Scottish household survey 2019: culture and heritage - report

Executive Summary

Introduction to the Scottish Household Survey

The Scottish Household Survey (SHS) is a face-to-face survey of a sample of people in private residences all over Scotland. It is interviewer-administered in people’s homes, voluntary, and provides robust evidence on the composition, characteristics, attitudes and behaviour of private households and individuals. 

The SHS is the main source of data on engagement with and attitudes to culture and heritage in Scotland. This report summarises the findings from the 2019 survey.

Culture and heritage policy context

The Scottish Government’s vision for culture, as set out in The Culture Strategy for Scotland^[1] is for a Scotland where culture is valued, protected and nurtured, and where its transformative potential is experienced by everyone. Progress is monitored as part of the National Performance Framework^[2], which includes the national outcome "We are creative and our vibrant and diverse cultures are expressed and enjoyed widely".

Four national performance indicators measure progress against this outcome:

• Attendance at cultural events or places of culture 
• Participation in a cultural activity
• Growth in the cultural economy
• People working in arts and culture

The first two national indicators are reported on using the data from the SHS at national and sub-national levels that are presented in this report. 

Cultural Engagement

Cultural engagement in Scotland is high. 2019 data show that nine in ten (90 per cent) adults were culturally engaged, either having attended or visited a cultural event or place or having participated in a cultural activity in the last 12 months. The figure has been maintained since 2018.

Attendance at Cultural Events and Visiting Places of Culture 

2019 data show that 81 per cent of adults in Scotland had attended or visited a cultural event or place in the last 12 months. When trips to the cinema are excluded, the attendance figure was lower at 74 per cent. Cultural attendance has been maintained since 2018.

Over half of respondents (58 per cent) had been to the cinema in the last 12 months making this the most common type of cultural attendance. The next most common types of cultural attendance were attendance at live music events (37 per cent) and visits to historic places (35 per cent), followed by museums (34 per cent) and theatres (33 per cent). Just under a fifth of adults (19 per cent) had not attended or visited a cultural event or place of culture in the last 12 months.

Frequency of attendance was highest for libraries. Almost one in five people (19 per cent) visited a library at least once a week, and two fifths of adults visited at least once a month (40 per cent).

Respondents were asked whether there were any cultural events or places that they would like to go to more often, or go to that they haven’t been to before. People who had attended cultural events and places in the last 12 months were more likely to aspire to attend these more often or to attend events and places they haven’t been to before, than are those who hadn’t attended any in the last 12 months. Of those who had already attended cultural events or places in the last 12 months, around half (51 per cent) selected one or more events or places that they would like to go to more often, or go to that they haven’t been to before. Of those who had not attended cultural events or places in the last 12 months, less than a third (30 per cent) selected one or more events or places that they would like to go to more often, or go to that they haven’t been to before.

The most frequently cited factors limiting or preventing people from attending cultural events and places were lack of time (19 per cent) followed by cost of tickets (15 per cent). 

The 2019 data also show that:

• More women than men had attended or visited a cultural event or place in the last 12 months. Eighty-three per cent of women had attended or visited a cultural event or place compared to 79 per cent of men.
• Younger age groups were noticeably more likely to have attended a cultural event or visited places of culture in the last 12 months than older age groups. Ninety-two per cent of 16 to 24 year olds had attended or visited a cultural event or place compared to 55 per cent of those aged 75 and over.
• Adults with degrees or professional qualifications were most likely to have attended cultural events and visited places of culture in the last 12 months; attendance was lowest for those with no qualifications (94 per cent compared to 52 per cent).
• Levels of cultural attendance increased as deprivation decreased. There was a 20 percentage point difference in cultural attendance between those living in the 20 per cent most and 20 per cent least deprived areas (71 per cent compared with 91 per cent).
• Cultural attendance decreased as net annual household income decreased and was the highest for those with the highest net annual household income. Ninety per cent of those with a net annual household income of over £30,000 had attended or visited a cultural event or place. Attendance was lowest for those with a net annual household income of between £0 and £10,000 (67 per cent).
• Cultural attendance was lowest among adults with a physical or mental health condition that caused long-term major reduced daily capacity. Fifty-two per cent of those with a condition that caused long-term major reduced capacity had attended or visited a cultural event or place compared with 87 per cent attendance for those with no condition.

Participation in Cultural Activities 

The 2019 data show that 75 per cent of adults in Scotland had participated in a cultural activity in the last 12 months. When reading is excluded, participation was at 52 per cent. Both participation figures have been maintained since 2018. 

Reading a book for pleasure was by far the most common cultural activity, with 62 per cent of respondents saying that they had done this in the last 12 months. The next most popular activity was viewing performances online (23 per cent), followed by crafts (16 per cent). Participation levels in all other cultural activities were 12 per cent or less. One in four people (25 per cent) had not participated in any cultural activity in the last 12 months.

Those reading a book for pleasure did so the most frequently. Of those who read for pleasure, 75 per cent had done so at least once a week, and a further 13 per cent had read at least once a month.

Respondents were asked whether there were any cultural activities that they would like to participate in more often, or participate in that they had not done before. The majority of both those who had participated and those who had not participated in cultural activities in the last 12 months responded ‘none’ (61 per cent and 84 per cent respectively).

When asked what, if anything, limits or prevents people participating in cultural activities, around one in five (19 per cent) reported lack of time as a factor, while seven per cent said they just had not got round to it.

The 2019 data also show that:

• More women than men reported having participated in a cultural activity in the last 12 months. Eighty per cent of women had participated in a cultural activity in the last 12 months compared with 70 per cent of men, though this varied by activity.
• Overall, cultural participation was broadly similar for all age groups; however, participation decreased with age when reading was excluded from the measure, reflecting the high level of reading amongst older age groups.
• Participation in cultural activities was highest among adults with a degree or professional qualification (91 per cent) and lowest for those with no qualifications (54 per cent).
• Participation in cultural activities declined as deprivation increased. There was a large difference (23 percentage points) in cultural participation between those living in the 20 per cent most deprived and the 20 per cent least deprived areas. Sixty-two per cent of adults in the 20 per cent most deprived areas had participated in cultural activities in 2019, compared with 85 per cent of adults in the 20 per cent least deprived areas. 
• Cultural participation was highest for those with the highest net annual household income. There was a general pattern of increasing participation with level of income. Eighty per cent of those with a net annual household income of over £30,000 had participated in cultural activities. Participation was lowest for those with a net annual household income of between £0 and £10,000, and £10,001 and £20,000 (70 per cent for both groups).
• Cultural participation was lowest amongst those with a condition that caused long-term major reduced daily capacity (61 per cent), and participation was highest amongst those with a condition that did not cause reduced daily capacity (80 per cent) and those with no condition (77 per cent). For those with minor reduced daily capacity the participation rate was 76 per cent.

Satisfaction with Local Authority Cultural Services

In 2019, around four in ten adults said they were very or fairly satisfied with their local authority libraries (42 per cent), with museums and galleries (40 per cent) and with theatres or concert halls (42 per cent).

Between 2007 and 2019, satisfaction with libraries decreased by 13 percentage points (from 55 per cent to 42 per cent) while satisfaction with theatres or concert halls, and museums and galleries has been maintained over this period. 

Levels of satisfaction with local authority cultural services were considerably higher amongst those who had used the services asked about. 2019 data show that around nine in ten users of libraries, theatres or concert halls, and museums and galleries were either very or fairly satisfied with each of the three services (between 88 per cent and 90 per cent).

When asked of both service users and non-users, women were more likely than men to be very or fairly satisfied with each of the three cultural services asked about. Differences were less marked between different age groups. Those with a degree or a professional qualification, those living in the 20 per cent least deprived areas, and those with a net annual household income of over £30,000 were more likely to be very or fairly satisfied with museums and galleries and theatres or concert halls. Those with a physical or mental health condition that caused long-term major reduced daily capacity were the least likely to report being very or fairly satisfied with the services asked about. Across the different groups, levels of satisfaction were high amongst those who had used the services asked about.

Impact of Culture and Heritage 

In 2019, just under a half of respondents (46 per cent) strongly agreed or tended to agree with the statement ‘culture and the arts make a positive difference to my life’. 

Of these 46 per cent, over three in four (77 per cent) reported that culture and the arts make them feel happy or are something that they really enjoy. Forty-four percent said that culture and the arts improve their mental health and wellbeing.

Around half of adults (50 per cent) strongly agreed or tended to agree with the statement ‘culture and the arts make a positive difference to my local community’. 

Half of respondents (50 per cent) strongly disagreed or tended to disagree with the statement ‘culture and the arts are not really for me’. Twenty-nine per cent strongly agreed or tended to agree, and 18 per cent neither agreed nor disagreed.

The majority of respondents (86 per cent) strongly agreed or tended to agree that it is important to them that Scotland’s heritage^[3] is well looked after. 

The majority of respondents (69 per cent) strongly agreed or tended to agree that the heritage of their local area is well looked after. Sixteen per cent neither agreed nor disagreed, and seven per cent either strongly disagreed or tended to disagree.

Men, older people, those with no qualifications, those living in the 20 per cent most deprived areas, and those with a long-term physical or mental health condition that caused major reduced daily capacity were the least likely to strongly agree or to tend to agree with the statement ‘culture and the arts make a positive difference to my life’.