Scotland's People Annual report: Results from 2009 Scottish Household Survey

9 Internet

Introduction and Context

As part of a wider social inclusion agenda, the Scottish Government aims to reduce the digital divide in Scotland through improving awareness, practitioner support, accessibility, basic Information Communications Technology ( ICT) training and public service website services, as well as increasing household access to, and personal use of, the Internet.

The Scottish Household Survey ( SHS) provides statistics on many key indicators against which the success can be measured. This chapter begins by looking at personal use of the Internet by key demographic factors, including age and gender, health status, income and deprivation. It then looks at how take-up by households of Internet and broadband services varies by income and by type of area, with a particular focus on level of deprivation and urban/rural classification.

The final section looks at the extent to which Government and local authority websites are used to access services. The increasing use of ICTs to deliver services is part of the Government's broader commitment to public service reform. In many instances efficiencies can be gained by enabling people to access information or services online that might otherwise require input from staff and services. Increasing the public's use of ICT to access public services is dependent both upon internet access as well as tendency to access the services online. Exploration of the prevalence of internet use amongst different sub-groups of the population helps determine which groups need alternative means of accessing public services.

Personal Internet Use

The following section focuses on those who do not use the Internet at all, the group for whom the barriers to future use are arguably greatest. Overall, 29% of adults do not use the Internet at all which is a slight decrease from the 2007/2008 reported figures of 33%. There is a clear linear relationship between age and use of the Internet, with use declining as respondents get older; just 8% of men and 7% of women aged 16 to 24 do not use the Internet, whereas the corresponding figures for those aged 75 and over are 81% and 90% respectively. Gender also had an impact on Internet use as women are more likely than men to be non-users (31% and 27% respectively). The main differences between genders are among those aged 60 or older, with very little difference between men and women as non-users of the Internet for the younger age groups.

Table 9.1: Use or not of the Internet by age within gender

Column percentages, 2009 data

Adults	16 to 24	25 to 34	35 to 44	45 to 59	60 to 74	75 plus	All
Men
Personal / work	90	86	85	73	49	19	71
Work only	2	3	2	3	1	0	2
Does not use	8	11	13	24	50	81	27
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	452	689	996	1,446	1,279	580	5,442
Women
Personal / work	92	89	85	73	41	10	67
Work only	1	2	2	3	1	-	2
Does not use	7	9	13	25	58	90	31
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	584	997	1,174	1,655	1,646	1,045	7,101

Table 9.2 appears to show that there is an association between health status and Internet use: over half of people who have some form of a long-term illness, health problem or disability do not use the Internet, compared with 21% of those who do not have any of these conditions.

Table 9.2: Use of the Internet by whether has a long-standing limiting illness, health problem or disability

Column percentages, 2009 data

Adults	Has a disability (only)	Has a long-term illness (only)	Has both disability and a long-term illness	Does not	All
Personal / work	42	46	40	77	69
Work only	1	1	1	2	2
Does not use	57	53	59	21	29
Total	100	100	100	100	100
Base	895	1,762	899	8,954	12,510

There is, however, a very strong correlation between health status and age, so the pattern evident in Table 9.2 could be, at least in part, a reflection of the relatively low levels of Internet use among older people who are also more likely to have a long-term illness, health problem or disability. Prevalence of not using the Internet is generally highest where adults have both a disability and long-term illness than for any other group. The general pattern, of higher levels of not using the Internet among those with either a disability or long-term illness or both can be clearly seen among all age groups except the youngest and oldest adults. For the youngest age group (16-24 year olds) having either a disability or long-standing illness does not impact to a great extent upon Internet use. Eight per cent of those with a disability only, 7% of those with a long-standing illness only compared with 7% of those with neither did not use the Internet. However, when the respondents in this age group had both a disability and a long-standing illness the likelihood of them not using the Internet increased markedly to 24%. For those aged 75 or older, the vast majority do not use the Internet regardless of whether they have either a disability or long-term illness, both or neither.

Table 9.3: Use of Internet by whether has a long-standing limiting, illness, health problem or disability by age group

Column percentages, 2009 data

Adults	Has a disability (only)	Has a long-term illness (only)	Has both disability and a long-term illness	Does not	All
16 to 24 (base 1,028)
Internet user	92	93	76	93	93
Does not use the Internet at all	8	7	24	7	7
25 to 34 (base 1,685)
Internet user	64	80	79	91	90
Does not use the Internet at all	36	20	21	9	10
35 to 44 (base 2,165)
Internet user	63	67	80	90	87
Does not use the Internet at all	37	33	20	10	13
45 to 59 (base 3,091)
Internet user	59	60	52	81	76
Does not use the Internet at all	41	40	48	19	24
60 to 74 (base 2,916)
Internet user	28	36	34	53	46
Does not use the Internet at all	72	64	66	47	54
75 plus (base 1,625)
Internet user	13	10	8	18	14
Does not use the Internet at all	87	90	92	82	86

The proportion of those having neither a disability nor a long-term illness who do not use the Internet remains at similar, relatively low, levels until the age of 45. In contrast, the proportion of those with either a disability or a long-term illness increases greatly between the ages of 16-24 (8% disability; 7% long-term illness) and 25-34 (36% disability; 20% long-term illness), continuing to increase further after this age.

There are also marked differences in the use of the Internet by the level of net annual household income. In general, the proportion of people who do not use the Internet decreases as net annual income increases. The exception is those living in households with a net annual income of under £6,000, which is comparatively low at 45% compared to next income group (57%). Only 4% of those in households with incomes in excess of £40,000 do not use the Internet

Table 9.4: Use of the Internet by net annual household income

Column percentages, 2009 data

Adults	£0 - £6,000	£6,001 - £10,000	£10,001 - £15,000	£15,001 - £20,000	£20,001 - £25,000	£25,001 - £30,000	£30,001 - £40,000	£40,001+	All
Personal / work	54	43	48	61	71	81	88	94	70
Work only	1	1	1	3	2	2	2	1	2
Does not use	45	57	50	36	27	17	10	4	29
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	632	1,673	2,453	1,851	1,392	1,106	1,517	1,487	12,111

Household income in the SHS is that of the highest income householder and their partner only. Includes all adults for whom household income is known or has been imputed. Excludes refusals/don't know responses.

Table 9.5 presents data on Internet use by deprivation. ⁵⁸ A much higher proportion of those living in the 15% most deprived areas of Scotland do not use the Internet compared with those living in the rest of the country (42% and 27% respectively).

Table 9.5: Use of the Internet by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation

Column percentages, 2009 data

Adults	15% most deprived	Rest of Scotland	Scotland
Personal / work	57	71	69
Work only	1	2	2
Does not use	42	27	29
Total	100	100	100
Base	1,791	10,740	12,531

Home INternet Access

The previous section focused on use of the Internet, the location of which can vary. This section now looks at the prevalence of home Internet access. The SHS has asked whether households can access the Internet from their home every year since 2003.

Figure 9.1 displays the figures for homes with Internet access by quarter from 2003 to 2009. Overall, two-thirds of Scottish households report having home Internet access in 2009. The proportion of households with home Internet access has seen a gradual increase year on year, with no apparent change in the overall rate of change each year. In the first quarter of 2003, 40% of households had Internet access which has increased to 67% by the end of 2009.

Figure 9.1: Households with home Internet access by quarter

2003-2009 data, Households (base 2009: 11,039)

As with the previous data presented on Internet use, home Internet access increases with net annual household income (Table 9.6), although again there is a break in the pattern for income bracket £6,001-£10,000. Around a third of households with incomes between £6,001-£15,000 have home Internet access. This uptake of home Internet access increases with income, with as many as 97% of households with incomes over £40,000 having home Internet access.

Table 9.6: Households with home Internet access by net annual household income

Column percentages, 2009 data

Households	£0 - £6,000	£6,001 - £10,000	£10,001 - £15,000	£15,001 - £20,000	£20,001 - £25,000	£25,001 - £30,000	£30,001 - £40,000	£40,001+	All
Yes	42	34	44	62	78	84	91	97	66
No	58	66	55	38	22	16	9	3	34
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	555	1,435	2,074	1,604	1,228	966	1,392	1,366	10,620

This question is only asked of half of the sample.

Household income in the SHS is that of the highest income householder and their partner only. Includes all adults for whom household income is known or has been imputed. Excludes refusals/don't know responses.

Table 9.7 and Table 9.8 report the prevalence of home Internet access by type of area, based on the Urban Rural Classification and the level of area deprivation. The proportion of households with home Internet access is higher in rural areas than in small towns and urban areas, though the difference has narrowed since 2008. Households within accessible rural areas have the highest proportion of households with home Internet access at 71%, which compares to 64% to those in urban areas. The proportion of those living in remote small towns who have home Internet access is the lowest at 61%.

Table 9.7: Households with home Internet access by Urban Rural Classification

Column percentages, 2009 data

Households	Large urban areas	Other urban areas	Accessible small towns	Remote small towns	Accessible rural	Remote rural	Scotland
Yes	64	64	65	61	71	68	65
No	35	36	35	39	28	32	35
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	4,131	3,196	896	570	1,179	1,057	11,029

This question is only asked of half of the sample.

Households in the 15% most deprived areas of Scotland are much less likely than those in the rest of Scotland to have home Internet access, at 51% and 68% respectively (Table 9.8).

Table 9.8: Households with home Internet access by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation

Column percentages, 2009 data

Households	15% most deprived	Rest of Scotland	Scotland
Yes	51	68	65
No	49	32	35
Total	100	100	100
Base	1,654	9,375	11,029

This question is only asked of half of the sample.

Access to Broadband

The following section looks at access to broadband services by net annual income, both for households with an Internet connection and for all households. Drawing a distinction between those with and without Internet access helps to illustrate the extent of broadband use across the whole population as well as its use among existing Internet users. Broadband access is important as the increasingly complex ways in which the Internet is used often demand the higher connection and download speeds associated with broadband relative to dial-up access.

Almost two thirds (63%) of all households in Scotland report having a broadband Internet connection. This varies from around one third of households with incomes of £10,000 or less to 95% of those with incomes of over £40,000. In households that already have Internet access, however, the majority (95%) have a broadband connection. Households with a net annual household income of more than £30,000 have almost complete uptake of broadband at 98%. As Table 9.9 demonstrates, the issue is more one of whether a respondent has Internet access at all since, if they do, this is more than likely to be with a broadband connection, largely irrespective of income.

Table 9.9: Whether have broadband Internet connection by net annual household income

Column percentages, 2009 data

Households	£0 - £6,000	£6,001 - £10,000	£10,001 - £15,000	£15,001 - £20,000	£20,001 - £25,000	£25,001 - £30,000	£30,001 - £40,000	£40,001+	All
Households with Internet connection
Yes	94	92	93	92	95	96	98	98	95
No	5	7	5	7	4	4	2	2	4
Total	99	99	98	99	99	100	100	100	99
Base	224	483	916	986	949	813	1,278	1,322	6,971
All households
Yes	39	31	42	58	74	80	89	95	63
No	60	68	58	42	25	19	10	5	37
Total	99	99	100	100	99	99	99	100	100
Base	555	1,435	2,074	1,604	1,228	966	1,392	1,366	10,620

Totals do not sum to 100 as the "don't knows" have not been included.

This question is only asked of half of the sample.

Household income in the SHS is that of the highest income householder and their partner only. Includes all adults for whom household income is known or has been imputed. Excludes refusals/don't know responses.

Broadband access is fairly consistent at around 62% of all households across most types of area using the Scottish Government Urban Rural Classification (Table 9.10). The exceptions are remote small towns, in which broadband access is lowest at 56%, and accessible rural areas, in which it is highest at 68%. However, the higher percentage of all households with broadband access in accessible rural areas would seem to reflect the higher Internet access in such areas generally. When considering broadband uptake within households that have Internet access there is little difference by area type, though those in remote small towns and remote rural areas have a lower proportion of households with broadband Internet connection (91% and 90% respectively) compared to other areas.

Overall, just under one half (48%) of all households in the 15% most deprived areas of Scotland have a broadband Internet connection, compared with almost two thirds (65%) in the rest of Scotland (Table 9.11). However, when looking at households with an Internet connection, broadband uptake rates are very similar in the 15% most deprived of areas and the rest of Scotland (94% for the 15% most deprived areas and 95% for the rest of Scotland).

Table 9.10: Whether have broadband Internet connection by Urban Rural Classification

Column percentages, 2009 data

Households	Large urban areas	Other urban areas	Accessible small towns	Remote small towns	Accessible rural	Remote rural	Scotland
Households with Internet connection
Yes	96	96	96	91	95	90	95
No	3	3	4	6	5	9	4
Total	99	99	100	97	100	99	99
Base	2,627	2,022	589	344	843	727	7,152
All households
Yes	62	61	62	56	68	61	62
No	38	38	38	42	32	38	37
Total	100	99	100	98	100	99	99
Base	4,131	3,196	896	570	1,179	1,057	11,029

Totals do not sum to 100 as the "don't knows" have not been included.

This question is only asked of half of the sample.

Table 9.11: Whether have broadband Internet connection by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation

Column percentages, 2009 data

Households	15% most deprived	Rest of Scotland	Scotland
Households with Internet connection
Yes	94	95	95
No	5	4	4
Total	100	99	99
Base	838	6,314	7,152
All households
Yes	48	65	62
No	51	35	37
Total	100	99	99
Base	1,654	9,375	11,029

Totals do not sum to 100 as the "don't knows" have not been included.

This question is only asked of half of the sample.

Broadband uptake appears to be more related to the rurality of the local area and the availability of a broadband service there than it is to the level of deprivation in the area or the household income.

Use of Local Authority and Government Websites

The SHS explored the part played by ICT-based service delivery in reforming the public sector through first of all asking about accessing services and information from respondents' local council website and then asking about services and information provided by a government website (though the question did not refer to any particular websites). Typically, users of both local authority and government websites access the sites for distinct reasons: information and practical services respectively.

Table 9.12: Use of public services on the Internet

Column percentages, 2009 data

Adults	Internet users	All adults
Local authority website
Finding information	38	31
Download a form	13	11
Make a complaint	5	4
Ask a question	7	6
Participate in a discussion forum	1	1
Access services like report a fault, renew library books, planning applications	8	6
Make payment like council tax or parking fine	7	6
Some other purpose	9	7
Any purpose	47	38
None of these	53	32
Do not use the Internet	-	29
Base	9,701	12,430
Government website
Apply for road tax	27	22
Complete income tax assessment	7	5
Register to vote	5	4
Look for information: health services	14	12
Look for information: healthy living/health	10	8
Apply for / renew TV licence	13	11
Apply for benefits	4	3
Renew passport	9	7
Other	7	6
Any purpose	46	38
None of these	54	33
Do not use the Internet	-	29
Base	5,276	6,736

Columns may add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.

The question on use of government websites was only asked of half the sample.

Table 9.12 presents the proportions that have ever used a local authority or government website based on all of those who use the Internet and on all adults separately. The figures for all adults help present a fuller picture of the use of these websites as they take into account the fact that 29% of the population do not use the Internet. This helps to assess the overall extent to which services or information are provided via ICT as opposed to more traditional methods. It does not, however, take account of whether people have actually needed to access information or use these services in the first place - for example, only car owners require road tax and few people each year need to renew their passport.

Over half of all internet users make no use of either local authority websites (53%) or government websites (54%) in using the Internet. Interestingly, only 1% of internet users participate in a discussion forum in using local authority websites, which in part may reflect the role such websites are expected to provide in simply providing information or access to services.