure the number of people that actually bought or were delivered a magazine, but estimates the proportion of people that read a copy.
2. Respondents are shown a prompt card and asked if they read the magazine "last week" or "last month", depending on whether it is a weekly or monthly.

Information from the Chart Information Network (Copyright) shows that the best selling single in Scotland in 2000 was "Can we fix it" by "Bob the Builder", followed by "Pure Shores" (All Saints) and then "Rock DJ" (Robbie Williams).

Recently cinema attendance has seen some resurgence in popularity in the UK after nearly 40 years of decline (Chart 10.19). Cinema admissions declined sharply from 1.4 billion in 1951 to reach a low of 53 million in 1984. This fall was probably influenced by increased use of televisions, and later of video recorders. Over the next decade however, cinema admissions rose and were 128 million in 1999. This revival may be related to the investment and expansion in multiplex cinemas in recent years.

Chart 10.19: UK Cinema admissions: 1951 to 1999⁽¹⁾

Source: Office for National Statistics
Note: 1. Data collection was suspended in 1985 and 1986

Toy Story 2 was the top UK box office film of 2000, taking £43m. This was followed by Gladiator (£28m) and Chicken Run (£26m).

Leisure Activities

A popular leisure activity in Scotland is doing sport or physical recreation. 63 per cent of the population participated in sports during 1997-99. Men take part in a much wider range of sports, with 12 sports having male participation rates of over 5 per cent, compared to 6 sports for women (Chart 10.20).

Charts 10.20: 12 most popular sports⁽¹⁾, Scotland, 1997-99

a) Men

b) Women

Source: Sportscotland
Note: 1. Figures based on the 2 months in which the survey participation rates are highest between 1997 and 1999.

Scottish Household Survey 1999 results indicated that 34 per cent of adults had used their local park in the past week, 10 per cent had used a swimming pool, and 14 per cent had used a sports centre.

Watching sport is another popular activity. The highest attendance at a Rugby match in Scotland in 1999/00 was at Murrayfield when over 67 thousand people attended the England versus Scotland match. The highest attendance at a Scottish Premiership football match in the 1999/00 season was over 60 thousand at Celtic, when they played St Johnstone. This may have been because it was the first game of the season. Scottish Premier League analyses show that the average total attendance for professional league football matches in Scotland for the 1999/00 season, was over 18 thousand people per match, but Rangers and Celtic attract by far the largest audiences in Scotland of around 50 thousand per match.

Another way people spend their time is by participating in, and attending the arts. The Scottish Household Survey 1999 found that 16 per cent of adults said that they had used a public library and 4 per cent said that they had visited a museum, in the week prior to interview. The Scottish Arts Council found that the three most popular arts activities participated in at least twice in 1998 were, reading books (73 per cent), attending the cinema (57 per cent) and buying a work of fiction or poetry (41 per cent), (Chart 10.21).

Chart 10.21: Participation⁽¹⁾ in the 12 most popular arts activities in Scotland, 1998

Source: The Scottish Arts Council
Note: 1. Frequency of participation of at least 2 times in 1998.

10

Participation in the National Lottery is high in Scotland, and has been since its launch in 1994. In 1996-99, results from the Family Expenditure Survey showed that 62 per cent of people living in Scotland participated in the lottery (in the 2 week diary keeping period following the interview), and they spent on average £3.70 per week. This compared to a UK average of 60 per cent participation in the lottery with an average of £3.80 spent per week. Since the lottery started in 1994 until the end of November 2000, nearly £757 million from the lottery has been distributed to charities, arts, heritage, sports and millennium projects in Scotland.

Many people living in Scotland take trips abroad. The International Passenger Survey estimated that in 1998, Scottish residents made 2.7 million visits abroad of which more than two-thirds were for holiday purposes. 63 per cent of all holidays taken abroad by Scottish residents, were package holidays. Almost half of all trips abroad were from Glasgow airport followed by London Heathrow (15 per cent), and Edinburgh airport (8 per cent).

The most popular holiday destination in 1999, for people living in Scotland, was the Balearic Islands, Spain, (Ibiza, Mallorca, Menorca, or Formentera), where 324 thousand visits were made (Chart 10.22).

Chart 10.22: Holiday destinations abroad for Scottish residents, 1999

Source: United Kingdom Tourism Survey
Note: 1. The survey counts multiple destinations. For example if someone mentioned that they would be visiting both Austria and Italy in the same trip, then each country would be counted.

The most popular visitor attraction with free admission in Scotland in 1998, was the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, Glasgow which attracted 1.13 million visitors, and the most popular attraction with paid admission was Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh which attracted 1.22 million visitors.

References and further reading

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