Consultation on the design of the Scottish Household Survey (SHS) for 2017 and beyond

Annex A SHS Social Interview Topic Coverage

This Annex provides an overview of the different topics within the SHS questionnaire, and the frequency of data collection and sample sizes under options A and B, compared to the current SHS.

Table 1 below shows which topics are protected at full sample - these are mostly key household and key random adult topics and questions needed for analysis and can be found under 'Key household topics - full sample protected' and 'Random adult topics - full sample protected'. It also shows which SSCQ questions are protected with a full annual sample even though they may fall within a non-protected section of the questionnaire. For example, accommodation is not a protected topic as it falls under other household topics, but the tenure question is.

If you want to look in more detail at exactly what questions are asked under each topic, you can use the 2015 SHS questionnaire (or the SHS 2016 questionnaire). You can use the headings at the start of the questionnaire or use a keyword search if the headings don't match those in table 1 below (some topics have been split in a different way from the questionnaire headings in order to show differing sample sizes and frequency levels).

For ease of reference, Table 2 shows which SSCQ questions fall under which section of the SHS questionnaire.

Table 1 SHS Topics - Samples and frequencies

Notes:

Table 1 is based on 2015 and 2016 questionnaires combined in order to represent biennial modules.

The sample sizes are rounded to nearest 50 for presentational purposes.

[1] Use of heating and repairs are also covered in the physical survey/inspection of dwellings The information on householders views and experiences is collected through the social survey, while the information on repairs to the dwelling considered necessary in the assessment of professional surveyors is collected through the physical dwelling survey.

[2] Within the household costs and mortgage and rent section, three questions would be protected under Option A Biennial in order to provide an annual fuel poverty estimate. This includes RH4-Overall, how many people are contributing to the rent figure you just gave me?, CTAX1 How much does your household pay for council tax?, CTAX2 How long does this payment cover?

[3] Certain aspects of energy efficiency measures, including people's awareness and uptake of household energy efficiency measures are covered in the social survey. Annual energy efficiency estimates in the SHCS report (based on SAP ratings) come from the physical survey/inspection of dwellings.

Table 2 Scottish Survey Core Questions (SSCQ) in the SHS