Scots becoming ever more affluent

SCOTLAND is becoming a more affluent country, where time at work is given a higher priority than ever before to allow home ownership and a higher standard of living, according to figures released by the Scottish Executive.

Ministers published the annual household trends survey yesterday, the yearly snapshot of showing the way Scots live.

It revealed a trend towards a more aspirational society, with more Scots owning and travelling in cars, owning their own homes and working harder, but with fewer willing to give their time to help out at charities or do voluntary work.

Scots also feel safe in their homes and in their communities, undermining the general impression of a population living in fear from gangs of youths and anti-social neighbours.

The number of divorced households has gone down and there are fewer people living on their own. More people have bank accounts and fewer are in full-time education.

The Scottish figures mirror the changing face of Britain and Europe but this is the first time the trend has been identified in such detail at a local level.

But one set of statistics shows how a large number of Scots are still prepared to lie about their participation in elections.

A total of 64 per cent of those asked said they voted in the 2003 elections, despite the fact that turnout was actually down below 50 per cent, at 49 per cent.

Professor Cary Cooper, of the organisational psychology department at Lancaster University Management School, said the statistics showed the "increasing Americanisation" of Scottish society.

He said: "What you are seeing in Scotland, and in England and Wales, is an increasing Americanisation. Jobs are more insecure, people are working longer hours, they are more affluent and more interested in material goods - this is the US writ large." He added: "People justify the insecurity and long hours by buying things; materialism is the pay-off."

Most adults (55 per cent) are married, a figure which has remained unchanged over the past two years, while just 7 per cent cohabit with a partner.

One in five adults (20 per cent) is single, one in ten is widowed (10 per cent) while one in 20 (5 per cent) is separated or divorced - a reduction of 3 per cent on the year before.

The proportion of Scots buying their own homes is going up: 65 per cent of Scots are owner occupiers (up 2 per cent) but fewer can afford to own their own homes outright (27 per cent, down 2 per cent).

Home ownership appears to have a strong bearing on feelings of security and happiness in a local community.

The vast majority of Scots, 93 per cent, say their local area is either a "very good" or a "fairly good" place to live - up slightly (1 per cent) on last year.

The survey found that more people are working more than 36 hours a week (60 per cent, up 1 per cent), that more Scots travel to work by car (65 per cent, up 2 per cent) and fewer go by bus (down 2 per cent). This chimes with the finding that more Scots now have access to cars (67 per cent, up 2 per cent).

Rates of volunteering are higher in rural areas than in the cities, and although 44 per cent say they are in the Church of Scotland, this figure has slipped by 3 per cent in the last year and is expected to continue on a downward trend.