5 ways Scotland is moving forward

by Liam Furby
Posted on
7 years ago
2 min read

New figures out today show that since the SNP came to office in 2007, Scotland has moved forward.

Today, more people are in work than ever before, our communities are safer than they’ve been for decades and more young people are going to university.

 

Here are just five facts you need to know.  

1. The proportion of adults with a qualification is up, from 77 per cent in 2007 to 83 per cent in 2016.

We believe education should always be based on ability to learn not ability to pay, that’s why one of the first things we did in government was to scrap tuition fees. This has helped support an increase in the number of people with a degree or professional qualification.

 

2. Crime is at a 43 year low and the proportion of people who think their neighbourhood is very or fairly good place to live has gone up.

In 2016, 95 per cent of adults view their neighbourhood as a very or fairly good place to live, up from 92 per cent in 2006. New crime figures also show that recorded crime in Scotland has fallen 3 per cent in the last year to the lowest level since 1974.

 

3. After falling between 1999 and 2007, the number of people living in the social rented sector has remained steady.

Since coming to office, we’ve delivered 60,000 affordable homes. We’ve also kick-started a new generation of council house building, delivering 8,211 since 2009-10. In comparison, the previous Labour-LibDem administration delivered just 6 in their last term.

4. More people are taking part in sports or are physically active.

 

In recent years more people have been getting active, with almost 8 in 10 people in 2016 having taken part in physical activity or sport in the last four weeks.

Scotland successfully delivered the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and we are keen to keep the games legacy alive. By the end of 2016 150 Community Sport Hubs had been created across Scotland, creating opportunities for people to get involved in sport. By 2020, Sport Scotland are aiming for 200 to be in place.

 

5. Since 1999, the proportion of working-age adults employed full-time has been stable at around 45 per cent until 2012 when a steady increase has been evident.

Employment in Scotland is at the highest level on record – and above the UK rate. Youth unemployment is also the third lowest of any country in the EU. Read more about how we’re tackling unemployment here.