Scottish household survey 2019: culture and heritage - report

5 Satisfaction with Local Authority Cultural Services

Since 2007, the Scottish Household Survey has asked questions on the frequency of use and satisfaction with local authority cultural services. Table 5.1 presents the reported levels of satisfaction (including users and non-users of these services) with three different types of local authority cultural service (libraries, museums and galleries, theatres or concert halls). 

2019 data show that around four in ten adults 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 (55 per cent to 42 per cent respectively) while satisfaction with theatres or concert halls, and museums and galleries has been maintained over this period. 

Table 5.2 shows levels of satisfaction with local authority culture services amongst those adults who have used these services in the past year only. 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 adults were either very or fairly satisfied with each of the three services (between 88 per cent and 90 per cent). Similarly, for sub-group analyses (see sections 5.1 to 5.6), satisfaction levels tended to be higher amongst those who had used the services asked about, and similar across sub-groups.

Between 2018 and 2019, satisfaction with museums and galleries increased by two percentage points (86 to 88 per cent) and satisfaction with theatres or concert halls increased by four percentage points (85 to 89 per cent) among service users. Satisfaction with libraries has been maintained.

Table 5.1: Satisfaction with local authority cultural services - Percentage of adults, 2007 to 2019 data (minimum base: 9,020)

Adults	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Libraries
Very/fairly satisfied	55	55	53	52	52	50	51	49	49	48	49	45	42
Neither satisfied ordissatisfied	10	8	7	8	8	8	10	12	15	15	17	15	13
Very/fairly dissatisfied	3	2	2	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3
No opinion	32	34	37	38	37	39	38	36	34	35	32	37	42
Museums and galleries
Very/fairly satisfied	41	42	41	38	44	42	44	46	46	45	46	42	40
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	14	12	10	11	10	10	11	14	16	17	18	16	14
Very/fairly dissatisfied	4	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3
No opinion	41	42	45	48	44	46	42	38	35	36	34	39	43
Theatres or concert halls
Very/fairly satisfied	44	44	43	42	45	44	46	47	48	47	47	43	42
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	14	11	10	10	10	9	10	13	15	16	17	16	13
Very/fairly dissatisfied	5	4	4	3	3	2	2	2	3	2	2	3	3
No opinion	38	40	43	45	42	45	42	38	35	35	34	39	41
Base	10,220	9,240	9,710	9,020	9,660	9,890	9,920	9,800	9,410	9,640	9,810	9,700	9,780

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Table 5.2: Satisfaction with local authority cultural services (Service users within the last 12 months only) - Percentage of adults, 2007 to 2019 data (minimum base: 2,460)

Adults	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Libraries
Very/fairly satisfied	90	92	92	91	92	93	92	92	92	93	91	88	90
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	5	4	4	4	4	3	3	4	4	4	5	7	5
Very/fairly dissatisfied	3	3	3	4	2	2	3	2	3	2	2	3	3
No opinion	2	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	2	2	2
Base	4,090	3,510	3,590	3,400	3,510	3,450	3,370	3,270	3,100	3,060	3,160	3,090	2,980
Museums and galleries
Very/fairly satisfied	87	89	88	87	90	92	91	92	91	91	87	86	88
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	8	7	6	7	5	3	4	5	6	5	8	9	7
Very/fairly dissatisfied	2	2	3	2	1	2	2	1	2	1	2	3	1
No opinion	3	2	4	4	4	3	3	2	2	3	3	3	4
Base	2,870	2,630	2,720	2,460	2,830	2,800	2,980	3,020	2,920	2,830	2,990	3,050	2,950
Theatres or concert halls
Very/fairly satisfied	86	87	88	88	89	90	91	91	90	90	89	85	89
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	8	6	6	6	5	5	4	5	6	6	7	9	6
Very/fairly dissatisfied	3	4	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	1	2	2
No opinion	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	3
Base	3,560	3,210	3,270	2,960	3,280	3,020	3,260	3,290	3,340	3,230	3,270	3,300	3,250

5.1 Satisfaction with Local Authority Cultural Services by Gender

When asked of both service users and non-users, more women than men were very or fairly satisfied with each of the local authority cultural services asked about (Table 5.3). Forty-six per cent of women and 38 per cent of men were very or fairly satisfied with libraries; 42 per cent of women and 38 per cent men with museums and galleries; and 45 per cent of women and 39 per cent of men with theatres or concert halls.

Table 5.3: Satisfaction with local authority cultural services by gender - Percentage of adults, 2019 data (minimum base: 4,360)

Adults	Women	Men	Identified in another way	Refused	All
Libraries
Very/fairly satisfied	46	38	*	*	42
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	12	13	*	*	13
Very/fairly dissatisfied	3	3	*	*	3
No opinion	38	46	*	*	42
Museums and galleries
Very/fairly satisfied	42	38	*	*	40
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	14	14	*	*	14
Very/fairly dissatisfied	3	3	*	*	3
No opinion	41	45	*	*	43
Theatres or concert halls
Very/fairly satisfied	45	39	*	*	42
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	13	14	*	*	13
Very/fairly dissatisfied	3	3	*	*	3
No opinion	39	44	*	*	41
Base	5,410	4,360	0	0	9,780

When only service users in the past 12 months were asked about cultural services, there was no significant difference between women and men however. Around nine in ten in both groups reported being very or fairly satisfied with the cultural services that were asked about (Table 5.4). Ninety per cent of both women and men reported being very or fairly satisfied with libraries; 88 per cent of both women and men reported being very or fairly satisfied with museums and galleries; and 89 per cent of women and 88 per cent of men reported being very or fairly satisfied with theatres or concert halls.

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Table 5.4: Satisfaction with local authority cultural services by gender; service users in the past 12 months only - Percentage of adults, 2019 data (minimum base: 1,120)

Adults	Women	Men	Identified in another way	Refused	All
Libraries
Very/fairly satisfied	90	90	*	-	90
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	5	6	*	-	5
Very/fairly dissatisfied	3	3	*	-	3
No opinion	2	2	*	-	2
Base	1,860	1,120	0	-	2,980
Museums and galleries
Very/fairly satisfied	88	88	*	-	88
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	7	6	*	-	7
Very/fairly dissatisfied	2	1	*	-	1
No opinion	3	5	*	-	4
Base	1,730	1,210	0	-	2,950
Theatres or concert halls
Very/fairly satisfied	89	88	*	*	89
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	6	7	*	*	7
Very/fairly dissatisfied	2	2	*	*	2
No opinion	3	3	*	*	3
Base	1,990	1,260	0	0	3,250

5.2 Satisfaction with Local Authority Cultural Services by Age

When asked of both service users and non-users, 35 to 44-year-olds were most likely to be very or fairly satisfied with libraries. Those aged 75 and over were the least likely to be very or fairly satisfied with museums and galleries and theatres or concert halls (Table 5.5).

Table 5.5: Satisfaction with local authority cultural services by age - Percentage of adults, 2019 data (minimum base: 620)

Adults	16 to 24	25 to 34	35 to 44	45 to 59	60 to 74	75 plus	All
Libraries
Very/fairly satisfied	37	41	51	40	43	40	42
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	17	13	11	12	13	13	13
Very/fairly dissatisfied	2	2	3	4	3	2	3
No opinion	44	43	35	44	41	45	42
Museums and galleries
Very/fairly satisfied	41	43	45	42	38	29	40
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	16	15	14	14	13	16	14
Very/fairly dissatisfied	3	3	3	4	2	2	3
No opinion	40	40	38	41	47	54	43
Theatres or concert halls
Very/fairly satisfied	40	42	46	46	42	31	42
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	14	15	13	12	13	15	13
Very/fairly dissatisfied	3	3	3	3	2	2	3
No opinion	42	40	38	39	43	51	41
Base	620	1,320	1,420	2,410	2,540	1,470	9,780

When asked of only service users in the past 12 months, satisfaction levels tended to be high across the different age groups (Table 5.6). Around nine in ten reported being very or fairly satisfied with libraries, museums and galleries, and theatres or concert halls. A lower number – around eight in ten – of those aged 75 and over reported being very or fairly satisfied with theatres or concert halls however.

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Table 5.6: Satisfaction with local authority cultural services by age; service users in the past 12 months only - Percentage of adults, 2019 data (minimum base: 170)

Adults	16 to 24	25 to 34	35 to 44	45 to  59	60 to 74	75 plus	All
Libraries
Very/fairly satisfied	87	90	92	87	91	90	90
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	10	6	4	6	4	4	5
Very/fairly dissatisfied	1	3	1	5	4	4	3
No opinion	1	1	3	2	1	2	2
Base	170	450	590	640	760	360	2,980
Museums and galleries
Very/fairly satisfied	87	89	89	86	90	87	88
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	7	7	6	8	7	5	7
Very/fairly dissatisfied	1	2	2	2	0	1	1
No opinion	5	2	3	4	3	7	4
Base	210	500	570	730	690	260	2,950
Theatres or concert halls
Very/fairly satisfied	90	87	90	89	90	84	89
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	6	9	6	5	5	9	7
Very/fairly dissatisfied	2	2	2	2	1	2	2
No opinion	2	2	2	3	4	5	3
Base	190	480	550	870	830	320	3,250

5.3 Satisfaction with Local Authority Cultural Services by Highest Level of Qualification 

When asked of both service users and non-users, those with a degree or a professional qualification were most likely to be very or fairly satisfied with museums and galleries and theatres or concert halls (Table 5.7). The differences for libraries were less marked.

When asked of only service users in the past 12 months, satisfaction levels tended to be high across the groups with different or no qualifications (Table 5.8). Around nine in ten reported being very or fairly satisfied with libraries, museums and galleries, and theatres or concert halls. A lower number – around eight in ten – of those with other qualification and those with an O Grade, Standard Grade or equivalent reported being very or fairly satisfied with museums and galleries.

Table 5.7: Satisfaction with local authority cultural services by highest level of qualification - Percentage of adults, 2019 data (minimum base: 70)

Adults	Degree, Professional qualification	HNC/HND or equivalent	Higher, A level or equivalent	O Grade, Standard grade or equivalent	Other qualification	No qualifications	Qualifications not known	All
Libraries
Very/fairly satisfied	49	45	44	37	34	34	24	42
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	12	15	12	12	14	14	13	13
Very/fairly dissatisfied	4	3	2	3	2	2	1	3
No opinion	35	37	43	47	51	50	62	42
Museums and galleries
Very/fairly satisfied	52	47	40	31	25	26	39	40
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	13	16	14	14	15	16	9	14
Very/fairly dissatisfied	3	3	2	2	2	2	1	3
No opinion	32	35	43	52	58	56	52	43
Theatres or concert halls
Very/fairly satisfied	54	47	41	36	30	27	24	42
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	12	16	13	13	13	15	16	13
Very/fairly dissatisfied	3	3	3	3	2	2	1	3
No opinion	30	34	43	48	54	55	59	41
Base	2,960	1,130	1,460	1,710	640	1,810	70	9,780

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Table 5.8: Satisfaction with local authority cultural services by highest level of qualification; service users in the past 12 months only - Percentage of adults, 2019 data (minimum base: 10)

Adults	Degree, Professional qualification	HNC/HND or equivalent	Higher, A level or equivalent	O Grade, Standard grade or equivalent	Other qualification	No qualifications	Qualifications not known	All
Libraries
Very/fairly satisfied	88	90	90	90	92	93	*	90
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	6	5	5	5	2	3	*	5
Very/fairly dissatisfied	4	2	2	2	3	2	*	3
No opinion	1	2	3	2	2	2	*	2
Base	1,220	390	470	420	130	320	20	2,980
Museums and galleries
Very/fairly satisfied	89	89	88	83	79	89	*	88
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	6	6	6	10	11	7	*	7
Very/fairly dissatisfied	1	1	2	2	-	1	*	1
No opinion	3	4	4	6	10	3	*	4
Base	1,370	410	460	350	110	230	20	2,950
Theatres or concert halls
Very/fairly satisfied	90	87	90	88	85	87	*	89
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	6	9	5	6	7	6	*	7
Very/fairly dissatisfied	2	2	2	1	1	3	*	2
No opinion	2	2	2	5	7	5	*	3
Base	1,450	440	470	450	140	270	10	3,250

5.4 Satisfaction with Local Authority Cultural Services by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 

When asked of both service users and non-users, those living in the 20 per cent least deprived areas (SIMD, 2020) were most likely to be very or fairly satisfied with museums and galleries and theatres or concert halls (47 per cent and 54 per cent respectively – see Table 5.9). Those living in areas falling within the third and fourth quintiles, and those living in the 20 per cent least deprived areas, were the most likely to be very or fairly satisfied with libraries (45 per cent, 45 per cent, and 44 per cent respectively). Those living in the 20 per cent most deprived areas were the most likely no to have an opinion on all local authority cultural services asked about. 

Table 5.9: Satisfaction with local authority cultural services by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation - Percentage of adults, 2019 data (minimum base: 1,800)

Adults	20% Most deprived	2	3	4	20% Least deprived	Scotland
Libraries
Very/fairly satisfied	37	40	45	45	44	42
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	13	15	13	12	13	13
Very/fairly dissatisfied	3	3	3	3	2	3
No opinion	47	43	39	40	41	42
Museums and galleries
Very/fairly satisfied	36	38	39	41	47	40
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	12	15	16	14	14	14
Very/fairly dissatisfied	2	3	3	4	2	3
No opinion	49	44	43	41	37	43
Theatres or concert halls
Very/fairly satisfied	33	37	40	47	54	42
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	12	15	15	13	12	13
Very/fairly dissatisfied	3	3	3	3	2	3
No opinion	52	44	42	37	32	41
Base	1,830	1,980	2,150	2,020	1,800	9,780

When asked of only service users in the past 12 months, satisfaction levels were consistently high among the different groups – around nine in ten reported being very or fairly satisfied with local authority cultural services (Table 5.10).

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Table 5.10: Satisfaction with local authority cultural services by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation; service users in the past 12 months only - Percentage of adults, 2019 data (minimum base: 410)

Adults	20% Most deprived	2	3	4	20% Least deprived	Scotland
Libraries
Very/fairly satisfied	88	90	91	89	89	90
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	5	4	6	5	6	5
Very/fairly dissatisfied	3	4	2	3	3	3
No opinion	4	2	1	2	2	2
Base	480	530	660	650	650	2,980
Museums and galleries
Very/fairly satisfied	90	89	88	85	89	88
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	6	5	8	8	7	7
Very/fairly dissatisfied	1	2	1	2	1	1
No opinion	4	3	3	5	4	4
Base	460	490	590	690	720	2,950
Theatres or concert halls
Very/fairly satisfied	88	87	87	89	91	89
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	5	7	9	6	6	7
Very/fairly dissatisfied	3	3	2	1	1	2
No opinion	3	3	3	3	2	3
Base	410	530	660	800	850	3,250

5.5 Satisfaction with Local Authority Cultural Services by Net Annual Household Income 

When asked of both service users and non-users, those with a net annual household income of over £30,000 were most likely to be very or fairly satisfied with museums and galleries and theatres or concert halls (Table 5.11). The differences for libraries were less marked. Those earning £0-£10,000 were most likely not to have an opinion on theatres or concert halls and, together with those earning between £10,001 and £20,000, on museums and art galleries.

Table 5.11: Satisfaction with local authority cultural services by net annual household income - Percentage of adults, 2019 data (minimum base: 900)

Adults	£0-£10,000	£10,001 - £20,000	£20,001 - £30,000	Over £30,000	All
Libraries
Very/fairly satisfied	41	41	43	44	43
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	12	14	13	12	13
Very/fairly dissatisfied	2	3	3	3	3
No opinion	46	43	41	40	42
Museums and galleries
Very/fairly satisfied	35	36	40	44	40
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	15	14	15	14	14
Very/fairly dissatisfied	2	2	3	3	3
No opinion	48	47	43	39	43
Theatres or concert halls
Very/fairly satisfied	33	36	43	48	43
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	12	14	14	13	14
Very/fairly dissatisfied	2	3	3	3	3
No opinion	52	47	40	36	41
Base	900	2,880	2,100	3,500	9,380

When asked of only service users in the past 12 months, satisfaction with all local authority cultural services asked about were consistently high across the different income groups (Table 5.12). Around nine in ten respondents reported being very or fairly satisfied with libraries, museums and galleries, and theatres or concert halls.

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Table 5.12: Satisfaction with local authority cultural services by net annual household income; service users in the past 12 months only - Percentage of adults, 2019 data (minimum base: 210)

Adults	£0-£10,000	£10,001 - £20,000	£20,001 - £30,000	Over £30,000	All
Libraries
Very/fairly satisfied	94	89	90	90	90
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	2	5	6	5	5
Very/fairly dissatisfied	4	3	3	3	3
No opinion	1	3	1	2	2
Base	250	820	630	1,170	2,870
Museums and galleries
Very/fairly satisfied	87	87	88	88	88
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	8	7	7	7	7
Very/fairly dissatisfied	2	1	1	2	1
No opinion	3	5	4	4	4
Base	220	670	640	1,290	2,820
Theatres or concert halls
Very/fairly satisfied	85	87	88	89	89
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	8	6	7	6	7
Very/fairly dissatisfied	2	2	2	2	2
No opinion	5	4	3	2	3
Base	210	740	710	1,490	3,140

5.6 Satisfaction with Local Authority Cultural Services by Long-Term Physical or Mental Health Condition 

When asked of both service users and non-users, those with a long-term condition that caused major reduced daily capacity were the least likely to report being very or fairly satisfied with libraries, museums and galleries, and theatres or concert halls (Table 5.13). Those with no long term physical or mental health condition were the most likely to report being very or fairly satisfied with museums and galleries (43 per cent). Those with a condition that caused no reduced daily capacity and those with no conditions were the most likely to report being very or fairly satisfied with theatres or concert halls (46 per cent and 45 per cent respectively). Differences were less marked for libraries.

Table 5.13: Satisfaction with local authority cultural services by long-term physical or mental health condition - Percentage of adults, 2019 data (minimum base: 610)

Adults	Yes, causes long term major reduced daily capacity	Yes, causes long term minor reduced daily capacity	Yes, but no reduced daily capacity	None	All
Libraries
Very/fairly satisfied	36	47	45	43	42
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	13	13	14	13	13
Very/fairly dissatisfied	2	3	4	3	3
No opinion	49	38	37	42	42
Museums and galleries
Very/fairly satisfied	27	39	38	43	40
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	16	16	15	14	14
Very/fairly dissatisfied	2	3	3	3	3
No opinion	55	43	44	40	43
Theatres or concert halls
Very/fairly satisfied	30	40	46	45	42
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	15	16	14	13	13
Very/fairly dissatisfied	3	2	3	3	3
No opinion	52	42	37	39	41
Base	1,560	1,290	610	6,270	9,780

When asked of only service users in the past 12 months, satisfaction with all local authority cultural services asked about tended to be high across the different groups (Table 5.14). Around nine in ten reported being very or fairly satisfied with all services asked about. A lower number – around eight in ten – of those with a condition that caused long-term minor reduced daily capacity reported being very or fairly satisfied with theatres or concert halls. 

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Table 5.14: Satisfaction with local authority culture services by long-term physical or mental health condition; service users in the past 12 months only - Percentage of adults, 2019 data (minimum base: 170)

Adults	Yes, causes long term major reduced daily capacity	Yes, causes long term minor reduced daily capacity	Yes, but no reduced daily capacity	None	All
Libraries
Very/fairly satisfied	88	89	88	90	90
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	6	6	4	5	5
Very/fairly dissatisfied	4	2	6	3	3
No opinion	3	2	2	2	2
Base	320	380	210	2,060	2,980
Museums and galleries
Very/fairly satisfied	87	86	87	88	88
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	9	7	9	7	7
Very/fairly dissatisfied	1	1	2	1	1
No opinion	3	6	2	4	4
Base	210	330	170	2,230	2,950
Theatres or concert halls
Very/fairly satisfied	87	84	92	89	89
Neither satisfied or dissatisfied	7	11	3	6	7
Very/fairly dissatisfied	3	2	1	2	2
No opinion	4	4	4	3	3
Base	280	370	200	2,390	3,250