The proportion of people who think the Scottish government’s top priority should be improving standards of education has hit an all-time low, according to a major survey of public opinion that has run in most years since the devolution era began in 1999.
The results of the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2023, published today, have hit the headlines because trust in the Scottish government to work in Scotland’s best interests has fallen to the lowest level recorded. It fell to 47 per cent - down from 61 per cent in 2019, the last time a comparable survey was conducted.
However, another low has also been hit.
Education less of a public priority
Survey respondents were asked to identify what the government’s highest priority should be. The option “improve standards of education” had been increasing in popularity from 2010 until 2017, when it had risen steadily from 12 per cent to 26 per cent. Then it fell to 18 per cent in 2019.
However, in 2023 this reached an all-time low at 9 per cent.
Some 42 per cent of respondents to the survey - which involved a weighted sample of 1,574 people aged over 16 - thought that improving the economy should be the Scottish government’s highest priority, by far the most frequently chosen option.
The next most popular option was “improve people’s health” at 15 per cent, followed by “improve housing” at 10 per cent, with “improve standards of education” coming fourth.
The survey report notes that the question has been asked since 1999 - the first year of the Scottish Parliament following the 1997 devolution referendum - but the data published today only goes back as far as 2004.
In 2004 the top priorities for Scots were “improve people’s health” (27 per cent), “cut crime” (22 per cent), “improve standards of education” (17 per cent) and “improve the economy” (16 per cent).
The Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2023 - produced for the government by the Scottish Centre for Social Research (ScotCen) - was the first time the study had been conducted on a “push to web” basis, with respondents invited by letter to fill out an online form.
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