Physical Activity, Libraries, Museums, Cultural Activities and Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation

38th Viewpoint Survey

Final Report

5th December 2014

Contents

Page

Summary of Key Findings

1.0 Background, Objectives and Methodology 1

2.0 Respondent Profile 3

3.0 Physical Activity 6

4.0 Libraries 35

5.0 Museums and Other Cultural Activities 45

6.0 Gypsy / Traveller Accommodation 55

APPENDICES (U NDER SEPARATE COVER )

1.0 Survey Questionnaire

2.0 Detailed Data Tables

3.0 Results Breakdown by Electoral Ward

4.0 Listing of Open Ended Responses

SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

50% of respondents indicate that they do at least 2.5 hours of moderate and / or vigorous physical activity per week (this is down from 53% in the 2012 Viewpoint survey but compares to 39% for Scotland as a whole in the 2011 Scottish Health Survey, the most recent directly comparable survey). 41% of respondents indicate that they undertook at least 30 minutes of moderate and / or vigorous physical exercise on at least five days within the previous week, down from 46% in 2012.

Walking briskly (72%) and heavy gardening (37%) continue to be the most common types of physical activity in which participants take part. The most common reasons cited for taking exercise are the desire to lead a healthy lifestyle (cited by 70% of respondents in 2014) and enjoyment of physical activities (52%); 29% of respondents also indicated that they took exercise as part of a weight control strategy.

More than half of respondents (51%) do not think that they take enough physical exercise. Amongst those that accumulated no moderate and / or vigorous physical activity over the previous 7 day period, 36% indicated that they were not able to do enough exercise due to ill health or a similar reason (13% of those that had accumulated no moderate and / or vigorous physical activity still felt that they took enough exercise). Those that undertook less than 2.5 hours of moderate and / or vigorous physical activity in the previous 7 day period were most likely to believe that they did not take as much exercise as they should (65% of people in this category now consider this to be the case).

A significant proportion of respondents (37%, up from 22% in 2012) indicated that they would like to change the amount of physical activity that they undertake but had yet to do anything about it; 81% of those that are thinking of changing the amount of physical activity that they do but have yet to do anything about it do not think they take as much exercise as they should.

14% of respondents indicated that the Commonwealth Games had influenced how much physical activity they would like to undertake but only 5% indicated that it had influenced how much physical activity they actually undertook.

The most common “facility” within Aberdeenshire that people indicated they used for physical activity was the natural environment (e.g. hills, sea) with 40% of respondents indicating usage of this at least fortnightly over the past 12 months. The second most common type of facility used for physical activity was town / village parks (28% indicating that they had used these at least fortnightly over the past 12 months).

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY (CONTINUED )

Variable ratings are apparent as to the availability of certain facilities for physical activity within Aberdeenshire. 90% of those that express a view give positive ratings to the natural environment, 90% to golf courses, 84% to country parks, 82% to town / village parks and 77% to playing fields / football pitches. Positive ratings for the availability of Council sports / leisure centres (69%) and Council swimming pools (68%) are slightly lower and ratings for the availability of a variety of private facilities are lower still (e.g. positive ratings for the availability of private sports / leisure centres are now 58%, for ski centres they are 54% and for private swimming pools they are 39%).

There are generally good ratings for the quality of facilities amongst those that expressed a view. Facilities most likely to be ranked positively in 2014 with respect to quality included the natural environment (94%), country parks (94%), town / village parks (87%) and golf courses (79%). Ratings were only slightly lower for Council sports / leisure facilities (74%), Council swimming pools (74%), private sports / leisure facilities (71%) and playing fields / pitches (69%). There has been a general upwards trend in these positive ratings since 2012, particularly for Council facilities.

Usage of town / village parks and country parks remains high at 76% and 72% respectively.

24% of respondents indicate that they use facilities for physical activity outwith Aberdeenshire. Most commonly, these include swimming pools and other leisure facilities (both Council and private) in Aberdeen but can include activities across Scotland. Availability and quality of facilities as well as participation alongside friends / team mates are the main drivers for this.

Only 4% of respondents were members of Active Aberdeenshire (up from 3% in 2012) and a further 37% (up from 35% in 2012) were aware but not members. The factors that non- members most commonly say would encourage them to become a member of Active Aberdeenshire were an affordable membership price (cited by 45% of respondents), access to Aberdeenshire tourist attractions (34%) and access to non Council-owned leisure facilities (30%); these findings were very similar to those of the 2012 survey.

LIBRARIES

A significant proportion of panel members (59%, though down from 64% in 2011) indicate that they are a member of Aberdeenshire Libraries and the profile of membership is broadly reflective of the demographic profile of Aberdeenshire.

Library members continue to be polarised between a significant proportion that have used the service recently (within the past month) and almost as significant a proportion that have not used the service for more than a year.

LIBRARIES (CONTINUED )

Awareness of the very broad range of services available through Aberdeenshire Library Services is limited in some cases. There is majority awareness of children’s activities and events (55%) and free wi-fi (53%) but only a minority (sometimes quite a small minority) are aware of the range of other services.

The library services that respondents were most likely to express an interest in were local studies and family history resources (23%), author visits (19%), online reservation of books and CDs (14%) and free wi-fi (13%). 54% of respondents expressed an interest in at least one of the list of services presented to them as part of the survey.

The factors that deter library usage are most commonly a matter of individual circumstance or choice. The perceived deterrents that relate to the library service specifically are fairly limited and include opening hours (mentioned by 18% of respondents) and not knowing enough about the library service (10%).

Ratings for various aspects of the library service remain positive but have declined slightly since 2011, particularly in relation to range of lending material and opening hours. Overall, satisfaction amongst all respondents has declined from 85% to 75% and amongst library members from 88% to 81%. 60% of survey respondents overall and 83% of library members say that they would recommend Aberdeenshire’s library service to friends and relatives.

MUSEUMS AND OTHER CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

The most common museums visited were: Grampian Transport Museum, Alford (visited by 18% of respondents in the past year and 66% of respondents ever), Aberdeenshire Farming Museum, Aden Country Park (visited by 17% of respondents in the past year and 57% of respondents ever), Duff House, Banff (visited by 10% of respondents in the past year and 44% of respondents ever) and the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses, Fraserburgh (visited by 11% of respondents in the past year and 40% ever). Lack of awareness is far and away the most common barrier to usage of museums (cited by 67% of respondents that answered this particular question).

Overall satisfaction with the various museums varies from 31% to 87%. In most instances where respondents do not express outright satisfaction they give a “neither / nor” response. Levels of outright dissatisfaction are very small. It should be noted that satisfaction levels are high at each of the four most commonly used facilities as described (varying between 80% and 87%). Amongst users, overall satisfaction with Aberdeenshire museums is 66%. Whilst there is limited outright dissatisfaction, a high proportion of users (32%) give a “neither / nor” response and 47% indicate that they are “quite satisfied” with only 19% indicating that they are “very satisfied”.

MUSEUMS AND OTHER CULTURAL ACTIVITIES (CONTINUED )

Respondents felt that the exhibits a some of the more commonly used museums were of particular interest. They particularly valued the historical and heritage dimensions of the museums along with the input from staff, particularly local staff.

A very wide and diverse set of improvement suggestions are made but these most commonly relate to awareness of what is on offer. Some specific comments about the quality of exhibits at particular facilities were also put forward.

10% of respondents indicated that they or a member of their household had taken part in an arts project over the past two years or so, though respondents defined this term fairly loosely. A very high level of satisfaction (90%) was recorded amongst those that had taken part in such projects. Overall, 41% of respondents indicated that at least someone in the household would be interested in such projects (compared to only 10% that indicated previous participation).

The theme of awareness is very apparent in terms of the things that would encourage greater participation in arts and cultural activities generally. Other, less common, issues relate to issues such as accessibility, opening times, cost and the quality and types of activities.

GYPSY / TRAVELLERS

The current management of unauthorised Gypsy / Traveller encampments is rated poorly, with only 11% of panel members agreeing that this is done effectively; this view is common across different locations and other demographic criteria.

A majority of respondents (53%) consider that the Council should increase its provision of authorised Gypsy / Traveller sites although this is not a universal view, with 33% of respondents expressing disagreement (the balance being “don’t know” responses). Analysis of the comments given in relation to the reasons for people’s views suggest that they are conditioned by their negative experiences and / or perceptions, particularly in relation to issues such as mess created and a view that any additional costs should be met by the Gypsy / Traveller communities.

Where respondents indicate a preference for a type of site on which the Council should focus it is more commonly for transit sites (60%) or stopover sites (61%) than permanent sites (41%).

GYPSY / TRAVELLERS (CONTINUED )

72% placed it in their top two priorities. The themes that ranked below this were ensuring that appropriate amenities were available on site and keeping the costs of developing the site as low as possible. Less obvious priority was attached to issues of access to services and site size.

The most common view was that provision of new authorised sites should be the emphasis of the Council’s future work on Gypsy / Traveller sites although this was not a universal view, with a significant proportion (31%) suggesting that it should be the management of unauthorised sites and a high proportion either indicating that neither should be a priority or not expressing an opinion. A majority of under 45s that expressed an opinion felt that management of unauthorised sites should be the priority.

It is clear from the final comments made in relation to this issue that there are significant concerns over the perceived impact of Gypsy / Traveller sites, whether authorised or unauthorised, although some point to the preferability of authorised sites and the need for effective engagement with settled communities.

1.0 BACKGROUND , OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY

1.1 The Aberdeenshire Citizens’ Panel was first established by the Aberdeenshire Community Planning Partnership (ACPP) in 2003 and the ACPP continues to be responsible for the ongoing management of the Panel. Current ACPP members are:

• Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future (ACSEF)

• Aberdeenshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership

• Aberdeenshire Community Councils

• Aberdeenshire Council

• Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action

• Aberdeenshire Local Rural Partnerships

• Aberdeenshire Youth Council

• Nestrans

• NHS Grampian

• Police Scotland (formerly Grampian Police)

• Scottish Enterprise

• Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (formerly Grampian Fire and Rescue Service)

• Skills Development Scotland.

1.2 At the time of commencement of the fieldwork for this 38th Panel survey, the total Panel membership stood at 1,262,spread across the six administrative areas of Aberdeenshire (Banff & Buchan, Buchan, Formartine, Garioch, Kincardine & Mearns, Marr).

1.3 This was the 38th survey of the Panel. The survey topics were:

• Physical activity (repeating a number of themes explored in the Viewpoint 30 survey)

• Libraries (repeating a number of themes explored in the Viewpoint 26 survey)

• Museums

• Gypsy / Travellers

These issues are dealt with, in turn, in chapters 3 to 6.

1.4 A copy of the questionnaire used in the survey can be found at Appendix 1 to this report. Detailed data tables, which include comprehensive cross-tabulation of the data, are included as Appendix 2, a breakdown of results by electoral ward as Appendix 3 and a full listing of the responses to open-ended questions as Appendix 4. For reasons of space, the appendices are issued under separate cover.

METHODOLOGY

1.5 IBP Strategy and Research undertook fieldwork for this survey on behalf of ACPP during August and September 2014. The survey was issued to the full membership of the Panel with the option of either returning a self-completion questionnaire via a reply paid envelope or via the internet on the SurveyMonkey website. Following this initial invitation, reminder letters were issued to 525 non- respondents by post.

1.6 A total of 945 responses were received by the closing date which consisted of 840 hard copy responses and 105 online responses. This overall figure of 945 responses equates to a response rate of 74% (based on 1,284 Panel members). This response level gives a confidence interval 1 of +/-1.64% for the population of Aberdeenshire 2.

1.7 A full profile of respondents to the survey is set out in Chapter 2.

1 Based on a 50% estimate and a 95% confidence interval. Thus, if 50% of people answer a question in a given way then we can be 95% certain that the results would have been between 46.84% and 53.16 (i.e. within 3.16% either way of the 50% figure). 2 247,600: 2011 Mid-Year Estimates from Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics ( www.sns.gov.uk ) 2

2.0 RESPONDENT PROFILE

2.1 Table 2.1 outlines the geographical location of respondents to the survey compared to the composition of the Panel, and also to the composition of Aberdeenshire as a whole.

Table 2.1: Geographical Location

Survey Citizens’ Panel Administrative Area Aberdeenshire 3 Respondents Composition Banff and Buchan 12% 13% 15% Buchan 14% 15% 17% Formartine 15% 16% 17% Garioch 22% 23% 19% Kincardine and 17% 18% 17% Mearns Marr 16% 16% 15% No Data 2% - -

The survey respondents can reasonably be said to be broadly representative of the population of Aberdeenshire as a whole as regards geographical spread.

2.2 Throughout the report, it should be noted that a small number of respondents had either obscured their identity number or had used an envelope other than the one displaying their number provided in the mailing to them. As a result of this, it has not been possible to identify these individual respondents and therefore to link their responses to the Panel database that contains data such as geographical location, age, gender etc. Subsequently, base figures for individual demographics will not sum to the total number of responses received.

2.3 Throughout the report, differences between different demographics (e.g. gender, age, location) will be noted where they are considered significant.

2.4 The gender profile of Panel respondents was very slightly biased towards females with 51% of respondents being female and 46% male (gender data was unavailable in 3% of cases). This has been the pattern of response in previous Panel surveys.

3 2011 Mid-Year Estimates from Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics ( www.sns.gov.uk ) 3

2.5 As is commonly found in Citizens’ Panel research and other research of this nature, the age of respondents is somewhat skewed towards older individuals, although there is a degree of representation from younger age groups.

Figure 2.2: Age of Respondents

28% 30%

22% 25% 21% 20%

15% 12%

10% 7% 6% 3% 5% 1%

0% 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+ No Data

Again, this has been the pattern in previous Panel surveys.

Throughout the report, to allow for robust analysis of any differences, the following broad age groups have been considered:

• Under 45s • 45-64s • Over 65s.

2.6 Respondents’ current employment status is outlined in Figure 2.3 below. Please note that this information is based upon the employment status on the centrally- held Citizens’ Panel database administered by IBP, and that proportions sum to greater than 100% due to multiple employment status responses being permitted.

Figure 2.3: Employment Status

40% 36%

35% 28% 30%

25%

20% 15% 15% 10% 10% 7% 3% 4% 5% 2% 1% 0% 0% Full-time Part-time Self Retired Looking after Voluntary Unable to Student Unemployed No Data employment employment employed home or work work due to family a long-term illness or disability

The employment profile of respondents to the 2014 survey is almost identical to other recent Panel surveys.

2.7 Based on the above, it is reasonable to assume that the samples from previous years are similar in their composition to previous surveys and that the results obtained in these years can reasonably be compared to one other.

3.0 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

3.1 The first theme of the 38 th Viewpoint survey was physical activity. This looked, in particular, at the amount and type of physical activity that people undertook in their daily lives, as well as exploring issues relating to facilities for physical activities. A number of the questions had previously been asked in the Viewpoint 30 survey in late-2012.

3.2 Respondents were firstly asked the following question relating to physical activity:

“Thinking about the last 7 days, in total, how much moderate and / or vigorous physical activity do you think you accumulated last week, based on the definitions below? Tick one box only and count together any moderate and / or vigorous physical activity that you did”.

Participants were provided with the following definitions to assist them in answering this question:

“Moderate physical activity will make you feel warmer and breathe slightly harder than normal and cause your heart to beat a little faster. Examples include: brisk walking, cycling or swimming at an average pace, housework such as hovering.

Vigorous physical activity will make you breathe much harder than normal and your heart to beat rapidly, making it harder to carry on a conversation. Examples include: football, running, aerobics”.

UK guidelines recommend that adults should accumulate at least 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of moderate activity a week (for example being active for 30 minutes on five days a week).

The results of this are shown in Figure 3.1.

Where comparisons are available we have compared the results from the Viewpoint survey with the results of the 2011 Scottish Health Survey (this is the most recently published edition that contains directly comparable data; the 2012 Scottish Health Survey is not directly comparable due to the changes made to the relevant definitions).

Figure 3.1: Amount of Moderate and / or Vigorous Physical Activity

45% 41% 45% 40% 2012 Base: 741 2014 Base: 940 35%

30%

25% 20%

15% 10% 10%10% 10% 11% 10% 9% 9% 8% 9% 9% 8% 10%

5% 0% None At least 30 At least 1 hour At least 1.5 At least 2 hours At least 2.5 At least 3 hours minutes but less but less than 1.5 hours but less but less than 2.5 hours but less than 60 hours than 2 hours hours than 3 hours

50% of respondents who provided an answer stated that they did at least 2.5 hours of moderate and / or vigorous physical activity in the previous week (this is down slightly from the 53% recorded in 2012). However, this is still significantly above the Scottish average in the 2011 Scottish Health Survey, which showed that 39% of adults aged 16 and over in Scotland met the physical activity levels recommended.

3.3 These results are profiled by area, age and gender in Table 3.1 (we have broken the categories down into those that said they did no moderate and / or vigorous physical activity, those that said they did some but less than 2.5 hours and those that said they did the recommended 2.5 hours or more). The table sets out results for 2014 with the results from the previous Panel survey (Viewpoint 30, 2012) listed in brackets.

Table 3.1: Amount of Moderate and / or Vigorous Physical Activity (Breakdown)

Amount of Moderate and Some but 2.5 hours /or Vigorous Physical None less than Base or more Activity 2.5 hours Area 11% 45% 54% 114 Banff and Buchan (7% ) (39% ) (54% ) (114) 12% 46% 42% 128 Buchan (11% ) (50% ) (39% ) (114) 11% 40% 49% 141 Formartine (8% ) (36% ) (56% ) (132) 9% 45% 46% 211 Garioch (7%) (34%) (59%) (146) 10% 39% 51% 162 Kincardine and Mearns (10%) (37%) (54%) (114) 7% 37% 56% 152 Marr (6%) (33%) (60%) (111) Age 6% 49% 46% 177 Under 45s (7% ) (38% ) (55% ) (193) 9% 37% 53% 471 45-64s (7% ) (39% ) (54% ) (369) 14% 40% 46% 260 65 and over (12%) (37%) (51%) (169) Gender 8% 40% 52% 429 Female (7%) (36%) (57%) (401) 13% 40% 47% 479 Male (9% ) (41% ) (50% ) (330) 10% 40% 50% 940 Overall (8% ) (38% ) (53% ) (741)

In 2014, respondents from Marr (56%) and Banff & Buchan (54%) were most likely to have undertaken the recommended 2.5 hours of moderate and / or vigorous activity in the previous week with respondents in Buchan (42%) the least likely to have done so. There have been some apparent changes since 2012; notably, a reduction in the proportion undertaking this recommended level of exercise in Garioch from 59% to 46%.

There was some slight variation in the proportion of respondents undertaking at least 2.5 hours of moderate and / or vigorous activity when age was considered, with 46% of those aged under 45 doing so (down from 55% in 2012), 53% of those aged 45-64 (2012: 54%) and 46% of those aged 65 and over (2012: 51%).

Females (52%) were still more likely to have claimed to have undertaken the minimum recommended activity levels than males (47%). This continues to contrast with the results of the 2011 Scottish Health Survey, where men aged 16 and over were more likely to have met the minimum levels (45%) than women aged 16 and over (33%).

3.4 When we look in more detail at the age breakdown of those taking the minimum recommended 2.5 hours per week physical activity, we see further variations between age groups, with the results being in marked contrast to the results of the 2011 Scottish Health Survey. Table 3.2 suggests that Viewpoint Panel members in the 18-24 age group were less likely than respondents (aged 16-24) to the 2011 Scottish Household Survey to say that they took the minimum 2.5 hours physical activity per week, with the extent of this being even more apparent than in 2012. The same pattern is true of respondents aged 25-34. However, in all other age groups Panel members were more likely to say that they took this level of exercise than was the case in the Scottish Household Survey. These figures suggest that younger age groups in Aberdeenshire are less active than the Scottish average, whilst the reverse is true of the older age groups.

Table 3.2: Proportion of Respondents Taking the Minimum 2.5 Hours per week Physical Activity by Age

2011 Scottish Age 2012 2014 Household Survey 18 -24 (16 -24 in 2011 Scottish Household 40% 22% 50% Survey ) 25 -34 60% 39% 53% 35 -44 55% 50% 47% 45 -54 48% 48% 43% 55 -64 59% 57% 30% 65 -74 55% 51% 20% 75 and over 42% 31% 8% Overall 53% 50% 39%

3.5 Respondents were then asked on how many days in the last week they accumulated at least 30 minutes per day of moderate and / or vigorous physical activity. The specific question was as follows:

“Still thinking about the last 7 days, on how many of those days did you accumulate at least 30 minutes per day of moderate and/ or vigorous physical activity? Only include those activities that you did for at least 10 minutes at a time.”

The overall results of this are illustrated in Figure 3.2.

Figure 3.2: Number of Days on Which at Least 30 Minutes of Moderate and / or Vigorous Physical Activity Accumulated

24% 25% 21% 20% 2012 Base: 651 19% 20% 2014 Base: 823 15% 14% 14% 13% 13% 15% 10% 9% 10% 8% 8% 7%

4% 5% 3%

0% No days 1 day 2 days 3 days 4 days 5 days 6 days Every day

National guidelines would suggest that adults should be achieving at least 30 minutes of moderate activity on at least five days of the week. As can be observed in Figure 3.2, 41% of respondents said they achieved this (down from 46% in 2012).

3.6 These results have also been broken down by administrative area, age group and gender and are shown in Table 3.3. Again, the 2014 results are followed by the 2012 results in brackets.

Table 3.3: Number of Days on Which at Least 30 Minutes of Moderate and / or Physical Activity Accumulated (Breakdown)

Number of Days 1 or 2 3 or 4 5 or 6 Every No Days Base Days Days Days Day Area 3% 24% 28% 19% 25% 99 Banff and Buchan (2% ) (21% ) (35% ) (17% ) (26% ) (101 ) 2% 25% 32% 25% 16% 113 Buchan (3% ) (22% ) (34% ) (18% ) (23% ) (93 ) 4% 22% 30% 20% 28% 124 Formartine (3% ) (19% ) (27% ) (28% ) (23% ) (117 ) 5% 27% 33% 19% 14% 187 Garioch (4%) (22%) (30%) (22%) (22%) (130) 5% 19% 41% 18% 19% 141 Kincardine and Mearns (1%) (20%) (33%) (29%) (18%) (101) 3% 19% 30% 17% 31% 135 Marr (3% ) (12% ) (37% ) (16% ) (33% ) (103 ) Age 1% 25% 40% 17% 17% 165 Under 45s (3% ) (21% ) (38% ) (21% ) (18% ) (175 ) 4% 23% 31% 20% 22% 412 45-64s (2%) (21%) (32%) (22%) (23%) (332) 5% 22% 30% 20% 23% 222 65 and over (4%) (13%) (26%) (24%) (33%) (138) Gender 3% 23% 32% 18% 25% 369 Female (3%) (18%) (31%) (23%) (26%) (356) 5% 23% 34% 21% 17% 430 Male (2% ) (20% ) (35% ) (20% ) (22% ) (289 ) 4% 23% 33% 20% 21% 823 Overall (3%) (19%) (33%) (22%) (24%) (651)

In 2014, Marr respondents were most likely to have accumulated 30 minutes of moderate and / or vigorous physical activity every day (31%) with Garioch respondents the least likely (16%).

Those aged 65 or over were most likely to have accumulated 30 minutes of physical activity every day (23% although this is down from 33% in 2012), just ahead of those aged 45-64 (22%) and those aged under 45 (17%). Again, the evidence points to younger age groups being less active.

Females were somewhat more likely than males to have accumulated 30 minutes of moderate and / or vigorous physical activity every day (25% compared to 27%, an even greater disparity than in 2012). 11

3.7 Table 3.4 profiles the types of physical activity that respondents said they had taken part in within the previous 7 days (bases on a prompted list of types of physical activity).

Table 3.4: Types of Physical Activity Taken Part In Over Past 7 Days

Type of Physical Activity 2012 2014 Walking briskly 79% 72% Heavy gardening 40% 37% Cycling outdoors 12% 15% Dancing, yoga, aerobics, pilates or similar 13% 14% Golf, bowling 12% 14% Using gym equipment (e.g. treadmill, exercise bike) 12% 11% Swimming 11% 11% Another form of physical activity 19% 10% Jogging or running outdoors 9% 8% Tennis, squash, badminton 2% 4% Football, rugby, hockey, cricket 1% 1% None of the above 4% 4% Base: 657 807

For 2014, the type of physical activity that is most commonly undertaken is that of walking briskly (72% of respondents who provided a response), followed by heavy gardening (37%). Other types of activity that are taken part in include cycling outdoors (15%), dancing, yoga, aerobics, pilates or similar (14%), golf, bowling (also 14%), using gym equipment (11%), and swimming (also 11%). The broad pattern of activities undertaken was broadly similar to that seen in 2012.

3.8 A full profile of uptake of these activities is detailed in full in the appendices. Table 3.5 identifies the three most common types of exercise and their frequency within each location and age/gender category.

Table 3.5: Types of Physical Activity Taken Part In Over Past 7 Days (Breakdown)

Are a 1st 2nd 3rd Base Banff and Cycling outdoors, Walking briskly (78%) Heavy gardening (35%) dancing, yoga, aerobics, 97 Buchan pilates or similar (11 %) Cycling outdoors, golf, Walking briskly (68%) Heavy gardening (37%) Buchan bowling (14%) 111 Formartine Walking briskly (75%) Heavy gardening (38%) Cycling outdoors (17%) 120 Garioch Walking briskly (67%) Heavy gardening (39%) Golf, bowling (16%) 179 Kincardine Dancing, yoga, aerobics, Walking briskly (68%) Heavy gardening (30%) 142 and Mearns pilates or similar (20%) Marr Walking briskly (79%) Heavy gardening (42%) Cycling outdoors (20%) 133 Age Under 45s Walking briskly (67%) Heavy gardening (28%) Cycling outdoors (19%) 161 45 -64s Walking briskly (76%) Heavy gardening (36%) Cycling outdoors (15%) 401 65 and over Walking briskly (69%) Heavy gardening (45%) Golf, bowling (20%) 220 Gender Male Walking briskly (67%) Heavy gardening (40%) Golf, bowling (22%) 423 Dancing, yoga, aerobics, Walking briskly (76%) Heavy gardening (34%) Female pilates or similar (20%) 359 Walking br iskly Heavy gardening Cycling outdoors (15%) Overall (72%) (37%) 807

3.9 Respondents were asked to indicate, from a prompted list, the reasons for them taking exercise. The overall results of this are shown in Figure 3.3 below (it should be noted that respondents could tick multiple options).

Figure 3.3: Reasons for Taking Exercise 70% 67% 70%

60% 52% 2012 Base: 647 48% 50% 2014 Base: 787

40% 32% 29% 30% 19% 19% 16% 17% 20% 14% 8% 8% 7% 10%

0% I want to lead a I enjoy physical I do it as part of I have no choice I enjoy meeting I have been Something else healthy lifestyle leisure activities a weight control people through advised to by a strategy physical activity health / exercise professional

Wanting to lead a healthy lifestyle (70%, up slightly from 67% in 2012) is the response given most often by respondents as to why they take exercise, followed by enjoying physical leisure activities (52%, up from 48%) and doing it as part of a weight control strategy (29%, down from 32%). The “something else” category most commonly related to dog walking.

3.10 These results have also been cross-referenced to the amount of moderate and / or physical activity that respondents accumulated in the previous week as shown in Table 3.6. Please note that this question was not asked of those who had not taken any physical activity in the 7 day period. Once again, the 2014 results are followed by the 2012 results in brackets.

Table 3.6: Amount of Moderate and / or Vigorous Physical Activity (Breakdown)

Amount of Moderate and / or Vigorous Physical Activity Accumulated Over 7 Day Period Reasons for Taking Exercise Some but less than 2.5 2.5 hours or more hours 38% 64% I enjoy physical leisure activities (35% ) (56% ) 64% 74% I want to lead a healthy lifestyle (57% ) (75% ) I have been advised to by a health 11% 6% professional (9% ) (7% ) I do it as part of a weight control 28% 30% strategy (29%) (34%) I enjoy meeting people through 10% 17% physical activity / exercise (8%) (21%) I have no choice (e.g. part of my 16% 17% job, have to walk to work, I run an (19%) (19%) allotment) 6% 8% Something else (15% ) (19% ) 352 432 Base: (258 ) (382 )

In 2014, those respondents who did at least 2.5 hours of moderate and / or vigorous physical activity over the 7 day period were significantly more likely to cite enjoyment of physical activities as a reason for them taking physical exercise compared to those that did less than 2.5 hours (64% compared to 38%). This is also true with regard to wishing to lead a healthy lifestyle as a motivating factor (74% compared to 64% in 2014) and enjoyment of meeting people through physical activity / exercise (17% compared to 10% in 2014).

3.11 Respondents were then asked to categorise themselves in relation to one of three statements relating to the amount of physical activity that they take and the results of this are shown in Figure 3.4.

Figure 3.4: Views on Whether Enough Physical Activity is Undertaken

53% 2012 Base: 741 60% 51% 2014 Base:

50%

34% 40% 33%

30% 15% 14% 20%

10%

0% I think I take enough exercise I don't think I take as much I am not able to do enough exercise as I should exercise (because of ill health or a similar reason)

Approximately one-third of respondents (34%) feel that they take enough exercise, whilst more than half (51%) feel that they do not take as much exercise as they should. This is despite 50% of respondents claiming that they took at least the minimum recommended amount of exercise in the previous week. 15% of respondents state that they are not able to do enough exercise because of ill health or a similar reason. These figures have changed little between 2012 and 2014.

3.12 Table 3.7 cross-references responses to this perception question against the actual amount of physical activity undertaken (based on the accumulated moderate and / or vigorous physical activity accumulated over the previous 7 days) and, again, with the 2014 results being followed in brackets by the 2012 results.

Table 3.7: Perceptions of Whether Enough Exercise is Taken Cross-Referenced by Amount of Moderate and / or Vigorous Physical Activity (Breakdown)

Views on Whether Enough Amount of Moderate and / or Vigorous Physical Physical Activity is Activity Accumulated Over 7 Day Period Undertaken Some but less 2.5 hours or None than 2.5 hours more I think I take enough 13% 17% 52% exercise (7%) (14%) (49%) I don’t think I take as much 52% 65% 40% exercise as I should (43% ) (70% ) (44% ) I am not able to do enough 36% 18% 8% exercise (because of ill (50%) (16%) (7%) health or a similar reason) 100% 100% 100% Total (100%) (100%) (100%) 95 374 455 Base: (60) (279) (392)

52% of those respondents that took 2.5 hours or more physical activity in the 7 day period felt that they take enough physical activity, compared to 17% of those that took less than 2.5 hours physical activity and 13% of those who did no physical activity.

Respondents that took less than 2.5 hours physical activity were most likely to believe that they do not take as much exercise as they should (65%), with 36% of those who did no physical activity unable to do so because of ill health or a similar reason.

The significant change that we would note since 2012 is that being unable to take exercise was less likely than previously to be identified as a reason for doing no exercise, with there being concomitant rises in the proportion both of those that think they do, and those that think they do not, take enough exercise.

3.13 Following on from this, respondents were asked about their personal circumstances and plans with respect to physical activity. The results are detailed in Table 3.8.

Table 3.8: Which of the following statements best describes your personal circumstances?

Type of Physical Activity 2012 2014 I have no immediate plans to change the amount of physical 42% 43% activity I undertake I am thinking of changing or would like to change the amount of physical activity I undertake but have not done anything 22% 27% about it yet I plan to change the amount of physical activity I undertake and am making preparations (e.g. enquired about exercise 13% 10% classes, planned a walking route) I have recently increased the amount of physical activity I 11% 9% undertake (within the last three months) I have increased the amount of physical activity I undertake and I have managed to maintain that change for at least the 4% 4% last 12 weeks In the last year I have tried to increase the amount of physical activity I undertake but have not been able to maintain that 8% 6% change Base: 724 908

Approximately two-fifths of respondents (43%) stated that they have no immediate plans to change the amount of physical activity that they undertake. 27% of respondents are thinking of changing, or would like to change, the amount of physical activity they undertake but have not yet done anything about it, whilst 10% plan to change their level of physical activity and have actually made preparations.

9% of respondents have recently increased the amount of physical activity they undertake (within the last three months), with a further 4% having increased their amount of physical activity and have maintained that change for at least the last 12 weeks. Finally, 6% of respondents have attempted to increase their amount of physical activity but have not been able to maintain the change.

The pattern of responses from 2014 is broadly similar to that seen in 2012.

3.14 These statements are cross-referenced in Table 3.9 to the perception statements described previously, once again with the 2014 results being followed in brackets by the 2012 results.

Table 3.9: Current Circumstances re: Physical Activity Cross-Referenced to Attitudinal Statements

Attitudinal Statement I am not able to do enough I don’t think I Circumstances I think I take exercise take as much enough (because of Total Base exercise as I exercise ill health or a should similar reason) I have no immediate plans to change 61% 26% 13% 100% 393 the amount of physical activity I (59%) (27%) (15%) (100%) (305) undertake I am thinking of changing or would like to change the amount of 8% 81% 11% 100% 247 physical activity I undertake but (6%) (86%) (8%) (100%) (161) have not done anything about it yet I plan to change the amount of physical activity I undertake and am 7% 88% 4% 100% 95 making preparations (e.g. enquired (13%) (69%) (18%) (100%) (94) about exercise classes, planned a walking route) I have recently increased the amount of physical activity I 38% 53% 10% 100% 80 undertake (within the last three (22%) (68%) (10%) (100%) (78) months) I have increased the amount of physical activity I undertake and I 42% 33% 24% 100% 33 have managed to maintain that (63%) (30%) (7%) (100%) (27) change for at least the last 12 weeks In the last year I have tried to increase the amount of physical 2% 51% 47% 100% 59 activity I undertake but have not (4%) (70%) (27%) (100%) (56) been able to maintain that change

Respondents that have no immediate plans to change the amount of activity that they undertake were quite likely to believe that they already take enough exercise (61%, 2012: 59%). Amongst those thinking of changing, 81% (2012: 86%) believe that they do not take as much exercise as they should. This is also now even more apparent amongst those that plan to change their level of physical activity and are making preparations (88%, 2012: 69%). It is also notable that 70% of those that say they have tried to increase the amount of physical activity that they undertake but have not been able to maintain that change believe that they do not take as much exercise as they should.

3.15 Table 3.10 looks at this theme in a slightly different way by extracting the results for only those that indicate a belief that they do not take as much exercise as they should. As compared to 2012, a slightly higher proportion (43% compared to 36%) are contemplating changing the amount of physical activity that they undertake. However, a lower proportion (9% compared to 14%) indicate that they have actually increased the amount of their physical activity in the last three months.

Table 3.10: Attitudinal Statements about Physical Activity (cross-referenced to Only respondents that don’t feel they take as much exercise as they should)

Attitudinal Statement 2012 2014 I have no immediate plans to change the amount of 21% 22% physical activity I undertake I am thinking of changing or would like to change the amount of physical activity I undertake but 36% 43% have not done anything about it yet I plan to change the amount of physical activity I undertake and am making preparations (e.g. 17% 18% enquired about exercise classes, planned a walking route) I have recently increased the amount of physical 14% 9% activity I undertake (within the last three months) I have increased the amount of physical activity I undertake and I have managed to maintain that 2% 2% change for at least the last 12 weeks In the last year I have tried to increase the amount of physical activity I undertake but have not been 10% 6% able to maintain that change Base: 384 470

3.16 14% of respondents that expressed a view indicated that the Commonwealth Games had influenced how much physical activity they would like to undertake and 5% indicated that it had influenced how much physical activity they had actually undertaken . The breakdown of this by location, age and gender is set out Table 3.11. In this instance, the figures provided in brackets are for a similar question that was asked with respect to the Olympic Games in Viewpoint 30 in 2012 and are presented here for information.

Table 3.11: Influence of Commonwealth Games on Physical Activity

Comm onwealth/Olympic Commonwealth/ Olympic Games has had influence on Games has had influence on how much physical activity you how much physical activity you would like to undertake have undertaken recently Yes No Base Yes No Base Area 14% 86% 102 6% 94% 109 Banff and Buchan (13% ) (87% ) (109 ) (4% ) (96% ) (110 ) 11% 89% 121 4% 96% 126 Buchan (21% ) (79% ) (111 ) (4% ) (96% ) (111 ) 20% 80% 136 6% 94% 136 Formartine (19% ) (81% ) (127 ) (11% ) (89% ) (131 ) 17% 83% 198 5% 95% 198 Garioch (18%) (82%) (141) (3%) (97%) (144) Kincardine and 9% 91% 158 8% 92% 157 Mearns (16%) (84%) (112) (4%) (96%) (109) 10% 90% 143 4% 96% 149 Marr (19% ) (81% ) (107 ) (6% ) (94% ) (109 ) Age 17% 83% 172 6% 94% 174 Under 45s (25% ) (75% ) (189 ) (8% ) (92% ) (189 ) 12% 88% 452 5% 95% 452 45-64s (16%) (84%) (361) (4%) (96%) (363) 14% 86% 234 6% 94% 249 65 and over (12%) (88%) (157) (5%) (95%) (162) Gender 11% 89% 408 5% 95% 413 Male (14% ) (86% ) (320 ) (3% ) (97% ) (322 ) 16% 84% 450 6% 94% 462 Female (21% ) (79% ) (387 ) (7% ) (93% ) (392 ) 14% 86% 889 5% 95% 906 Overall (18%) (82%) (717) (5%) (95%) (724)

With regard to how the Commonwealth Games have influenced the amount of physical activity that respondents would like to undertake , Formartine respondents were most likely to have been influenced in this way (20%). Those aged under 45 were also most likely to have been influenced in terms of the amount of physical activity they would like to undertake (17%) with females slightly more likely than males to have been influenced (16% compared to 11%).

The Olympic Games were most likely to have had an influence on Kincardine & Mearns respondents regarding how much physical activity they had actually undertaken recently (8%). With regard to age, the Games were most likely to have influenced the physical activity undertaken by the under 45s (8%) with there being little difference in this regard between females and males (6% compared to 5%).

3.17 Table 3.12 profiles usage of a range of facilities for physical activities within Aberdeenshire, with the 2014 results being followed in brackets by the 2012 figures.

Table 3.12: Facilities Used for Physical Activities in Aberdeenshire

Frequency of Usage in Past 12 Months Occasionally Daily Weekly Fortnightly Monthly (but less than Never Base monthly) Community 0% 7% 1% 1% 11% 79% 780 centres (0% ) (8% ) (1% ) (2% ) (12% ) (78% ) (600 ) Council sports / 0% 8% 2% 2% 12% 76% 770 leisure centres (1%) (7%) (1%) (2%) (11%) (78%) (587) Private sports / 2% 11% 1% 2% 9% 76% 757 leisure centres (3%) (10%) (1%) (1%) (8%) (77%) (583) Council 1% 7% 1% 5% 20% 65% 794 swimming pools (<1% ) (8% ) (3% ) (4% ) (20% ) (64% ) (616 ) Private 1% 3% 1% 2% 11% 82% 727 swimming pools (1% ) (2% ) (<1% ) (2% ) (12% ) (83% ) (546 ) Country parks 1% 7% 4% 12% 38% 38% 784 (e.g. Aden) (2% ) (6% ) (4% ) (14% ) (37% ) (38% ) (607 ) Town / village 6% 17% 5% 9% 25% 38% 790 parks (7%) (15%) (6%) (10%) (26%) (35%) (618) 1% 9% 2% 3% 9% 75% 745 Golf courses (1%) (8%) (<1%) (2%) (7%) (81%) (582) Playing fields / 1% 4% 1% 2% 6% 86% 713 football pitches (1% ) (5% ) (<1% ) (2% ) (6% ) (87% ) (551 ) 0% 1% 0% 1% 6% 92% 701 Ski centres (0% ) (1% ) (0% ) (1% ) (5% ) (94% ) (545 ) The natural 12% 23% 5% 10% 19% 31% 830 environment (19%) (22%) (7%) (14%) (23%) (15%) (666) (e.g. hills, sea)

Respondents were most likely to use the natural environment (e.g. hills, sea) at least fortnightly in the past year (40%, 2012: 48%), followed by town / village parks (28%, 2012 also 28%), private sports / leisure centres (14%, 2012 also 14%),country parks (12%, 2012 also 12%), Council sports / leisure centres (10%, 2102: 9%) and Council swimming pools (9%, 2012:12%).

It should be noted that a significant proportion of overall survey respondents did not provide an answer to this question (between 16% and 26% of respondents). Whether these individuals ‘never’ use that facility or simply chose not to respond cannot be known.

3.18 Respondents were then asked to rate the availability of each of these types of facilities and the results are detailed in Table 3.13. 4 Again, the 2014 figures are followed by the 2012 figures in brackets.

Table 3.13: Rating of AVAILABILITY of Facilities in Aberdeenshire

Rating of Availability Very Neither / Very Good Poor Base Good Nor Poor 13% 57% 20% 6% 4% 644 Community centres (12%) (54%) (22%) (8%) (4%) (533) Council sports / 13% 56% 18% 11% 3% 686 leisure centres (11%) (50%) (23%) (12%) (5%) (554) Private sports / leisure 10% 48% 28% 11% 4% 568 centres (10% ) (42% ) (30% ) (14% ) (5% ) (442 ) Council swimming 14% 54% 17% 11% 4% 731 pools (12% ) (53% ) (15% ) (15% ) (6% ) (606 ) Private swimming 8% 31% 37% 15% 9% 460 pools (6%) (24%) (37%) (21%) (12%) (343) Country parks (e.g. 27% 57% 11% 3% 1% 770 Aden) (25%) (59%) (12%) (2%) (1%) (624) 23% 59% 14% 3% 1% 799 Town / village parks (21%) (60%) (12%) (5%) (2%) (652) 37% 53% 8% 1% <1% 663 Golf courses (36% ) (51% ) (12% ) (1% ) (1% ) (509 ) Playing fields / 18% 59% 18% 4% 0% 650 football pitches (16% ) (56% ) (20% ) (5% ) (2% ) (520 ) 10% 44% 32% 10% 3% 515 Ski centres (7%) (37%) (38%) (9%) (8%) (393) The natural 55% 35% 8% 2% <1% 790 environment (e.g. (64%) (31%) (5%) (<1%) (<1%) (686) hills, sea)

The facilities which respondents are most likely to rate as having good or very good availability in Aberdeenshire are the natural environment (90%, 2012: 95%) followed by golf courses (90%, 2012: 87%), country parks (84%, 2012 also 84%), town / village parks (82%, 2012: 81%) and playing fields / football pitches (77%, 2012: 72%).

4 The differing bases should again be noted. ‘Don’t know’ responses and respondents that did not answer the question (which, taken together, ranged from 15% to 51% of survey respondents for each facility type) have been excluded from this analysis to provide the most meaningful comparison between the different elements. 24

3.19 A full breakdown of these results by administrative area, age and gender are included in the appendices.

3.20 Respondents were then asked to rate the quality of each of these types of facilities and the results are detailed in Table 3.14 5. Again, the 2014 results are followed in brackets by the 2012 figures.

Table 3.14: Rating of QUALITY of Facilities in Aberdeenshire

Rating of Quality Very Neither / Very Good Poor Base Good Nor Poor 22% 47% 22% 6% 3% 280 Community centres (18% ) (44% ) (26% ) (9% ) (3% ) (225 ) Council sports / leisure 25% 49% 17% 5% 3% 304 centres (24% ) (42% ) (21% ) (12% ) (2% ) (204 ) Private sports / leisure 32% 39% 22% 1% 5% 269 centres (35%) (31%) (27%) (5%) (2%) (198) Council swimming 28% 46% 14% 8% 5% 367 pools (19% ) (46% ) (19% ) (11% ) (4% ) (283 ) 27% 35% 29% 2% 7% 214 Private swimming pools (21%) (32%) (42%) (3%) (3%) (142) Country parks (e.g. 56% 38% 5% 0% 1% 554 Aden) (50%) (43%) (6%) (1%) (<1%) (446) 40% 47% 9% 2% 2% 593 Town / village parks (36% ) (46% ) (11% ) (5% ) (1% ) (495 ) 55% 24% 16% 0% 5% 269 Golf courses (48%) (30%) (21%) (1%) (1%) (184) Playing fields / football 22% 47% 19% 7% 4% 227 pitches (15% ) (41% ) (31% ) (11% ) (2% ) (184 ) 27% 25% 31% 5% 11% 174 Ski centres (18%) (25%) (50%) (3%) (3%) (115) The natural 71% 23% 5% 0% 1% 587 environment (e.g. hills, (73%) (22%) (5%) (1%) (0%) (579) sea)

The facilities which respondents are most likely to rate as being good or very good quality in Aberdeenshire are the natural environment (94%, 2012: 95%), followed by country parks (94%, 2012: 93%), town / village parks (87%, 2012: 82%), golf courses (79%, 2012: 78%), Council sports / leisure centres (74%, 2012: 66%), Council swimming pools (74%, 2012: 65%) and private sports / leisure centres (71%, 2012: 66%).

5 Again, the differing bases should be noted. To allow for the most appropriate comparison between the different elements we have removed those responses that indicated ‘don’t use them’. A full breakdown of all results is contained in the appendices. 25

3.21 The appendices contain a detailed breakdown of these responses by administrative area, age and gender. This information should, however, be treated with caution due to the relatively small base number of respondents when broken down in this way.

3.22 Table 3.15 profiles usage of both town / village parks and country parks, breaking this down by administrative area, age and gender. Such an analysis was previously carried out for the 2012 survey and the 2014 responses are followed in brackets by the 2012 results. Overall, 76% of respondents had used a town / village park in the past 12 months (2012: 78%) and 72% had used a country park in the past 12 months (2012: 74%). These very slight reductions in apparent usage are likely to be of limited significance.

Table 3.15: Usage of Town / Village Parks and Country (Breakdown)

Used Town / Village Park in Used Country Park in Past 12 Past 12 Months Months Yes No Base Yes No Base Area 79% 21% 94 78% 22% 91 Banff and Buchan (78% ) (22% ) (103 ) (69% ) (31% ) (85 ) 71% 29% 102 84% 16% 110 Buchan (70% ) (30% ) (92 ) (83% ) (17% ) (98 ) 81% 19% 122 82% 18% 120 Formartine (86%) (14%) (114) (90%) (10%) (115) 77% 23% 177 71% 29% 173 Garioch (82%) (18%) (134) (76%) (24%) (119) 69% 31% 136 52% 48% 132 Kincardine and Mearns (73% ) (27% ) (104 ) (55% ) (45% ) (83 ) 80% 20% 120 69% 31% 122 Marr (77% ) (23% ) (100 ) (66% ) (34% ) (83 ) Age 86% 14% 163 80% 20% 162 Under 45s (85%) (15%) (175) (84%) (16%) (160) 75% 25% 383 72% 28% 386 45-64s (76%) (24%) (331) (72%) (28%) (309) 70% 30% 205 65% 36% 200 65 and over (74% ) (26% ) (141 ) (68% ) (32% ) (114 ) Gender 75% 25% 348 68% 32% 350 Male (76% ) (24% ) (294 ) (72% ) (28% ) (268 ) 77% 23% 403 75% 25% 398 Female (80%) (20%) (353) (77%) (23%) (315) 76% 24% 779 72% 28% 774 Overall (78%) (22%) (657) (74%) (26%) (591)

For 2014, usage of town / village parks in the past 12 months is highest amongst Formartine respondents (81%) and lowest amongst Kincardine & Mearns respondents (69%). Respondents aged under 45 were most likely to have used town / village parks (86%).

Buchan respondents were most likely to have used country parks in the past 12 months (84%) with usage of country parks lowest amongst Kincardine & Mearns respondents (52%). As with town / village parks, under 45s (80%) were most likely to have used country parks as were females (77%).

3.23 Respondents to the 2014 survey were then asked whether they used any facilities for physical activity outwith Aberdeenshire. The results of this are shown in Figure 3.5 below, with 24% of those respondents that provided an answer indicating that they had done so.

Figure 3.5: Usage of Facilities for Physical Activity outwith Aberdeenshire

Yes, 24%

No, 76%

Base: 930

3.24 Respondents were asked to give examples of the facilities that they were referring to and where they were located. These are listed in full in the appendices. A very diverse set of examples were provided, which were usually described in fairly general terms and did not easily lend themselves to coding into common categories. Examples were very often in Aberdeen:

“Aberdeen City Leisure”

“Aberdeen Boat Club”

“Aberdeen swimming pools”.

However, this was not always the case, with individuals mentioning examples of “facilities” (which were sometimes part of the natural environment, across Scotland:

“Golfing and fishing at various locations”

“Curling ice rinks across Scotland”

“Hillwalk throughout Scotland”.

3.25 The reasons given by respondents for using facilities outwith Aberdeenshire are profiled in Figure 3.6 below.

Figure 3.6: Which of the following would you say were reasons why you use these facilities rather than facilities in Aberdeenshire?

36% 40% Base: 196

35% 31% 28% 30% 20% 25% 20%

15% 10% 6% 10% 5%

0% Facilities not Take part in Facilities in Easier to get to Other facilities Facilities in available in activities with other area are other facilities closer to your other area are Aberdeenshire friends / team of better because of home address cheaper mates at other quality where you facility work

A range of such reasons were apparent, with no single theme being predominant but with availability of facilities, taking part in activities with friends and team mates and quality of facilities in other areas being the most common themes, rather than issues of convenience (closeness to work or home) or cost.

3.26 Respondents were then asked if they were aware that Aberdeenshire Council operated a scheme called “Active Aberdeenshire”, which allows almost unlimited access to Council leisure facilities (e.g. swimming pools, sports centres) in exchange for a fixed monthly fee.

The results are shown in Figure 3.7.

Figure 3.7: Awareness of Active Aberdeenshire

63% 70% 2012 Base: 751 59%

2014 Base: 920 60% 50% 35% 37%

40%

30% 20% 3% 4% 10%

0% Yes, already a Yes, but not a No

member member

Awareness of Active Aberdeenshire improved slightly between 2012 and 2014 from 38% to 41%. However, only 4%, of Panel members, up very slightly from 3% in 2012, indicate that they are members of Active Aberdeenshire.

3.27 Respondents that were not already members of Active Aberdeenshire were also asked about which of a number of things would encourage them to become a member. The results are set out in Table 3.17 (it should be noted that multiple responses were allowed).

Table 3.17: Would any of the following encourage you to become a member of Active Aberdeenshire?

Issue 2012 2014 An affordable membership price 46% 45% Access to Aberdeenshire tourist attractions (e.g. castles, camp 34% 34% sites) Access to non Council -owned leisure facilities (e.g. hotel pools, 28% 30% sports trusts etc.) Access to health / personal training advice 25% 28% Access to a variety of exercise classes 26% 27% Access to Aberdeen City Council leisure facilities 22% 22% Access to outdoor equipment to hire (e.g. tents, stoves) 7% 10% Organised opportunities to meet people socially (e.g. social 6% 10% events for gym users) Something else 11% 5% I am not interested in joining 34% 37% Base: 710 841

Responses to this question changed only marginally between 2012 and 2014.The most common response to emerge from those respondents who were not already members of Active Aberdeenshire that would encourage them to become members would be an affordable membership price (45%, 2012: 46%). This was followed by access to Aberdeenshire tourist attractions (34%, 2012 also 34%), access to non Council-owned leisure facilities (30%, 2012: 28%), access to health / personal training advice (28%, 2012: 25%) and access to a variety of exercise classes (27%, 2012: 26%).

37% of respondents (2012: 34%) stated that they would not be interested in joining Active Aberdeenshire.

3.28 We have analysed these potential factors that would encourage people to join Active Aberdeenshire according to the amount of moderate and / or vigorous physical activity that respondents had accumulated in Table 3.17. The table shows the proportion of people in each category (i.e. no physical activity, up to 2.5 hours and more than 2.5 hours) and the proportion within those categories who say that each issue would encourage them to join Active Aberdeenshire. A similar analysis was conducted in 2012 and those results are set out in brackets.

Table 3.18: Factors that Would Encourage Respondents to Join Active Aberdeenshire Broken Down by Amount of Moderate and / or Vigorous Physical Activity Accumulated over a 7 Day Period

Amount of Moderate and / or Vigorous Physical Factors that Would Encourage Activity Accumulated Over 7 Day Period People to Join Active Some but less 2.5 hours or Aberdeenshire None than 2.5 hours more Access to a variety of exercise 25% 28% 27% classes (16% ) (24% ) (29% ) Access to Aberdeen City Council 16% 25% 22% leisure facilities (19%) (21%) (24%) Access to health / personal training 30% 30% 26% advice (21% ) (28% ) (25% ) Access to non Council -owned 13% 34% 30% leisure facilities (e.g. hotel pools, (21%) (30%) (28%) sports trusts etc.) Access to Aberdeenshire tourist 27% 36% 33% attractions (e.g. castles, camp (28%) (38%) (32%) sites) Access to outdoor equipment to 8% 11% 10% hire (e.g. tents, stoves) (5% ) (9% ) (7% ) 36% 50% 42% An affordable membership price (36% ) (50% ) (45% ) Organised opportunities to meet 7% 11% 8% people socially (e.g. social events (7%) (4%) (7%) for gym users) 47% 33% 38% I am not interested in joining (47% ) (30% ) (35% ) 6% 4% 5% Something else (12%) (9%) (11%) 83 342 412 Base: (58) (267) (375)

Those respondents who did not undertake any moderate and / or vigorous physical activity in the previous 7 days were most likely to state that they are not interested in joining Active Aberdeenshire (47% in each of 2012 and 2014). The factors that they said would be most likely to encourage them to join where an affordable membership price (36% of this group), access to health / personal training (30%) and access to Aberdeenshire tourist attractions (27%).

Respondents that undertook at least some moderate and / or vigorous physical activity in the previous 7 days (but less than the recommended 2.5 hours) were most likely to say that an affordable membership price (50%), access to Aberdeenshire tourist attractions (36%) and access to non Council-owned facilities (34%) would encourage them to join Active Aberdeenshire.

Amongst those that already take 2.5 hours or more of exercise, an affordable membership price (42%), access to Aberdeenshire tourist attractions (33%) and access to non Council-owned leisure facilities (30%) are also the factors that would be most likely to encourage them to join Active Aberdeenshire.

KEY POINTS

50% of respondents indicate that they do at least 2.5 hours of moderate and / or vigorous physical activity per week (this is down from 53% in the 2012 Viewpoint survey but compares to 39% for Scotland as a whole in the 2011 Scottish Health Survey, with the 2012 Scottish Health Survey results being calculated using different definitions). 41% of respondents indicate that they undertook at least 30 minutes of moderate and / or vigorous physical exercise on at least five days within the previous week, down from 46% in 2012.

consider this to be the case).

KEY POINTS (CONTINUED )

Usage of town / village parks and country parks remains high at 76% and 72% respectively.

KEY POINTS (CONTINUED )

Only 4% of respondents were members of Active Aberdeenshire (up from 3% in 2012) and a further 37% (up from 35% in 2012) were aware but not members. The factors that non-members most commonly say would encourage them to become a member of Active Aberdeenshire were an affordable membership price (cited by 45% of respondents), access to Aberdeenshire tourist attractions (34%) and access to non Council-owned leisure facilities (30%); these findings were very similar to those of the 2012 survey.

4.0 LIBRARIES

4.1 This section of the Viewpoint survey explored awareness and usage of Aberdeenshire libraries as well as attitudes towards the library service. Certain questions were repeated from the Viewpoint 26 survey that was conducted in 2011 and comparisons with those results are set out where appropriate.

4.2 59% of respondents say they are a member of Aberdeenshire Libraries (down from 64% in the 2011 survey). There have been major Panel refreshment exercises since 2011 and the Panel size (and typical number of respondents to individual surveys) is higher and so this variance may be explained by this rather than a reduction in library membership. Table 4.1 shows the profile of library service members by gender, age, area and employment status comparing this to the profile of panel members as a whole.

Table 4.1: Profile of Library Service Members

% of L ibra ry Service % of Overall Respondents Profile Users 2014 Gender Male 41% 46% Female 56% 51% No data 3% 3% Age Under 45 18% 19% 45 -64 49% 50% 65 and over 30% 28% No data 3% 3% Area Banff and Buchan 13% 12% Buchan 15% 14% Formartine 16% 15% Garioch 21% 22% Kincardine and Mearns 16% 17% Marr 16% 16% No data 3% 2% Employment Status Employed / Self Employed 57% 61% Voluntary work 2% 2% Unemployed 1% 1% Retired 31% 28% Unable to work due to ill 3% 3% health / long term sick Looking after home / family 3% 7% Student 0% <1% Base 549 945

4.3 This profile information suggests the following:

Women are slightly more likely than men to be library users.

The age profile of library service users is broadly reflective of that of panel members as a whole.

This is also true in terms of the geographical spread of service users.

The profile of users also varies little by employment status.

It is notable, therefore, the extent to which library service users are broadly reflective of the demographic profile of the panel and Aberdeenshire as a whole. Such a pattern was also evident in the 2011 survey.

4.4 Respondents were then asked to say when they last used the Aberdeenshire Libraries Service (whether or not they borrowed material). These results are illustrated for Aberdeenshire Libraries Service members in Figure 4.1, comparing results from 2012 and 2014.

Figure 4.1: When Last Used Aberdeenshire Libraries Service

When did you last use the Aberdeenshire Libraries Service, whether or not you borrowed material? Members only.

45% 41% 40% 2012 Base: 521 36% 34% 2014 Base: 549 35% 30% 30% 25%

20% 13% 13%

15% 9% 10% 10% 6% 7% 5% 1% 1% 0% Within the last Within the last 3 Within the last 6 Within the last 12 Over a year ago Never used it month months months months

Library members continue to polarised between a high proportion that have made use of the service within the last month (albeit down from 41% to 36% between 2011 and 2014) and those for whom the last usage was more than a year ago (up from 30% in 2011 to 34% in 2014).

4.5 Of those respondents who said that they were not a member of Aberdeenshire Libraries, 53% said that they had never used the Aberdeenshire Libraries Service (2011 also 53%), 39% said that they had last used it over a year ago (2011: 43%) and 7% said that they had last used it within the past year (2011: 5%).

4.6 Table 4.2 details the services provided by Aberdeenshire Libraries that respondents were aware of. The figures shown are based on all respondents to the survey.

Table 4.2: Awareness of Library Services

Which of the following services are you aware of? Services 2014 Children’s activities and events 55% Free wi -fi within libraries 53% Computer taster sessions or classes 46% Public access computers 45% Author visits 42% Local studies and family history resources 36% Downloadable “talking books” 33% Online reservation of books, CDs 33% Physical “talking books” 32% Online reference resources (e.g. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 29% World Book, Credo) Online catalogue for browsing and to renew or reserve 27% materials Downloadable magazines 25% Library Direct Service (delivery of lending material for 25% housebound library members) Reading groups 25% Lending of e -readers 21% DVDs to pick up at an Aberdeenshire library of your choice 18% Study space 18% Room hire 16% Music streaming service 11% X-Boxes and PlayStations within the libraries 8% Base 945

4.7 Whilst it might perhaps be unreasonable to expect a high level of awareness across the board for this range of services it should be noted that only a minority of respondents were aware of most of these services (a similar pattern was evident in the 2011 survey although the list of services was quite different and not comparable). In only two cases was awareness of these services a majority of respondents; children’s activities and events (where 55% were aware) and free wi-fi within libraries (where 53% were aware).

4.8 For those respondents that were members of Aberdeenshire Libraries , the levels of awareness are set out in Table 4.3. As can be expected, awareness of services provided by Aberdeenshire Libraries is somewhat higher amongst members than non-members. The services that members were most aware of were free wi-fi (73%), local studies and family history resources (70%), computer taster sessions or classes (61%), DVDS to pick up at an Aberdeenshire library of choice (61%) and family activities and events).It is, however, worth noting that, even amongst library members, only a minority were aware of many of these services.

Table 4.3: Awareness of Library Services Aberdeenshire Libraries Members Only

Which of the following services are you aware of? Services 2014 Free wi -fi within libraries 73% Local studies and family history resources 70% Computer taster sessions or classes 61% DVDs to pick up at an Aberdeenshire library of your choice 61% Children’s activities and events 58% Physical “talking books” 50% Library Direct Service (delivery of lending material for 44% housebound library members) Lending of e -readers 44% Author visits 43% Online catalogue for browsing and to renew or reserve 37% materials Public access computers 34% Online reservation of books, CDs 34% Study space 33% Downloadable magazines 32% Downloadable “talking books” 30% Reading groups 25% Music streaming service 22% Room hire 20% Online reference resources (e.g. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 14% World Book, Credo) X-Boxes and PlayStations within the libraries 10% Base 487

4.9 Table 4.4 indicates the proportion of respondents that indicated interest in each service (based on all respondents to the survey).

Table 4.4: Interest in Library Services

Which of the following services are you interested in?

Services 2014 Local studies and family history resources 23% Author visits 19% Online reservation of books, CDs 14% Free wi -fi within libraries 13% Online catalogue for browsing and to renew or reserve 13% materials Computer taster sessions or classes 12% Children’s activities and events 11% Music streaming service 11% Downloadable magazines 10% Downloadable “talking books” 10% Lending of e -readers 10% Online reference resources (e.g. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 9% World Book, Credo) Public access computers 6% Library Direct Service (delivery of lending material for 5% housebound library members) DVDs to pick up at an Aberdeenshire library of your choice 5% Physical “talking books” 5% Reading groups 5% Room hire 4% X-Boxes and PlayStations within the libraries 3% Study space 2% Base 945

For each individual service, only a relatively small minority of respondents express an interest in any individual service. However, when taken as a whole, 54% of all respondents express an interest in at least one service. Local studies and family history resources has the highest level of interest at 23% followed by author visits at 19%, online reservation of books and CDs at 14% and free wi-fi at 13%.

4.10 Table 4.5 below sets out the factors that respondents say would discourage them from using the library service (or from using it more often).

Table 4.5: Factors that Discourage Library Usage

Which of the following would you say were factors that discouraged or prevented you from using the library service (or from using it more often)?

Services 2014 Too busy 23% Prefer to purchase books or other resources 20% Opening hours 18% Generally not interested 17% Don’t know enough about the library service 10% Borrowing periods too short 7% Lack of parking facilities 7% Prefer ‘new’ books 7% Fines and other charges 6% The choice of reading materials 5% Location of branches 6% The choice of CDs and DVDs 2% Another reason 11% None of the above 18% Base 863

Most commonly, these factors are a matter of individual circumstance or choice (e.g. 23% of people indicate that they are too busy, 17% that they are generally not interested and 20% that they have a preference to purchase books or other resources). The factors that relate to the library service offer are, most commonly, opening hours (18% see this as a factor that discourages them from use of the libraries) and not knowing enough about it (10%).

4.11 Respondents were asked to rate various aspects of their local library on a five point scale from very good to very poor. It should be noted that this question was open to all respondents but that library members accounted for between 78% and 81% of all respondents to this question so their views have a major influence on the overall findings. “Don’t know / not applicable” responses have been excluded from the base.6

Figure 4.2: Rating of Aspects of Local Library

From what you know, how would you rate your local library according to each of the following? “Don’t know / Not applicable” and non-Aberdeenshire excluded from base.

93% 92% 2012 Base: 470-592 100% 90% 89% 79% 78% 2014 Base: 441-648 73% 80% 68% 65% 59% % rating 60% as good or very good 40%

20%

0% The service that you A welcoming Range of books Range of other lending Opening hours that receive from library atmosphere materials meet your needs staff

4.12 These results remain very positive, particularly for service from library staff (93% giving a good or very good rating) and having a welcoming atmosphere (89% giving a good or very good rating). However, across all of these measures there has been some diminution in these positive ratings. This is most apparent in relation to range of other lending materials (down from 78% to 65%) and opening hours (down from 68% to 59%).

6 In the 2011 survey, a very small number of respondents were excluded from the base for this question as they had indicated that the library they used was not in Aberdeenshire. This could not be done in 2014 as this question was not asked. This is not likely to have had any material effect on the findings. 41

4.13 As shown in Figure 4.3, 60% of respondents to the 2014 Panel survey indicated that they would be willing to recommend Aberdeenshire’s Library Service to others. Only 4% indicated that they would not with the balance being “don’t know” responses.

Figure 4.3: Willingness to Recommend Aberdeenshire’s Library Service

Don't Know, 36%

Yes, 60% No, 4%

Base: 945

Amongst library members the proportion of those that say they would be willing to recommend the service to friends and relatives rises to 83%.

4.14 Figure 4.4 over the page illustrates how satisfied respondents are with the Aberdeenshire Library service overall. Results have been broken down by members and non-members of the library service for completeness.

Figure 4.4: Overall Satisfaction with Aberdeenshire Library Service

Overall, how satisfied are you with Aberdeenshire Library Service?

60% All respondents 2011 (base: 593) 46% 43% Library members 2011 (base: 503) 41% 42% 41% 40% All respondents 2014 (base: 620) 37% 38% 40% Library members 2014 (base: 508)

23%

18% 20% 13% 9%

2% 2% 2% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1%

0% Very Satisfied Fairly Satisfied Neither / Nor Fairly Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied

The modest decline in satisfaction with individual dimensions of the library service is apparent in that, amongst all respondents, overall satisfaction has fallen from 84% to 75% (though it is certainly worth noting that this is largely due to an increase in the neutral “neither / nor” response as opposed to any increase in outright dissatisfaction.

However, satisfaction has also declined amongst those that indicate that they are library members (falling from 88% to 81%); again, this is due largely to an increase in the “neither / nor” response.

KEY POINTS

5.0 MUSEUMS AND OTHER CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

5.1 A new set of questions were posed in Viewpoint 38, relating specifically to usage of, and attitudes towards, museums and other cultural activities within Aberdeenshire. The results of these questions are described in this section of the report.

5.2 Respondents were asked firstly to indicate how recently they had visited a number of museums within Aberdeenshire. The results of tis are profiled in Table 5.1 below. It should be noted that these results are based on those respondents that gave a definitive answer for each museum; for those that left this question blank, it cannot be said whether or not they have used the particular facility.

Table 5.1: Frequency of Visit

How recently have you visited each of the following museums within Aberdeenshire?

Never Within the 1 to 2 2 to 5 More than visited past year years ago years ago 5 years ago Base Aberdeenshire Farming Museum, 43% 17% 11% 11% 18% 888 Aden Country Park Arbuthnot Museum, 82% 6% 3% 3% 6% 854 Peterhead Banff Museum 87% 3% 3% 3% 4% 856 Duff House, Banff 56% 10 % 12% 10 % 12% 873 Fordyce Joiners 90% 2% 3% 2% 4% 850 Workshop Grampian Transport 34% 18% 13% 14% 21% 892 Museum, Alford Maud Railway 88% 3% 2% 3% 5% 860 Museum Museum of Scottish Lighthouses, 60% 11% 9% 12% 9% 881 Fraserburgh Banchory Museum 92% 2% 2% 2% 3% 856 Sandhaven Meal Mill 96% 1% <1 % 1% 2% 850 Stonehaven 78% 8% 4% 4% 7% 860 Tolbooth Museum

5.3 The proportion of those that responded to the question that have ever visited this range of museums varied between 4% and 66%.

5.4 As might reasonably be expected, the profile of those that have ever visited such museums varies significantly by area. For example:

• 35% of Marr respondents say that they have visited Grampian Transport Museum, Alford within the past year compared to, for example, 7% of Banff & Buchan respondents.

• 35% of 46% of Buchan respondents say that they have visited Aberdeenshire Farming Museum, Aden Country Park in the past year, compared to, for example, only 7% of respondents from each of Kincardine & Mearns and Marr.

• 25% of Banff & Buchan respondents say they have visited Duff House, Banff within the past year compared to, for example, only 2% of Kincardine and Mearns respondents. Exactly the same pattern of visit was apparent in relation to the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses, Fraserburgh.

A full profile of usage by location for each individual establishment is contained in the appendices.

5.5 A profile of usage by gender and is also included in the appendices. In general, any differences in usage by gender are fairly limited. For some facilities, usage is correlated with age. For example, 52% of people aged 65+ said that they had ever visited Duff House, Banff compared to 29% of those aged under 45. Conversely, 65% of those aged under 45 had visited Aberdeenshire Farming Museum, Aden Country Park, compared to 53% of those aged 65 and over.

5.6 Respondents were then asked to rate their satisfaction or otherwise with any of these museums that they had visited. The base number of responses to this question is lower as only those that had visited were eligible to answer this question. The table is ordered in declining order of overall satisfaction.

Table 5.2: Satisfaction with Museums

Thinking about your visits to the museums identified above, please say below how satisfied or dissatisfied you have been with you experience of using that museum. Please answer only for any museums that you have used and, otherwise, leave that question blank. Aberdeenshire? Very Quite Overall Neither Quite Very Satisfied Satisfied Satisfied / Nor Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Base Grampian Transport 50% 37% 87% 12% 1% <1% 573 Museum, Alford Museum of Scottish 47% 39% 86% 12% 1% <1% 356 Lighthouses, Fraserburgh Aberdeenshire Farming 43% 41% 84% 13% 1% 1% 514 Museum, Aden Country Park Duff House, 30% 50% 80% 18% 2% 1% 383 Banff Stonehaven Tolbooth 25% 44% 68% 31% 1% <1% 215 Museum Arbuthnot Museum, 18% 43% 61% 36% 3% 0% 168 Peterhead Maud Railway 26% 31% 57% 42% 1% 1% 129 Museum Banff Museum 15% 41% 56% 41 % 1% 1% 140 Fordyce Joiners 25% 30% 55% 42% 2% 0% 106 Workshop Banchory 16% 30% 46% 50% 4% 0% 109 Museum Sandhaven 13% 18% 31% 66% 1% 1% 71 Meal Mill

5.7 Overall satisfaction varies from 31% (for Sandhaven Meal Mill) to 87% for Grampian Transport Museum, Alford. In most instances where respondents do not express outright satisfaction they give a “neither / nor” response. Levels of outright dissatisfaction are very small.

It should be noted that satisfaction levels are high at each of the four most commonly used facilities as described.

5.8 Respondents were then asked, thinking about their experiences of any of these museums in Aberdeenshire, what they particularly liked or valued about their experience of using such museums. These comments were extremely diverse and do not easily lend themselves to coding into common categories. They are listed in full in the appendices.

Many of the comments related specifically to the interest of particular museums or exhibits:

“Museum of Scottish Lighthouses; interesting aspect of Scotland’s maritime history”

“The range of activities at Grampian Transport Museum, Alford is very good”

“Aden Park and Museum is local to us so we often use / visit it. A great place to take family and visitors of all ages”.

History and heritage were quite common themes:

“Local people explaining history”

“They give an insight into past times”

“Brought back memories of my childhood”.

It was also clear from a number of comments the value that was [placed on service and staff, particularly local staff and their knowledge:

“Very nice people working at Peterhead Museum”

“Where staff (either paid or volunteers) are available to share knowledge and information”

“Good visitor guide made all the difference giving an insight into the history of the buildings and people who lived and worked there”.

5.9 Respondents were also asked for their suggestions as to how their experience or that of others of using such museums could be improved. Again, these comments are listed in full in the appendices. The first key theme to note is awareness:

“Better advertising; didn’t know some of these existed”

“Better advertising perhaps as I haven’t heard of many of the museums and have lived in the Buchan area for thirteen years”

“When googling What’s On in Aberdeenshire, these museums should be highlighted”.

Some of the improvement suggestions related to specific aspects of the quality of the experience. For example:

“Unfortunately the video wasn’t working when we visited the Lighthouse Museum, which was disappointing”

“Aden Farming could be updated and new material introduced”

“Duff House had a lot of empty rooms. It would be good to see it fully fitted out as it would have been”.

A further disparate group of comments were made including, for example, suggestions for new museums, suggestions for mobile apps, suggestions for greater interactivity, occasional comments about cost, comments about opening times, comments about catering and suggestions for more events to be held at the locations.

5.10 The key barriers to usage of Aberdeenshire’s Museums are summarised in Figure 5.1 below. These results are based only on those that answered this specific question.

Figure 5.1: Barriers to Usage of Museums

67% 70% Base: 703 60%

50%

40% 20% 30% 20% 12% 20% 7% 4% 10%

0% Awareness of Opening hours Range of Atmosphere of The service Something else what is on that meet your exhibits the museums that you offer needs receive from museum staff

Clearly, the theme of awareness is paramount here, with this view varying little by location, age or gender. Opening hours was the other perceived barrier but this should, of course, be seen in the light of generally low awareness (and thus, presumably, limited awareness of opening hours).

The “something else” responses are listed in full in the appendices. Typically, they related to a general lack of interest and / or time with some comments also being made about issues such as distance to travel and competition from other attractions.

5.11 Respondents were then asked if, within the past two years or so, they or anyone in their household had participated in any arts projects within Aberdeenshire. 10% indicated that they had. This was highest in Banff & Buchan (14%) and Marr (13%) and lowest in Kincardine & Mearns (7%). There was little difference by age but females were very slightly more likely to indicate involvement in such projects (11% compared to 9% of males).

5.12 As might be expected, such projects were very diverse and included, for example, artist-led projects, reading competitions. Opera, art classes, photographic events, Art Forums, theatre, storytelling and other examples. At least some of these examples were not “projects” as such but simply involved attendance at a range of arts events. The full listing of examples is included in the appendices.

5.13 Figure 5.2 profiles satisfaction with such “projects”.

Figure 5.2: Satisfaction with Arts Projects

Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied were you / the person in your household with such arts projects?

60% 51% Base: 88

50% 39%

40%

30%

20%

6% 5% 10% 0%

0% Very Satisfied Quite Satisfied Neither / Nor Quite Very Dissatisfied Dissatisfied

A very high level of satisfaction was recorded amongst the relatively small number of respondents that indicated they had taken part in such projects and answered this question.

5.14 A reasonably high proportion of respondents (23%) indicated that they personally would be interested in taking part in such art projects in the future. 12% indicated that this would be the case for other adults in the household and 19% for children in the household. Overall, 41% of respondents indicated that at least someone in the household would be interested in such projects (compared to only 10% that indicated previous participation).

5.15 Returning to the specific theme of museums, respondents were asked to indicate their overall satisfaction with museums in Aberdeenshire. The results are summarised in Figure 5.3 below.

Figure 5.3: Overall Satisfaction with Museums

47% Overall Base: 917 50% 45% Excluding "Not Used Them" Base: 711 36% 40% 32% 35%

30% 25% 22% 25% 19% 15% 20% 15% 10% 1% 2% 0% 5% 0% 0% Very Satisfied Quite Neither Quite Very Not Used Satisfied Satisfied / Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Them Nor Dissatisfied

Amongst respondents overall, only 51% express satisfaction although this excludes the 22% that said they had not used the museums. Amongst users, overall satisfaction increases to 66%. Whilst there is limited outright dissatisfaction, a high proportion of users (32%) give a “neither / nor” response and 47% indicate that they are “quite satisfied” with only 19% indicating that they are “very satisfied”. This suggests some scope for continued improvement.

5.16 Satisfaction varies somewhat in two particular areas. Amongst respondents as a whole it is higher in Banff & Buchan (at 61% compared to 51% of the sample as a whole) and in Marr it is lower (at 44% compared to 51% of the sample as a whole). There are only modest variances in levels of satisfaction by age group and gender.

5.17 A further open-ended question was posed in the survey regarding what respondents felt would encourage more people in Aberdeenshire to take part in arts and cultural activities. These comments were again very diverse and not easily coded to common categories. They are listed in full in the appendices.

We have, however, highlighted some of the common themes, along with illustrative comments, below:

Theme Illustrative Comments Awareness “Many people just have no idea what’s available”

“Knowledge of events”

“General awareness of what is on offer”

“Make people aware of the facilities available at these places” Accessibility of events “More local (reachable) events”

“Better transport to events from rural areas”

“Affordable transport” Opening times “Events at times that are suitable for working people” Cost “Prices”

“Free events at weekend and school holidays”

“Some are a bit expensive” Quality of activities “Better material / collections”

“More modern exhibits. For example, video art” Types of activities “Include children”

“A wide range of activities to suit everyone”

“More craft projects needed”

“Open air festivals”

Issues related to awareness were far and away the most common.

KEY POINTS

6.0 GYPSY / TRAVELLER ACCOMMODATION

6.1 On an annual basis, Aberdeenshire attracts a number of Gypsy / Travellers to the area, with greater numbers occurring between the travelling months of April to September. Aberdeenshire Council has a responsibility under the Local Housing Strategy to meet the accommodation needs of Gypsy / Travellers. Currently, Aberdeenshire Council has one authorised, permanent seasonal site at Greenbanks, Banff which is open from April to September; the site is closed over the winter months due to its proximity to the seafront. Because of this, there is a shortfall of site provision in Aberdeenshire for Gypsy / Travellers and, as a result, there are unauthorised encampments across various areas in Aberdeenshire.

The services provided to Gypsy / Travellers are currently under review and panel members were asked for their views on a number of issues to help inform this process.

6.2 In the first instance, panel members were asked about their views on how the Council currently manages unauthorised encampments. The overall results of this are shown in Figure 6.1 below.

Figure 6.1: Management of Unauthorised Encampments

Do you agree or disagree that Aberdeenshire Council currently manages unauthorised encampments effectively?

28% 28% 30%

Base: 928 25%

18% 20% 14% 15% 9% 10%

5% 2%

0% Agree Strongly Agree Neither Agree Disagree Disagree Don't Know / No nor Disagree Strongly Opinion

6.3 Clearly, comparatively few respondents (11% of the total) agreed that the Council currently managed such unauthorised encampments effectively. 56% of this total expressed disagreement that this was the case, including 28% that disagreed strongly.

6.4 Such views were broadly consistent across areas and ages / genders, as illustrated in Table 6.1 below. The single exception to this was in Banff & Buchan where a somewhat higher proportion (20%) felt that the Council managed unauthorised encampments effectively (though this is still a small minority compared to the 54% of people from this area that expressly disagreed).

Table 6.1: Management of Unauthorised Encampments (Breakdown of Responses)

% in agreement that Aberdeenshire Council Base Category of currently manages unauthorised Respondent encampments effectively Location Banff and Buchan 20% 109 Buchan 12% 123 Formartine 10% 142 Garioch 10% 211 Kincardine and Mearns 8% 163 Marr 10% 149 Age Under 45s 12% 176 45 -64s 11% 464 Over 65s 11% 257 Gender Female 11% 475 Male 12% 422 Overall

6.5 A further question was then put to panel members as to whether the Council should increase its provision of authorised Gypsy / Traveller sites. The results of this are set out in Figure 6.2 below.

Figure 6.2: Views on Increased Provision of Authorised Gypsy / Traveller sites

Do you think that Aberdeenshire Council should increase its provision of authorised Gypsy / Traveller sites?

53% Base: 912 60% 50% 33% 40%

30% 14%

20% 10%

0% Yes No Don't Know / No

Opinion

Overall, there is a clear majority in support of this general statement that the Council should increase is provision of such authorised sites (it is noted that this statement was set out in general terms and did not relate to any specific site).

6.6 The breakdown of these results by location, age and gender criteria is set out in Table 6.2 below.

Table 6.2: Provision of Authorised Sites (Breakdown of Responses)

% in agreement that Aberdeenshire Council Base Category of should increase its provision of authorised Respondent Gypsy / Traveller sites Location Banff and Buchan 52% 110 Buchan 52% 124 Formartine 55% 141 Garioch 52% 202 Kincardine and Mearns 56% 162 Marr 51% 143 Age Under 45s 48% 174 45 -64s 54% 460 Over 65s 54% 248 Gender Female 59% 461 Male 47% 421 Overall 53% 912

The only distinction of note is that females are slightly more likely than males to believe that the Council should increase its provision of authorised sites.

6.7 Those respondents that indicated that they did not believe that the Council should increase its provision of authorised sites were given the opportunity to comment on the reasons for this. IBP prepared a coding framework based on these themes and have, in the first instance, summarised those themes, along with illustrative comments, below. A full listing of comments is included in the appendices, which have been supplied under separate cover.

Theme Illustrative Comments “I feel that if they want a site then it is funded by the travellers exclusively with minimal assistance from the View that costs should be met by Gypsy Council” / Travellers

“They don’t pay taxes. Why should tax payers’ money be spent on them” Questions as to whether sites would be “I don’t think the travellers would use used the sites” “They leave a mess and think they own the place” Negative comments about mess

“Too much litter” “I’m not really in favour of this choice of lifestyle” General negative comments about

Gypsy / Travellers “Lack of respect from the travellers to locals and the environment” “Not to encourage the travellers to View that no sites at all should be stay so no sites then they may move on allowed away from Aberdeenshire” “Where there is an influx of travellers Negative comments about crime to the area, the crime rate increases” Negative comments about doorstep “They knock on doors offering dodgy selling services” “I f they had managed provision, it would prevent misuse of other sites” Positive comments about authorised sites as opposed to unauthorised “It would seem that traveller families would rather camp on unauthorised sites as they have no site fees to pay” Feelings of intimidation by Gypsy / “Very difficult to get them to leave Travellers when I say “no thanks””

6.8 A total of 184 respondents made comment on this. Each comment has been coded according to the categories above, thus allowing for an indication of the prevalence of these comments. 7 These results are set out in Table 6.3 below, broken down by responses to the question as to whether the Council should increase its provision of Gypsy / Traveller sites.

Table 6.3: Coding of Comments on Provision of Authorised Gypsy / Traveller Sites (Breakdown of Responses)

Response Theme % of comments View that costs should be met by Gypsy / Travellers 38% Negative comments about mess 28% Questions as to whether sites would be used 20% General negative comments about Gypsy / Travellers 12% View that no sites at all should be allowed 12 % Negative comments about crime 10% Negative comments about doorstep selling 4% Positive comments about authorised sites as opposed to 3% unauthorised Feelings of intimidation by Gypsy / Travellers 2% Other 5% Base

Occasionally, these comments actually related to a view that authorised sites were better than unauthorised in terms of the management of their impact. However, more commonly, the reason for dislike of authorised sites was simply the concern that such sites would bring the range of perceived problems described to the local communities.

7 It should be noted that comments may be coded to more than one theme so the total % of comments is greater than the base number of such comments. 60

6.9 Respondents were then asked to comment on the types of authorised site that they felt the Council should focus on establishing locally for Gypsy / Travellers. Three types of site were set out for this purpose:

Type of Site Definition Permanent site A permanent site would be fully serviced and have pitches with access to individual amenity blocks including a toilet and shower. Refuse facilities would also be provided. There would be no time limit for the length of stay on a particular pitch. Transit site A transit site would be fully serviced with access to individual amenity blocks including a toilet and shower. Refuse facilities would be provided. The duration of stay would be 28 days. Stopover site A stopover site would have basic amenities including access to water, refuse facilities and portable toilets. The maximum duration on the site would be 28 days.

In each case, it was noted that the Council would put in place appropriate arrangements for the management of the site and that charges would be made based on the level of services provided on the site.

6.10 The results in relation to this question are summarised in Table 6.4 below. It should be noted that the base number of responses to each question is lower than for previous questions, with a significant proportion of all survey respondents (between 18% and 20%, depending on the question) choosing not to answer this question.

Table 6.4: Focus of Authorised Sites

What type(s) of authorised site(s) do you feel that Aberdeenshire Council should focus on establishing locally for Gypsy / Travellers?

Don’t Know / Type of Site Yes No Base No Opinion Permanent site 41% 45% 15% 757 Transit site 60% 27% 14% 768 Stopover site 61% 23% 16% 772

A slight majority of those that express an opinion are against a focus on permanent sites as described. Conversely, a majority of respondents overall (and a substantial majority of those that express a view) suggest that the focus should be on transit sites and / or stopover sites.

6.11 Table 6.5 below identifies where there are significant variations of opinion by location, age and gender. We have noted where there is a difference of 5% or greater compared to the “overall” Yes result.

Table 6.5: Focus of Authorised Sites (Significant Variations)

What type(s) of authorised site(s) do you feel that Aberdeenshire Council should focus on establishing locally for Gypsy / Travellers?

Significant Significant Overall Type of Site Positive Negative “Yes” Variations Variations Banff & Buchan (52%); Permanent site 41% Under 45s (34%) 65 and over (46%) Kincardine & Garioch (65%); Mearns (54%); Marr (65%); Under 45s Transit site 60% 65 and over (53%); (66%); Females Males (53%) (66%)

Formartine (55%); Stopover site 61% - Kincardine & Mearns (56%); Under 45s (55%)

In general, any such distinctions remain fairly modest. There are some minor geographical differences with Banff and Buchan residents being somewhat more positive than others about permanent sites and Garioch residents about transit sites. Residents from Kincardine & Mearns were less positive than others about transit sites and stopover sites and Formartine residents were less positive about stopover sites. Those in the under 45 age group were generally less positive than others about each of these options.

6.12 Following on from this, respondents were asked about their priority ranking for different elements of new authorised sites (based on a prompted list of 5 elements that respondents were asked to rank from 1 to 5 in priority order). The results are set out in Table 6.6 below. Again, it should be noted that these figures are based only on those that answered at least part of the question; approximately 23% of all respondents did not answer this question.

Table 6.6: Priorities for New Authorised Sites

When developing new authorised sites for Gypsy / Travellers, what should be the Council’s priorities? Please rank the issues below in order or priority from 1 to 5 where 1 is the most important and 5 is the least important.

Ensuring Ensuring that the that the site site has location is appropriate Ensuring Keeping acceptable access to that there the costs Rank Ensuring to both the services are of that the Gypsy / such as appropriate developing site is of an Traveller GP’s, amenities the site as appropriate and settled schools, available low as size communities shops and on site possible so on Rank 1 9% 16% 18 % 3% 54% Rank 2 14% 29 % 19% 20% 18% Total in rank 1 23% 45% 37% 23% 72% and 2 Rank 3 22% 28% 14% 26% 11% Rank 4 22% 21% 17% 33% 8% Rank 5 33% 5% 32% 19% 11% Base 728

The clear priority amongst panel members as a whole was site location – specifically, ensuring that this was acceptable to both the Gypsy / traveller and settled communities. More than half of those that gave an answer to this question (54%) rated this as their top priority and 72% placed it in their top two priorities.

The themes that ranked below this were ensuring that appropriate amenities were available on site (16% ranking this in their top priority and 45% in their top 2 priorities) and keeping the costs of developing the site as low as possible (18% ranking this in their top priority and 37% in their top 2 priorities). Less obvious priority was attached to issues of access to services and site size.

6.13 Any distinction in view by age and gender were relatively small. In terms of location, it is worth noting that, whilst results in Banff & Buchan were broadly similar to other areas, they were less likely to identify site location as their top priority (45% compared to 54% of the total) and more likely to identify their top priority as appropriate amenities available on site (27% compared to 16% of all respondents).

6.14 Panel members were then asked to comment on what they felt the emphasis of the Council’s work should be in terms of the provision of new authorised sites and the management of unauthorised sites. The results are set out in Figure 6.3 below.

Figure 6.3: Emphasis of Aberdeenshire Council’s work On Gypsy / Traveller site

What do you think should be the emphasis of Aberdeenshire Council’s Work on Gypsy / Traveller sites?

44% Base: 887 45% 40% 31% 35% 29% 30%

25%

20% 12% 15% 10% 5%

Providing new Managing Neither of these Don't know authorised sites unauthorised sites

6.15 It is noted firstly that a substantial proportion of respondents that did answer this question gave a “don’t know” response (29%). In addition, 12% felt that neither the provision of new authorised sites or management of unauthorised sites. Amongst those that did express a view between these two options, respondents were somewhat more likely to prioritise the provision of new authorised sites (41%) but this was not a clear cut finding with 31% indicating that management of unauthorised sites was their priority.

6.16 There were some modest differences of view in relation to location, with Formartine residents being somewhat more likely to believe that the focus should be on provision of new authorised sites (51% compared to 44% of the sample as a whole). Under 45s were less likely than others to consider that provision of new authorised sites should be the priority (38% of this group felt that this should be the priority but 43% felt that the priority should be management of unauthorised sites.

6.17 As a final question in this section, respondents were given the opportunity to make further comments about site provision for Gypsy / Travellers in Aberdeenshire. 362 respondents made such comments and they are detailed in full in the appendices and have also been provided to the Council under separate cover. IBP have coded these responses to a set of common categories and have tabulated below the frequency of comments in relation to such categories. 8

Table 6.7: Coding of Comments on Provision of Authorised Gypsy / Traveller Sites (Breakdown of Responses)

Theme Illustrative Comments Negative comments about mess 29% View that costs should be met by Gypsy / Travellers 26% Positive comments about authorised sites as opposed to 17% unauthorised Location suggestions 13% Need for engagement with communities 9% Negative environmental impacts of Gypsy / Traveller 7% sites View that no sites at all should be allowed 7% Questions as to whether sites would be used 6% General negative comments about Gypsy / Travellers 4% Negative comments about crime 4% Negative comments about doorstep selling 2% Feelings of intimidation by Gypsy / Travellers 2% Positive examples from elsewhere 2% Other 5%

8 Individual comments may be coded to multiple categories so totals may sum to greater than 100%. 65

6.18 These points reflect the concerns raised earlier, most particularly in relation to issues such as mess and costs. Some comments do, however, note the preferability of authorised sites and, as detailed in the appendices, suggest the basis on which sites may be considered and prioritised. The need for engagement with settled communities is also noted.

KEY POINTS

Where respondents indicate a preference for a type of site on which the Council should focus it is more commonly for transit sites (60%) or stopover sites (61%) than permanent sites (41%).

In terms of priorities in relation to attributes of new authorised sites, the clear priority amongst panel members as a whole was site location – specifically, ensuring that this was acceptable to both the Gypsy / Traveller and settled communities. More than half of those that gave an answer to this question (54%) rated this as their top priority and 72% placed it in their top two priorities. The themes that ranked below this were ensuring that appropriate amenities were available on site and keeping the costs of developing the site as low as possible. Less obvious priority was attached to issues of access to services and site size.

KEY POINTS (CONTINUED )