Levels of trust in the Scottish Government have plummeted, with close to half of people saying they distrust the institution.
The latest data from the Scottish Household Survey 2023 examined trust in public institutions, with the response options: trust it a great deal; tend to trust it; tend to distrust it; distrust it greatly; don’t know or not sure.
For the results, the answers were combined into 'tend to trust it', 'tend not to trust it' or 'don't know'.
The survey showed that 45% of people distrust the Scottish Government, up from 38% in 2022, with the same number saying they trusted Holyrood.
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That was the highest level of distrust in a public institution, followed by local government on 35%.
The health system was the most trusted on 78%, followed by Police Scotland on 73% and the education system with 62%.
The civil service and the justice system had trust ratings of over 50% but also a significant number of 'don't knows', around a quarter of respondents for both.
Proportion of people in Scotland who trust or distrust a range of institutions, 2023 (Image: Scottish Government) Adults aged 16 to 34 were more likely than adults aged 35 to 59 and adults aged 60 or over to express trust in the Scottish Government (56% compared with 46% and 36% respectively).
People in urban areas where more likely to express trust in the Scottish Government, with 49% compared to 38% in rural areas.
However, the levels of trust between those in the poorest areas and the wealthiest were around the same, 46% compared to 45%.
Adults living in the 20% most deprived areas were less likely to express trust in the justice system, the civil service, local government and the police.
Trust in the police was lower among minority ethnic groups at 68% as compared to 72% for white Scottish people and white 'other British'.
While trust in the Scottish Government is at record lows, it remains higher than in many European countries.
In the figures for Autumn 2023, Luxembourg (76%), Denmark (58%), Poland (51%) and Belgium (50%) had the highest level of trust in their national government.
Those were the only countries to report more than half 'tended to trust' their national parliament, however, with the Czech Republic (24%), Greece (23%) and France (18%) reporting particularly low levels of trust.
Levels of trust in the police across the EU were aligned with Scotland at 73%, with Finland and Sweden (93%) and Denmark (92% reporting the highest levels.
The lowest levels were found in Slovakia (58%), Romania (55%), Bulgaria (54%) and Malta (40%).
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