Scots believe '˜Holyrood has more influence than Westminster'

Trust in the Scottish Government fell last year but a majority still have faith that ministers are working in the country's best interests, according to new statistics from the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey.

For the first time more people thought the Scottish Government had most influence over the way Scotland is run than the UK Government.

The 2016 survey found 65% of people trusted the Scottish Government to work in Scotland’s best interests “just about always” or “most of the time”, down from 73% in 2015.

It also found 40% of people trusted ministers “a great deal” or “quite a lot” to make fair decisions - down by nine percentage points since 2015.

Meanwhile, trust in the UK Government to work in Scotland’s best interests increased slightly, but remained significantly lower, at 25% in 2016, up from 23% in 2015.

The survey found 18% trusted it to make fair decisions - unchanged from the previous year.

For the first time, more people thought the Scottish Government had most influence over the way Scotland is run - at 42% - than the UK Government (41%).

The survey is based on interviews with between 1,200 and 1,700 people between July 11 and December 23 last year.

Data has also been published on attitudes towards the economy and the NHS.

Almost a third of those surveyed said helping the economy to grow faster should be the Scottish Government’s top priority.

More than half - 54% - thought the economy had weakened in the past year, compared with 34% in 2015.

Of those, 35% attributed this to UK Government policy, 18% attributed it to Scottish Government policy and 37% to “some other reason”.

The majority of respondents - 60% - were satisfied with the way the NHS was being run, down slightly from 62% in 2015.

More than a third thought standards in the health service had fallen.

Of those, 40% attributed this to UK Government policy, 25% attributed to Scottish Government policy and 18% to “some other reason”.

Finance Secretary Derek Mackay said: “It’s clear that the people of Scotland trust the Scottish Government to listen to their views and act fairly and in their best interests.

“Our commitment to being the most open, transparent and accessible government ever is reflected in the survey’s responses, showing that our approach to travelling cabinets, wide-ranging online engagement and public meetings is giving people the chance to tell us what matters to them.

“The economy continues to be the highest priority for the people of Scotland, which is a priority we share, and we are continuing to make progress on our ambition to boost inclusive economic growth and raise productivity.”