New Public Opinion Research on Cultural Activity in Scotland

Ahead of the Scottish Government’s first Culture Strategy for 20 years, the National Trust for Scotland has published new public opinion research on current cultural activity in Scotland, and the barriers to its development.

The research – Scotland’s Culture Strategy: overcoming barriers and unlocking benefits – sets out how different cultural activities are currently enjoyed in Scotland, and by who, but also the barriers people are experiencing to greater involvement.

The Trust’s Head of Public Policy, Diarmid Hearns, said:

“Our research found Scots see many additional benefits from their cultural activities, including learning, making friends, or creating a better place to live. But they also experienced barriers – and these were worse for those on lower incomes, and for those from ethnic minority groups.

“We need to better understand what the opportunities are at a local level, and what the role of national and local government is in supporting culture. We also need to work together to tackling the inequalities in access to culture our research has identified.

“This means looking at national and local cultural budgets, and whether these are adequate for our ambitions. We also need to see the value of Scotland’s culture recognised in other public policies, for example in planning, economic development or regenerating our towns and villages.”

Partnering with Survation (a UK based polling and market research agency) the National Trust for Scotland interviewed 1,074 respondents over the age of 16 living in Scotland. A briefing paper with more detail on the survey results is available online at: https://go.aws/39boJcw

Some Highlights from the research:

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