A survey examined the extent of cultural participation in Scotland. 79 per cent of adults had participated in a cultural activity in the previous 12 months. The most common category of cultural activity was reading or buying books (69 per cent), followed by any type of performance (25 per cent), craftwork (20 per cent), buying cultural items (17 per cent), and visual arts (15 per cent). Those living in the least deprived areas were much more likely than those in the most deprived areas to have done any type of cultural activity. Those on lower incomes were less likely to participate than those on higher incomes.
Source: People and Culture in Scotland: Results from the Scottish Household Survey Culture and Sport Module 2007, Scottish Government (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Nov
A report examined the role of transport as a barrier to participation in cultural activities in Scotland, and made recommendations on how accessibility by public transport could be improved.
Source: Steer Davies Gleave, Exploring the Links Between Transport and Culture, Scottish Government (web publication only)
Date: 2008-Aug
A think-tank report said that media coverage of Scotland and England since devolution was fueling cross-border ignorance and indifference. London-based papers producing 'Scottish editions' subsequently stripped Scottish news from English editions. The Scottish media had focused more of its attention on what was happening in the Scottish Parliament, and neither it nor the London-based media paid adequate attention to the English regions, Wales, or Brussels.
Source: Douglas Fraser, Nation Speaking Unto Nation: Does the media create cultural distance between England and Scotland?, Institute for Public Policy Research (020 7470 6100)
Links: Report | IPPR press release
Date: 2008-Jun
A report said that excessive reporting requirements placed a huge strain on charities in Scotland. It proposed that charities negotiate with their funders to produce a standard or 'off-the-shelf' report with useful information on the impact of donors' money.
Source: Lucy Heady and Sylvia Rowley, Turning the Tables: Putting Scottish charities in control of reporting, New Philanthropy Capital (0207 401 8080)
Links: NPC press release
Date: 2008-Apr
A report examined the level, type, and intensity of volunteering in Scotland based on data gathered through the Scottish Household Survey. The data confirmed that the key groups identified in the Scottish Executive's volunteering strategy (2004) for whom it would be beneficial to encourage a higher level of volunteering were less likely to volunteer than society in general. Within the 15 per cent most deprived areas in Scotland, efforts to promote volunteering should be focused particularly on disabled people, unemployed people, young people, and those lacking in formal qualifications.
Source: Norma Hurley, Lindsay Wilson and Ian Christie, Scottish Household Survey Analytical Report: Volunteering, Scottish Government (web publication only)
Date: 2008-Jan
