Scotland's People Annual Report: Results from 2012 Scottish Household Survey

11 Local Services

Introduction and context

Public services, many of which are delivered at local level, are of great importance to the people of Scotland. The quality of these services is crucial to the shaping of a flourishing, productive and equitable Scotland. Local public services are changing to respond to the social, demographic and economic challenges of the twenty-first century. Scotland's 32 local authorities work closely with other organisations (through Community Planning Partnerships) to plan and deliver a wide range of services that improve the lives of people living in their areas.

As part of the National Performance Framework (NPF), which is supported by local councils, one of the Scottish Government's national outcomes is that 'our public services are high quality, continually improving, efficient and responsive to local people's needs'. There are also two National Indicators relating to public services: 'improve people's perceptions of the quality of public services' (National Indicator 33) and 'improve the responsiveness of public services' (National Indicator 34). Progress on these two indicators is monitored using data from the Scottish Household Survey (SHS). Many local authorities also use the SHS to assess progress towards their Single Outcome Agreements (a statement of the outcomes that they want to see for their local area).

This chapter begins by exploring satisfaction with the quality of local services and attitudes to involvement in local decision making. It then reports respondents' views on local authority performance and convenience of local services. This chapter also looks in more detail at household waste and use of council run parks and open spaces, as examples of specific services or amenities that are provided at local level.

Main Findings

• In 2012, 63% of adults were satisfied with three public services: local health services, schools and public transport. The corresponding figure in 2007 was 57%.
• In 2012, around one-fifth (21%) of adults agreed that they can influence decisions affecting their local area and around a third (33%) said they would like to be more involved in the decisions their council makes.
• Generally, older adults are more likely than younger adults to say they are satisfied with local government performance and less likely to want to be more involved in making decisions. Adults in higher income households are more likely to want to be involved in decisions that affect the local area than those from lower income households.
• Adults who live in rural areas are less likely to say local services would be convenient to access than those in small towns and urban areas. This was particularly the case for public transport, dentists and chemists/pharmacists.
• In the week before interview, almost three in four (73%) households disposed of food waste in the general waste with other rubbish. A quarter of households used a local authority provided caddy/receptacle/bin while one in ten households disposed of food waste in home composting.
• Two in five (42 per cent) adults visited Scotland's outdoors one or more times per week in 2012. A further one in five (19 per cent) made a visit to the outdoors at least once a month, and another fifth (20 per cent) did not make any visits to the outdoors.
• Just over a third of those living in the 20 per cent most deprived areas in Scotland visited the outdoors at least once a week compared to nearly half of those in the 20 per cent least deprived areas (35 per cent versus 46 per cent). In addition, under a third of adults (28 per cent) living in the 20 per cent most deprived areas did not make any visits to the outdoors, compared to just over 10 per cent of people in the 20 per cent least deprived areas.
• Seven in ten adults (71 per cent) in Scotland have access to a useable greenspace (apart from their own garden) that they could walk to within six minutes (12 per cent would have to walk more than 13 minutes). Adults who live less six minutes or less from useable greenspace are four times more likely to use it every day or several times a week than those who live more than a ten minute walk from useable greenspace (35 per cent versus 9 per cent). Those who use their local greenspace every day or several times a week are considerably more likely to say that their health is good or very good than those who never use their local greenspace (80 per cent versus 65 per cent).
• Almost three quarters of adults are satisfied with their local greenspace (73 per cent), with almost one in ten (9%) being dissatisfied.

Local service quality

The Scottish Government's National Indicator to 'improve people's perceptions of the quality of public services' is measured by the percentage of adults who say they are (very or fairly) satisfied with three public services: local health services, schools and public transport. The percentage of adults who said they were very or fairly satisfied with these services fell from 66% in 2011 to 63% in 2012 (Table 11.1).

Looking at the services individually, adults tend to be most satisfied with local health services, followed by local schools and public transport. In 2012, 87% of adults were satisfied with local health services, compared to 72% who were satisfied with public transport. The percentage of people who were very or fairly satisfied with each service compared to 2011 has fallen for all three services.

Table 11.1: Percentage of people very or fairly satisfied with the quality of public services delivered (local health services, local schools and public transport) by year

Percentages, 2007-2012 data

Adults	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Local health services	81	85	86	86	88	87
Local Schools	79	81	83	83	85	83
Public Transport	69	73	75	74	76	72
% satisfied with all three services*	57	62	65	64	66	63
Base	10,080	9,160	9,630	8,950	9,610	9,830

* Percentages reported for all three services combined are those for which an opinion was given. Respondents could express no opinion for up to two of the services.

Involvement in local decision making

The Commission on the Future Delivery of Public Services report^[74] (2011) highlighted the importance of ensuring that our public services are built around people and communities. The National Performance Framework also includes a National Indicator which aims to 'improve the responsiveness of public services'. This is measured as the percentage of adults who agree that they can influence decisions affecting their local area. Typically, just over one in five adults agree with this statement (Table 11.2). The figure has increased from 19.6% in 2007 to 21.5 % in 2012.

Table 11.2: Percentage of people who agree with the statement 'I can influence decisions affecting my local area' by year

Percentages, 2007-2012 data

Adults	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Can influence decisions	19.6	21.7	21.8	21.3	22.4	21.5
Base	10,230	9,250	9,710	9,020	9,660	9,890

The proportion of adults who agree that they would like greater involvement in the decisions affecting their local area tends to be higher than those who perceive they can influence them. In 2012, 33% of adults said they would like to be more involved in the decisions their council makes that affects their local area, compared to 21% who felt they can influence decisions affecting their local area (Figure 11.1). In 2012, a quarter (25%) of adults agreed that their council is good at listening to local people's views before it takes decisions.

Perceptions of local authority services and performance

Figure 11.1 shows the percentage of adults who agreed (strongly or slightly) with a number of statements about different aspects of their local authority's performance. The highest level of agreement was almost half (48%) who said their council is good at letting people know about the kinds of services it provides. The lowest levels of agreement were with statements about being able to influence decisions and the council being good at listening to local people's views.

Figure 11.1: Percentage agreeing with various statements about local authority services and performance

2012 data, Adults (base: 9,890)

Table 11.3 shows there are some differences by age group in agreement with statements about local authority services and performance. Generally, older adults are more likely than younger adults to say they are satisfied with the performance statements about local government services and less likely to want to be more involved in making decisions. Around a half of 60-74 year olds and those 75 years and over agreed with the statement that their council does the best it can with the money available, compared to around 31% of 16-34 year olds. The strongest desire to participate in local decision-making was shown by those aged 25 to 44, with 39% of both 25 to 34 year olds and 35 to 44 year olds saying they would like to have greater involvement with decisions affecting their local area.

Table 11.3: Percentage agreeing with various statements about local council services by age

Percentages, 2012 data

Adults	16 to 24	25 to 34	35 to 44	45 to 59	60 to 74	75 plus	All
My local council is good at letting people know about the kinds of services it provides	41	40	45	47	57	57	48
My local council provides high quality services	42	42	42	42	47	54	44
My council is good at letting local people know how well it is performing	29	32	36	43	53	51	41
My local council designs its services around the needs of the people who use them	37	36	39	39	44	49	40
My local council does the best it can with the money available	31	31	39	41	49	52	40
My local council is addressing the key issues affecting the quality of life in my local neighbourhood	29	30	34	33	42	45	35
My council is good at listening to local people's views before it takes decisions	23	21	24	22	29	33	25
I can influence decisions affecting my local area	22	20	24	22	23	14	21
I would like to be more involved in the decisions my council makes that affect my local area	31	39	39	37	28	16	33
Base	780	1,380	1,550	2,460	2,440	1,290	9,890

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

Table 11.4 shows the differences in agreement with statements about local authority performance by net annual household income. Adults in households with incomes between £6,001 - £20,000 were more likely to agree with the majority of these statements than adults in households in higher household income bands or the lowest income band. The notable exceptions were the statements around influencing decisions and being involved in decisions that affect the local area. In these instances, the higher income groups were most likely to agree. For example, just over a quarter (27%) of adults with a household income of between £6001 and £10,000 said they would like to be more involved in council decision-making, compared to 41% of those earning £40,001 or more.

Table 11.4: Percentage agreeing with various statements about local council services by net annual household income

Percentages, 2012 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
My local council is good at letting people know about the kinds of services it provides	44	49	50	51	47	45	46	47	48
My local council provides high quality services	37	47	44	47	42	42	42	46	44
My council is good at letting local people know how well it is performing	39	48	44	48	40	39	37	36	41
My local council designs its services around the needs of the people who use them	34	42	43	44	38	39	36	42	40
My local council does the best it can with the money available	38	43	43	43	40	39	36	39	40
My local council is addressing the key issues affecting the quality of life in my local neighbourhood	34	38	36	39	34	37	30	35	35
My council is good at listening to local people's views before it takes decisions	25	30	28	28	24	21	20	23	25
I can influence decisions affecting my local area	17	19	18	20	20	22	21	28	21
I would like to be more involved in the decisions my council makes that affect my local area	26	27	26	29	34	38	36	41	33
Base	290	1,100	1,870	1,540	1,260	900	1,190	1,380	9,530

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

Table 11.5 looks at differences in agreement with statements about local authority performance by the level of deprivation of the area, as defined using the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) and divided into quintiles^[75]. The levels of agreement for 'my council is good at listening to local people's views before it takes decisions' were highest for the 20% most deprived areas. For all other statements, the levels of agreement for the 20% most deprived areas were below the overall average. In the most deprived areas, 43% of adults agreed that services were high quality, compared with 45% in the least deprived areas. Perceptions of being able to influence decisions and the desire to be involved in decision-making were lower in the 20% most deprived areas compared to the least deprived areas.

Table 11.4 and Table 11.5 reveal slightly different results when looking at views on council services by two different measures of disadvantage (household income and area based deprivation as measured by the SIMD). Overall, adults in lower income households were more likely to view council services more positively than those in higher income groups, while the reverse is true for those in more deprived areas. It is not known why this is the case, but it is important to note that the SIMD measures deprivation and not affluence, so income alone offers a different perspective. The approach used within the SIMD assumes that there are a number of different aspects that all contribute to deprivation. The perception of being able to influence decisions and the desire to be involved in decision-making were lower for both lower income groups and those in the most deprived areas.

Table 11.5: Percentage agreeing with various statements about local council services by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation

Percentages, 2012 data

	< 20% most deprived			20% least deprived >
Adults	1	2	3	4	5	All
My local council is good at letting people know about the kinds of services it provides	45	47	46	50	50	48
My local council provides high quality services	43	43	42	48	45	44
My council is good at letting local people know how well it is performing	40	41	41	42	40	41
My local council designs its services around the needs of the people who use them	38	40	40	41	41	40
My local council does the best it can with the money available	39	41	40	41	40	40
My local council is addressing the key issues affecting the quality of life in my local neighbourhood	33	34	34	36	36	35
My council is good at listening to local people's views before it takes decisions	27	26	24	24	23	25
I can influence decisions affecting my local area	20	20	20	24	23	21
I would like to be more involved in the decisions my council makes that affect my local area	30	32	34	35	34	33
Base	1,880	2,080	2,150	2,120	1,670	9,890

Convenience of local Services

The SHS asks adults how convenient or inconvenient they would find it to make use of a selected range of local services during their normal opening hours, assuming they needed to. With the exception of hospital outpatients, at least three quarters (74%) of adults surveyed said they would find the services (very or fairly) convenient if they needed to use them (Figure 11.2). Over nine-in-ten (93%) said they would find shopping for small amounts of food convenient, which was the highest percentage for any of the services listed. Only 60% of adults said they would find hospital outpatient services convenient, which was the lowest percentage for any of the services listed.

Figure 11.2: Percentage who would find various local services very or fairly convenient

2012 data, Adults (base: 9,890)

Table 11.6 shows that adults who live in rural areas^[76] were less likely to say services would be convenient to access than those in small towns and urban areas. This was particularly the case for public transport, with 58% of adults in remote rural areas saying they would find public transport convenient to access, compared with 92% of those in large urban areas. A much higher proportion of adults in urban areas also said dentists and chemists were convenient compared to those in remote rural areas.

Table 11.6: Percentage finding services very or fairly convenient by Urban Rural Classification

Percentages, 2012 data

Adults	Large urban areas	Other urban areas	Accessible small towns	Remote small towns	Accessible rural	Remote rural	Scotland
Small amount of grocery or food shopping	95	94	96	96	86	88	93
Chemist/pharmacist	92	90	93	91	77	73	88
Cash machine or ATM	90	89	93	94	74	77	87
Public transport	86	84	91	90	80	83	85
Doctors surgery	92	88	82	79	65	58	84
Post office	86	85	88	90	77	80	84
Petrol station	79	79	79	75	62	54	75
Dentist	73	79	72	86	65	67	74
Banking services	76	78	78	87	59	61	74
Hospital outpatient department	65	63	49	72	51	46	60
Base	3,270	2,990	890	590	1,050	1,100	9,890

Waste

This section looks at the methods used to dispose of food waste across Scotland.

Figure 11.3: Methods used to dispose of food waste in the past week

2012 data, Households (base: 3,460)

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

Figure 11.3 shows that in the week before interview, almost three in four (73%) households disposed of food waste in the general waste with other rubbish. A quarter of households used a local authority provided caddy/receptacle/bin while one in ten households disposed of food waste in home composting.

Visits to the outdoors and access to greenspace

Increasing people's participation in physical activity is a priority of the Scottish Government, which includes a National Indicator on encouraging greater use of Scotland's outdoors. Visits to the outdoors and access to good quality greenspace is associated with higher levels of physical activity and improved quality of life, including better health and wellbeing. In addition to bringing people into closer contact with the natural environment, enjoyment of the outdoors also helps people to understand better the many social, economic and environmental benefits nature and biodiversity has to offer.

Other research has also shown that being very satisfied with the quality of your local greenspace is associated with higher life satisfaction, greater social trust and a higher sense of community cohesion.^[77] The impacts of greenspace and the wider neighbourhood physical environment on health are recognised in 'Equally Well',^[78] the Scottish Government's strategic framework on health inequalities, and in 'Good Places, Better Health'^[79] which seeks to improve evidence-based policy making in relation to physical environments and health.

This section starts by looking at key factors and characteristics associated with visits to Scotland's outdoors for leisure and recreation purposes. This is followed by examining people's use of local greenspaces. Consideration is given to how accessible people's nearest local greenspaces are and how this affects how often they use them, as well as the associations between these two factors and self-perception of health. The section then looks at peoples' satisfaction with local greenspaces across a range of characteristics.

From January 2012 there were changes to the SHS questionnaire to ask about visits to the outdoors and access to local greenspace. A new question on visits to the outdoors was included to replace a similar question in the Scottish Recreation Survey, which has provided the data for measuring the Scottish Government's visits to the outdoors National Indicator^[80]. An additional question on satisfaction with local greenspace was also introduced.

It should be noted that the greenspace questions used in 2012 differed from the wording agreed in 2011. In particular, the response options on the distance of a person's nearest local greenspace were changed. Following consultation with key stakeholders and users of the data, it has been agreed that from 2013 the responses options on this question will return to asking about greenspace that is less than 5 minutes' walk away. The intention is to provide meaningful time series data in the longer term.

Visits to Scotland's outdoors for leisure or recreation

Increasing the number of adults making visits to the outdoors at least once a week is a National Indicator of the Scottish Government. Outdoor visits for leisure and recreation purposes includes visits to both urban and countryside open spaces, for example, to woodland, parks, farmland, paths and beaches and for a range of purposes, such as walking, running, mountain biking or kayaking. The social, economic and environmental benefits to be gained from people's use of the outdoors includes improved quality of life, better health and well-being, greater understanding of the natural world, economic development and stronger communities.

Figure 11.4 shows that 42% of Scottish adults are estimated to have visited Scotland's outdoors one or more times per week in 2012. This is consistent with the results of the 2012 Scottish Recreation Survey, which the National Indicator is currently based on. The chart also shows that a further fifth of adults (19%) made a visit to the outdoors at least once a month, and another fifth of Scottish adults (20%) did not make any visits to the outdoors.

Figure 11.4: Frequency of visits made to the outdoors

2012 data, Adults (base: 9,890)

Table 11.7 shows that there is substantial variation in the proportion of adults making visits to the outdoors by deprivation areas. Just over a third of those living in the 20% most deprived areas in Scotland visited the outdoors at least once a week compared to nearly half of those in the 20% least deprived areas (35% versus 46%). In addition, under a third of adults (28%) living in the 20% most deprived areas did not make any visits to the outdoors, compared to just over 10% of people in the 20% least deprived areas.

Table 11.7: Frequency of visits made to the outdoors by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation quintiles

Column percentages, 2012 data

	< 20% most deprived			20% least deprived >
Adults	1	2	3	4	5	Scotland
One or more times per week	35	37	44	48	46	42
At least once a month	16	16	17	20	24	19
At least once a year	21	22	19	18	18	20
Not at all	28	24	20	14	12	20
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	1,880	2,080	2,150	2,120	1,670	9,890

Table 11.8 shows visits to the outdoors made by people living in the 10% most deprived areas compared to people resident in the rest of Scotland. This shows that while 32% of people in the 10% most deprived areas visited the outdoors at least once a week, this is less than the 43% of people in the rest of the country making similar visits. In addition, a third of people in the 10% most deprived areas never visited the outdoors, which is considerably higher than those in the rest of Scotland (31% versus 18%).

Table 11.8: Frequency of visits made to the outdoors by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation bottom 10% compared to the rest of Scotland

Column percentages, 2012 data

Adults	10% most deprived	Rest of Scotland	Scotland
One or more times per week	32	43	42
At least once a month	16	19	19
At least once a year	21	20	20
Not at all	31	18	20
Total	100	100	100
Base	960	8,930	9,890

Table 11.9 shows visits to the outdoors by gender and age group. The data suggests that men were slightly more likely than women to visit the outdoors at least once a week (44% versus 41%), though there was very little difference between men and women visiting the outdoors less often or not at all.

Table 11.9: Frequency of visits made to the outdoors by age group and gender

Column percentages, 2012 data

Adults	Male	Female	16-24	25-34	35-44	45-59	60-74	75+	All
One or more times per week	44	41	42	44	45	44	44	23	42
At least once a month	19	18	18	22	24	19	15	12	19
At least once a year	18	21	22	22	19	19	18	20	20
Not at all	19	20	18	12	13	17	24	45	20
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	4,410	5,490	780	1,380	1,550	2,460	2,440	1,290	9,890

Table 11.9 also shows variations in visits made to the outdoors by age group. Just under a quarter (23%) of those in the over-75 age group made visits to the outdoors at least once a week. Almost half (45%) of the same age group never visited the outdoors in the last year. Those from the other age groups were the most frequent visitors to the outdoors, though there was very little difference overall between the 16-74 age groups.

Availability and accessibility of local greenspaces

The previous section examined people's visits to any outdoor space in Scotland. This next section explores people's access to, and use of, greenspace in their local neighbourhood and how satisfied they are with that greenspace. A number of Scottish local authorities are working to develop accessibility standards for their open space in line with national planning guidance. In most cases, the accessibility standard is taken to be equivalent to a five minute walk^[81] to the nearest usable open space. ^[82]

Figure 11.5 shows that over two thirds (71%) of adults in Scotland had access to a useable local greenspace that is within a six minute walk from their home.

Figure 11.5: Walking distance to nearest useable greenspace

2012 data, Adults (base: 9,680)

Table 11.10 shows that access to local greenspace differs by area deprivation levels. More than half (61%) of those living in the 20% most deprived areas of Scotland have access to a useable greenspace within a six minute walk, rising to 75% of people in the top three least deprived areas. Those in the most deprived areas are around twice as likely as those in the least deprived areas to say that a local greenspace area that they and their family can use is more than a 14 minute walk away (19% versus 9%).

Table 11.10: Walking distance to nearest greenspace by SIMD

Column percentages, 2012 data

	< 20% most deprived			20% least deprived >
Adults	1	2	3	4	5	Scotland
6 minutes or less	61	70	75	75	75	71
7-13 minutes	20	16	15	14	16	16
14 minutes or more	19	14	9	11	9	12
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	1,840	2,020	2,100	2,080	1,650	9,680

Table 11.11 shows that there is an association between access to greenspace and how people rate their neighbourhood as a place to live. Three quarters (75%) of adults who rate their neighbourhood as a very good place to live say they have access to useable greenspace within a six minute walk, compared to 60% of those rating their neighbourhood as very poor. It is not possible to say from this survey data the strength of the influence, if any, that accessibility of greenspace has on rating of neighbourhood.

Table 11.11: Walking distance to nearest greenspace by rating of neighbourhood as place to live

Column percentages, 2012 data

Adults	Very good	Fairly good	Fairly poor	Very poor	All
6 minutes or less	75	68	62	60	71
7-13 minutes	15	18	21	17	16
14 minutes or more	10	15	17	22	12
Total	100	100	100	100	100
Base	5,550	3,540	400	170	9,670

Frequency of use of greenspace

Figure 11.6 shows that less than a third (28%) of adults use their local greenspace either every day or several times a week. This is lower than those who use them more infrequently (40% in total), or not at all (32%).

Figure 11.6: Frequency of how often uses nearest useable greenspace

2012 data, Adults (base: 9,660)

Table 11.12 shows a link between how far people have to walk to reach their local greenspace and how often they use it. Adults who live less than a 6 minute walk from useable greenspace are more than twice as likely to use it every day or several times a week than those who live a 7-13 minute walk away (35% versus 14%), and they are nearly four times more likely to use it every day or several times a week than those who live more than 14 minutes' walk away (35% versus 9%). Similarly, those who live more than a 14 minute walk from useable greenspace are more likely to say they never use it than those who live less than a 6 minute walk away (43% versus 29%).

Table 11.12: How far away nearest useable greenspace is by how often greenspace is used

Column percentages, 2012 data

Adults	6 minutes or less	7-13 minutes	14 minutes or more	All
Every day / Several times a week	35	14	9	28
Once a week or less	36	49	48	40
Not at all	29	37	43	32
Total	100	100	100	100
Base	6,820	1,620	1,220	9,660

Frequency of use of local greenspace differs considerably by area deprivation levels (Table 11.13). Around a fifth (21%) of those in the most deprived areas use their local greenspace every day or several times a week, compared to under a third (29%) of people in the least deprived areas and over a third (34%) of people in the second least deprived areas. Similarly nearly a quarter (24%) of those people living in the least deprived areas say they never use their local greenspace, but this rises to 40% of those living in the most deprived areas.

Table 11.13: How often visits nearest greenspace by SIMD

Column percentages, 2012 data

	< 20% most deprived			20% least deprived >
Adults	1	2	3	4	5	Scotland
Every day / Several times a week	21	24	33	34	29	28
Once a week or less	39	37	37	39	47	40
Not at all	40	39	30	27	24	32
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	1,830	2,010	2,100	2,080	1,650	9,660

Greenspace and health

Table 11.14 shows that those adults who have a useable greenspace within a six minute walk from their home are more likely to say their health in general has been very good or good than those whose nearest useable greenspace is more than fourteen minutes' walk away (75% versus 69%). Again, it is not possible to say from this data the strength of influence of accessibility to greenspace on health, merely that there is an association. However, separate research has found that people who use greenspace regularly are more likely to be physically active, which in turn can have benefits both on people's physical health and their mental wellbeing^[83]. Scottish Government funded research due to report shortly examines further the links between greenspace and physical and mental health^[84].

Table 11.14: Walking distance to nearest greenspace by self-perception of health

Row percentages, 2012 data

Adults	Very Good/ Good	Fair	Very Bad/ Bad	Total	Base
6 minutes or less	75	19	6	100	6,830
7-13 minutes	72	20	8	100	1,620
14 minutes or more	69	22	9	100	1,220
All	74	20	6	100	9,680

Table 11.15 shows that those who use their local greenspace every day or several times a week are much more likely to say that their health in general is good or very good than those who don't use it at all (80% versus 65%). Similarly those who never use their local greenspace are almost three times more likely than those who use it every day or several times a week to say their health is bad or very bad (11% versus 4%). Again it is not possible to say from this data whether using greenspace improves health or whether those who are healthy are more likely to use their local greenspace and to what extent bad health may be limiting greenspace use.

Table 11.15: How often visits nearest greenspace by self-perception of health

Row percentages, 2012 data

Adults	Very Good/ Good	Fair	Very Bad/ Bad	Total	Base
Every day / Several times a week	80	16	4	100	2,810
Once a week or less	77	19	5	100	3,630
Not at all	65	24	11	100	3,210
All	74	20	6	100	9,660

Satisfaction with local greenspaces

The previous section was concerned with adults' access to and use of their nearest greenspace. This next section presents data specifically on satisfaction with those greenspaces.

Figure 11.7 shows that nearly three quarters of adults are satisfied with their local greenspace (73%), with 9% being dissatisfied.

Figure 11.7: Satisfaction with local greenspaces

2012 data, Adults (base: 9,680)

Table 11.16 shows levels of satisfaction with local greenspaces by gender and age group. There is no difference between men and women's satisfaction with their local greenspace, though women are slightly more likely than men to report that they are dissatisfied (10% versus 8%).

Across all age groups, at least seven in ten people are satisfied with their local greenspace. The highest levels of dissatisfaction, compared to the adult population as a whole, can be found in the 35-44 age group (12%). Those aged 75 or over are less likely to be dissatisfied compared with any other age group (4%). The lower level of dissatisfaction expressed by those in the oldest age group can be explained, in part at least, by the higher proportion of people in this category saying they have no opinion (15%).

Table 11.16: Satisfaction with local greenspaces by gender and age group

Column percentages, 2012 data

Adults	Male	Female	16-24	25-34	35-44	45-59	60-74	75+	All
Satisfied	73	72	70	73	75	73	74	71	73
Neither	11	10	11	10	8	11	10	11	10
Dissatisfied	8	10	9	11	12	10	8	4	9
No opinion	7	7	9	6	4	6	8	15	7
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	4,310	5,370	770	1,340	1,530	2,420	2,390	1,240	9,680

Table 11.17 shows that there is considerable variation in satisfaction with greenspaces when looking at area deprivation levels. Under two thirds of those in the 20% least deprived areas are satisfied with their local greenspace (61%), increasing to over three quarters (81%) of people in the least deprived areas. Similarly, while only 5% of people in the least deprived areas report that they are dissatisfied with their local green space, 16% of people in the most deprived areas report the same.

Table 11.17: Satisfaction with local greenspace by SIMD

Column percentages, 2012 data

	< 20% most deprived			20% least deprived >
Adults	1	2	3	4	5	Scotland
Satisfied	61	69	77	77	81	73
Neither	14	11	10	9	8	10
Dissatisfied	16	11	7	7	6	9
No opinion	9	9	6	7	5	7
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100
Base	1,840	2,020	2,100	2,080	1,650	9,680