Scottish Household Survey 2023: trust in public institutions

Other sources of data on trust

The OECD defines trust as “a person’s belief that another person or institution will act consistently with their expectations of positive behaviour”. There are a number of sources of data on trust in government and other public institutions in Scotland, the wider UK and internationally. Differences in wording mean that not all of these sources are directly comparable.

Of the available international data, the most comparable data to the SHS trust data comes from the Eurobarometer. This survey is conducted face to face and asks a similar, but not identical question on trust to that asked in the SHS: ‘How much trust do you have in certain institutions? For each of the following institutions, do you tend to trust it or tend not to trust it?’.

The Eurobarometer survey does not ask about the full range of institutions included in the SHS, but does collect data on trust in the: [nationality] government, local government and the police.^[4] Findings for these institutions in the Spring 2023 and Autumn 2023 Eurobarometer waves were as follows:

• Trust in [nationality] government. EU 27 average in spring 2023: 32% tend to trust; 63% tend not to trust. EU average in autumn 2023: 36% tend to trust; 60% tend not to trust. UK in spring 2023: 22% tend to trust; 74% tend not to trust. UK in autumn 2023: 21% tend to trust; 74% tend not to trust.
• Trust in the police. EU 27 average in spring 2023: 69% tend to trust; 28% tend not to trust. UK in spring 2023: 64% tend to trust; 31% tend not to trust. Not asked in autumn 2023.
• Trust in ‘regional or local public authorities’. EU 27 average in spring 2023: 55% tend to trust; 40% tend not to trust. UK in spring 2023: 48% tend to trust; 46% tend not to trust. Not asked in autumn 2023.

Further information on measuring trust in government and its determinants, and global trends, is available from the large OECD programme of work on this topic (Trust and democracy | OECD). Their most recent report found a moderate decrease in trust in government between 2021 and 2023 overall, but with ‘significant variations across countries and groups’ (OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions – 2024 Results).

Other sources of Scottish Government published data on trust in government include the core module of the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey (SSAS) and the Public Insight Monitor. We will continue to review available evidence across different sources to ensure we have access to robust, long-term comparable data on trust and its determinants to inform policy development, including the upcoming development of an Open Government strategy and Scotland’s next Open Government Action Plan.