“These new figures from this year’s Scottish Social Attitudes Survey reveal continued trust in the Scottish Government, with 75% of people in Scotland believing the Scottish Government should have the most influence over the way the country is run,” said Natalie Don MSP.

The survey measured the public’s views on a range of issues including influence over how Scotland is run, levels of tax and government priorities, the economy, NHS and political engagement. Its findings reflect emerging public concern in the cost of living crisis, with 66% of respondents believing the economy had got weaker in the previous 12 months.

The findings also show:

64% of people thought the level of taxation and spending on health, education and social benefits should be increased, whilst 32% thought the level of taxation and spending should stay the same
68% agreed that income should be redistributed from the better-off to those who are less well-off, while 16% disagreed
over half of people (54%) in Scotland were satisfied with the way NHS Scotland is run
98% of people thought it was important to vote in Scottish Parliament elections, 95% in local council elections and 92% in UK Government elections
64% of people thought the Scottish Parliament was giving Scotland a stronger voice in the UK and only 7% thought it was giving Scotland a weaker voice

Natalie Don MSP added:

“The results of this survey highlight the public’s continued faith in the Scottish Government, revealing that 66% of people trust the Scottish Government to work in the country’s best interests.

“This clearly shows that the SNP led administration in Holyrood reflects the thoughts of the majority of the Scottish people, putting more trust in our Scottish Government to look after the welfare and public services of this country.

“Although this survey was conducted before the full extent of the Tory-created cost of living crisis took hold, it is clear that the Scottish public are more in tune with the Scottish Government on issues of taxation and spending on public services, as opposed to the Tory obsession with tax cutting and austerity.”

NOTES

The survey has previously been conducted face to face but as a result of coronavirus restrictions in place at the time of fieldwork, this year’s survey was completed via telephone.

This change in methodology has impacted the nature of the sample and responses received, and as a result has affected comparability with survey data from previous years. This year’s report solely focusses on data from this year’s survey rather than examining trends over time.

Scottish Social Attitudes 2021/2022

The Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2021-2022 was conducted by the Scottish Centre for Social Research (ScotCen) between 21st October 2021 and 27th March 2022.