Health and Care Experience Survey 2025 to 2026: Technical Report

About the respondents

The survey asks a number of questions about the characteristics of the survey respondents. Results for these questions are presented unweighted and alongside relevant Census figures where possible. These results are intended to illustrate how demographically representative the HACE survey sample is.

Sexual Orientation

92% of respondents described themselves as straight / heterosexual. 4% of survey recipients chose not to answer the survey question. 2% described themselves as gay or lesbian, 1% described themselves as bisexual and 1% of respondents described themselves as other sexual orientation.

Scotland’s Census 2022 found that 4% of the population aged 16+ identified as LGBTI, however, in the Census, 8% of respondents did not answer the sexual orientation question and 88% identified as straight / heterosexual.

The majority of respondents described themselves as straight / heterosexual

Table 9: Which of the following best describes your sexual orientation?

Ethnic Group

94% of respondents described their ethnicity as white and 3% described their ethnicity as Asian, Scottish Asian or British Asian. 3% of respondents described themselves as one of Mixed or multiple ethnic groups; African, Scottish African or British African; Caribbean or Black; or Other ethnicity.

This is comparable to the Scotland Census 2022 results, which found that 94% of people described their ethnic group as white and 4% described their ethnic group as Asian, Scottish Asian or British Asian.

The majority of respondents described their ethnicity as white

Table 10: What is your ethnic group?

Long-term Health Conditions

Excluding those who did not answer the question, 50% of respondents said that they did not have a physical or mental health condition lasting or expecting to last 12 months or more.

Half of respondents said that they did not have a physical or mental health condition lasting or expecting to last 12 months or more.

Table 11: Do you have any physical or mental health conditions or illnesses lasting or expected to last 12 months or more?

Excluding those who did not answer the question, 73% of those with a physical or mental health condition lasting or expected to last 12 months or more said that it reduced their ability to carry out day-to-day activities.

27% of those with a long-term condition said that it did not reduce their ability to carry out day-to-day activities

Table 12: Does your condition or illness / do any of your conditions or illnesses reduce your ability to carry out day-to-day activities?