Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy: Initial Monitoring Report and Monitoring Framework

Short Term Outcomes 11 and 12: More people feel able to participate and engage in their communities

Short Term Outcomes 11 (STO11) and Short Term Outcome 12 (STO12) of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy describes that people are able to participate and engage with their communities. Unlike previous outcomes, these two outcomes are grouped together in the monitoring report because of their close alignment and overlap in the metrics used.

• Short Term Outcome 11: People feel able to participate in their communities
• Short Term Outcome 12: More people feel able to engage with their communities

Metrics for monitoring STO11 and 12 are grouped under an overlapping core component of the outcomes:

• People feel able to participate and engage in their communities

Table 28 presents the specific metrics grouped under each component.  

Table 28: Metrics for Monitoring Short-term Outcomes 11 and 12

The following sections present each of these components and associated metrics in detail, offering insight into baseline measures and observed changes related to STO11 and STO12.

1. People feel able to participate and engage in their communities

The core component of both STO11 and STO12 outcomes that people feel able to participate and engage in their communities. There are six metrics used to monitor this component.  

Percentage of adults living in Scotland who have done formal volunteering in the last 12 months for organisations or groups

The Scottish Household Survey asks adults living in Scotland whether they have participated in formal volunteering in the past 12 months for organisations or groups. This includes activities such as helping in schools, supporting health and wellbeing services, coaching sports, or contributing to local community projects.

Volunteering is linked to better mental health and has been found to reduce depression, anxiety, and stress. It also plays a role in tackling loneliness and social isolation (Nichol et al., 2024).

In 2024, 25% of adults in Scotland reported taking part in formal volunteering in the past 12 months. This represents a three-percentage-point increase from 2022 (22%) and a seven-percentage-point increase from 2023 (18%); both increases were statistically significant.

Among adults who volunteered in 2024, the most common activity was supporting local community or neighbourhood projects, with 24% involved in this type of volunteering. This was also the most common volunteering activity in 2022 (27%).

Percentage of adults living in Scotland reporting influence over local decisions, desire for greater involvement, and perception of how well their council listens to local people before decisions are made

The Scottish Household Survey asks adults living in Scotland about how much influence they feel they have over decisions in their local area, whether they wanted to be more involved in decisions in their local area, and how well they think their council listened to local people before making decisions.

Research shows that people are more likely to engage in local activities when they feel their views are heard and their involvement can make a difference (Volunteer Scotland, 2023).

In 2024:

• 19% of adults felt they could influence decisions affecting their local area, compared with 18% in 2022.
• 33% said they would like to be more involved in decisions made by their council, the same as in 2022.

In 2023 [1], 23% of adults said their council listens well to local people's views before making decisions, compared with 24% in 2022.

Percentage of adults living in Scotland reporting that local people take action to improve their area, by area of deprivation and rural/urban area

The Scottish Household Survey asks adults whether they feel they live in a neighbourhood where local people take action to improve the area.

In 2024, 59% of adults agreed with this statement, a 4-percentage-point decrease from 63% in 2022.

Perceptions varied by area type. In 2024, agreement was higher in rural areas (74%) than in the rest of Scotland (55%). Views also differed by deprivation level, with 42% of adults in the most deprived areas agreeing compared with 68% in the least deprived areas.

Similar inequalities were observed in 2022.

Percentage of adults living in Scotland reporting welcoming neighbourhood spaces and opportunities for connection, by area deprivation

The Scottish Household Survey asks adults living in Scotland whether their neighbourhood is a welcoming place for socialising, whether there are opportunities to meet new people, if people from different backgrounds get along, whether neighbours can be trusted, and whether they feel a strong sense of belonging.

These measures reflect social capital and help create the conditions for community engagement, even if people are not yet actively involved (Volunteer Scotland, 2023).

In 2024,

• 56% of adults said their neighbourhood offers welcoming places and opportunities to meet new people, up from 52% in 2022. This ranged from 49% in the most deprived areas to 63% in the least deprived, a 7-percentage-point narrowing of the inequality since 2022 (43% in the most deprived and 64% in the least).
• 60% of adults said their neighbourhood is a place where people can meet up and socialise, compared with 57% in 2022. Agreement was 51% in the most deprived areas and 67% in the least deprived, narrowing the gap by 3 percentage points since 2022 (47% in the most deprived and 66% in the least).
• 79% of adults said most people in their neighbourhood can be trusted, compared with 82% in 2022. Trust was 64% in the most deprived areas and 88% in the least deprived.
• 34% of adults reported a very strong sense of belonging. This was 25% in the most deprived areas and 40% in the least deprived—representing a 5-percentage-point widening of the inequality since 2022 (when 31% of the most deprived reported belonging compared with 41% in the least deprived areas.)

Percentage of adults reporting feeling lonely, by area of deprivation

The SHeS asks adults how often they felt lonely in the past week.

Loneliness is closely linked to social connection and community engagement, with higher rates often reported in areas where participation, volunteering, and sense of belonging are lower (Leach, 2025).

In 2024, 7% of adults in Scotland said they felt lonely “all or most of the time,” compared with 11% in 2022. This represents a statistically significant decrease. Loneliness remained patterned by deprivation, rising to 13% in 2024 among adults in the most deprived areas compared with 5% in the least deprived.

Percentage of adults living in Scotland reported level of mistrust in institutions

The Scottish Household Survey asks adults living in Scotland about their level of mistrust in various public institutions.

Trust in institutions is closely linked to civic engagement. People who perceive institutions as fair, responsive, and trustworthy are more likely to participate in community life, including volunteering and local decision-making (Trust for Civic Life, 2025).

Table 29 shows that levels of distrust vary across institutions and by deprivation. Distrust is generally higher among adults living in more deprived areas for local services, such as the police (21% vs. 13%) and the justice system (26% vs. 18%). In contrast, distrust in the Scottish Government is slightly higher in the least deprived areas (47% vs. 41%). Trust in the civil service, education system, and health system is relatively consistent across deprivation levels.

Table 29: Percentage of adults reporting level of distrust in public institutions in Scotland by area deprivation, 2023

Source: Scottish Household Survey

Reflections on Short-Term Outcome 11 and 12

Short-term Outcomes 11 and 12 of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy focus on enabling people to participate in and engage with their communities. Most of the available data to monitor these outcomes provides a useful baseline and some early indication of change.

The data shows varied patterns in community participation and engagement. Rates of formal volunteering increased between 2022 and 2024. Measures of influence over local decision-making remain largely unchanged, and only a minority of adults report that their views are taken into account before local decisions are made.

Most adults agree that people in their area take action to improve their community, although this has decreased slightly since 2022. Differences by deprivation and rurality remain, with more positive responses in rural and less deprived areas. Measures relating to neighbourhood cohesion, such as welcoming spaces, opportunities to connect, trust, and sense of belonging, show small increases or decreases depending on the indicator, but inequalities by deprivation persist.

Loneliness has decreased nationally since 2022, although higher levels continue to be reported in the most deprived areas.

Trust in public institutions also differed across communities and types of institution. Distrust was higher in more deprived areas for local services such as the police and justice system, whereas perceptions of the Scottish Government showed slightly higher distrust in less deprived areas. Trust in the civil service, education, and health systems remained relatively consistent across communities.

Footnotes