How safe adults in Scotland feel when walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark, from the Scottish Household Survey (SHS)
The Scottish Household Survey (SHS) asks adults how safe they feel walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark. From 2018, this question was asked in every odd year. Prior to 2018 the question was asked every year. The data reported here is representative of adults and is available by:
• Local Authority
• Gender of the randomly selected adult
In the 2018 SHS the gender question was revised. In previous years interviewers asked if household members were 'male' or 'female'. In the 2018 survey the options given were: 'man/boy', 'woman/girl' and two additional responses: ‘identified in another way’ and ‘refused’. In order to remain harmonised with other statistics.gov.scot datasets, the previous response options 'male' and 'female' will be maintained.
• Urban/Rural Classification
• Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation
• Type Of Tenure
• Household Type
• Ethnicity of the randomly selected adult
• Walking distance to nearest green or blue space
The question asking about walking distance to nearest greenspace informs the National Indicator on Access to Green and Blue Spaces. However before 2019, even though the list of spaces included riversides and beaches, the question text used the term "green or open space". In 2019 for one half of the sample this was changed slightly to "green, blue or open spaces" to check if including the word "blue" made any difference to the response given to the question about walking distance or the biennial follow-up questions asking about satisfaction with and frequency of use of nearest green or blue space. No statistically significant difference was found.
The most recent annual publication can be accessed at https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-household-survey-2019-annual-report
The full questionnaire for each year can be accessed at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-household-survey-questionnaires
And the survey data for the full Scottish Household Survey is available from the UK Data Service.
The Scottish Household Survey complies with statistical disclosure control principles and the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. It is therefore not possible to calculate how many respondents gave a certain answer based on the results of this survey.
Full details of the methodology and fieldwork outcomes for the Scottish Household Survey can be accessed here.
Some tables include missing values. This is where the base on which percentages would be calculated is less than 50 and this data is judged to be insufficiently robust for publication.
The Scottish Government conducts several major population surveys that are used to inform the policy debate in Scotland and in some instances the surveys can be complementary. The Long-Term Survey Strategy 2018-2022, of which the SHS is a central element, aims to ensure that the Scottish Government’s population surveys continue to meet key information needs while maximising the analytical potential of the data they generate. A guide is available providing more information on Scotland’s surveys.
A glossary of terms used in the Scottish Household Survey is available in the annual report.
The SHS is designed to provide reliable and up-to-date information on the composition, characteristics, attitudes and behaviour of private households and individuals, both nationally and at a sub-national level and to examine the physical condition of Scotland’s homes. It covers a wide range of topics to allow links to be made between different policy areas.
This dataset will be updated biennially.
The Scottish Household Survey is not subject to scheduled revision. Revisions and corrections to previously published statistics are dealt with in accordance with the Scottish Government Statistician Group corporate policy statement on revisions and corrections - a copy of which is available on the Scottish Government website
This slice of multidimensional data is not a Linked Data resource in the database: it's a virtual resource (i.e. you can't query it by SPARQL). But does have a permanent unique URL which can be bookmarked.