“Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit” Jawaharlal Nehru Brainy Quote

The People of Scotland are a cultured nation according to the latest published Scottish Household Survey. An amazing 92% of people either attended or visited a cultural event/place or participated in a cultural activity in 2016.

“The Scottish Household Survey (SHS) is a continuous survey based on a random sample of the general population in private residences in Scotland. Questions are asked face- to-face by an interviewer in homes all over Scotland.”

The survey was started in 1999 and participation in it is voluntary. It is run through a consortium led by Ipsos MORI.

“The SHS response rate declined from 67 % in 2014 to 64 % in 2015 (10,325 household interviews) and 2016 (10,470). Analysis carried out to date suggests that this has had minimal or little impact on the survey results.”

The survey covers a varied range of topics. For example :

On Climate Change: ” Over half of adults (55 %) view climate change as an immediate and urgent problem,compared with 2015 (50 %.) Concern about climate change has increased in particular among the 16-24 age group, and is lowest among the 75+ age group.”

In 2016, 27 % of adults provided unpaid help to organisations or groups.

Of concern is the growth of private rented accommodation since 1999 which has increased by 250,000 compared to the decline in social rented housing of 150,000. Owner occupation has remained steady at 61%.

Only 56 % of adults in Scotland were satisfied with all three of the following locally provided public services: local health services, schools and public transport

Despite the low satisfaction rating for locally provided public services people on the whole still think it’s not a bad place to live although this depends very much on where you live.

Deputy First Minister in the Scottish Government, John Swinney said:

“Satisfaction with people who use our public services remains high but we can and must go further. That is why our bold Programme for Government includes major reforms in education, health and justice, new opportunities and important measures to safeguard the environment and improve the quality of housing.”

“This is supported by a local government finance settlement which includes an extra £160 million to support investment in local services, as well as a record high health and social care budget.”

“Our purpose is clear. We want Scotland to be the best place in the world to bring up children, the best place to grow up and be educated, the best place to live, work, visit invest and do business, the best place to be cared for in times of sickness, need or vulnerability and the best place to grow old.”

Reporter: Fiona Grahame