Just 13% of Scots believe community is equipped for cost of living crisis

Just 13% of Scots believe their community is equipped to deal with the cost of living crisis, a new poll has found.

The poll, commissioned by Places for People Scotland between February 3 and 6, found that 56% of the 1,199 respondents to the ScotPulse survey did not think their community was thriving.

Of these, more than a third (35%) said that a lack of good quality housing was what resulted in their communities not thriving.

The survey found that young people are more likely to feel their communities are not well-equipped to deal with the rising cost of living – 61% of those aged 16-34 disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement: “My community is well equipped to manage the cost-of-living crisis.”

Half of those aged 35 to 44 said their communities were not able to weather the storm.

The research also showed people across Scotland say a feeling of being safe (89%), access to nearby shops (85%), easy access to public transport (83%) and high quality public spaces (76%) were key features of a thriving community across Scotland.

Results will be presented to the Chartered Institute of Housing’s annual Scottish Housing Festival in Glasgow on Wednesday.

Tom Norris, managing director of Places for People Scotland, said: “The people who make up our communities in Scotland have been very clear about what they want and need to thrive. It’s therefore vital that we listen carefully, support and act accordingly.

“As a housing association, we strive to do this each and every day with our customers and their communities, but it is helpful to see this country-wide poll which reinforces the need for diverse and high-quality housing within well-designed spaces, giving people connectivity, opportunities and local services.

“As we so often see from our own customers, a safe, good quality home is the springboard from which opportunities are created and grasped.”

Places for People Scotland is a housing association which manages around 8,500 homes for around 10,500 customers across Scotland.