Scotland's Chief Statistician today published the 2007 Scottish Household Survey Annual Report, which finds that over 90 per cent of adults rate their neighbourhood as a very or fairly good place to live.

The study finds that this percentage has not changed greatly since the first Scottish Household Survey in 1999. Only a quarter, 26 per cent, of adults in the 15 per cent most deprived areas of Scotland rated their Neighbourhood as 'very good' compared with 58 per cent of those in the rest of Scotland. 72 per cent of adults feel very or fairly safe when walking alone in their local neighbourhood after dark.

The survey contains national results and results for subgroups of the population on a number of key topics. For the first time the survey included questions which will form the basis of the Government's national performance indicator on perceptions of public services. 58 per cent of adults are satisfied with local health services, local schools and public transport.

Individually, 82 per cent of adults are very or fairly satisfied with local health services, 79 per cent very or fairly satisfied with local schools and 70 per cent very or fairly satisfied with public transport. 41 per cent of adults agree that their council provides high quality services, a statement older people were more likely to agree with than younger people.

Other results from the survey include the finding that 51 per cent of adults are married and living with a spouse, while 23 per cent are single and have never been married. 32 per cent of households in Scotland contain only one adult.

Owner occupation is the predominant tenure for most household types, the notable exception being for single parent households, where it is only 31 per cent. The private rented sector has shown small but consistent signs of growth from 5 per cent in 1999 to 10 per cent in 2007, while the 15 per cent most deprived areas in Scotland are characterised by high concentrations of social housing, with 53 per cent of households in the social rented sector, compared to 17 per cent in the rest of Scotland.

The survey also finds that 21 per cent of households have an annual net household income of £10,000 or less, while 41 per cent of households do not have any savings or investments. 52 per cent of households say they manage their finances very or quite well.

The percentage of adults travelling to work by car has increased from 67 per cent in 2006 to 69 per cent in 2007. This measurement is the basis of the Government's national performance indicator on journeys to work by public or active transport.

An estimated 24.7 per cent of adults smoked in 2007, a small decrease on the estimated 25.0 per cent who smoked in 2006. 54 per cent of adults felt their health was good over the last year, but this reduced to 42 per cent in the 15 per cent most deprived areas.

30 per cent of adults have provided unpaid volunteering help to organisations or individuals in the last 12 months, while 73 per cent of adults participated in cultural activities during the last 12 months. The survey found that participation in many of the cultural activities declines with age.
 
The full statistical publication can be accessed here.

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