1. Main points
This week (7 to 11 July 2021) we looked at the things adults in Great Britain are looking forward to, worrying about and what they plan to do in the future once most coronavirus (COVID-19) legal restrictions are lifted in England from 19 July 2021:
Almost two-thirds of adults reported they plan to continue to cover their faces in shops (64%) or continue to wear masks on public transport (64%) following the removal of legal restrictions.
When asked what they were looking forward to doing when legal restrictions end, going on holiday abroad was the most frequently reported option, reported by over half (54%) of adults; this proportion appeared to decrease with age, with adults aged 16 to 29 years the most likely to report they wanted to do this (62%) and adults aged 70 years and above the least likely (37%).
More than half (57%) of adults reported they were worried about the plan to remove most legal restrictions; this includes one-fifth (20%) who were very worried.
Around 3 in 10 adults (29%) considered catching coronavirus (COVID-19) to be a very high or high risk to them; this proportion appeared to increase with age, with adults aged 16 to 29 years the least likely to report this (19%) and adults aged 70 years and above the most likely (39%).
We continued to monitor a variety of compliance, well-being and coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine related indicators, this week based on adults in Great Britain:
The proportion of adults reporting to always or often maintain social distancing fell (62%) when compared with last week (66%); this is down from the 85% seen between 14 and 18 April following step two of the roadmap in England.
A high proportion of adults felt that compliance measures to slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) were either very important or important; such as wearing a face covering while shopping (90% this week, 91% last week) and socially distancing from others not in their household, childcare or support bubble (88% this week, 87% last week).
Around half (49%) of adults said they met up indoors with someone not in their household, childcare or support bubble in the past seven days (the same as last week), having increased from 20% in the week ending 6 May, before indoor restrictions were lifted with step three of the roadmap in England; adults meeting up outdoors decreased slightly to 53% (58% last week), having increased from 20% in the week ending 7 March before outdoor activity restrictions were lifted with step one of the roadmap.
Anxiety levels slightly increased (4.0 this week, 3.8 last week) continuing what appears to be a gradual increase since early June 2021 (3.6 in the period 2 to 6 June); other personal wellbeing measures remained stable, levels of life satisfaction (7.0), feeling that the things done in life are worthwhile (7.3) were unchanged from last week and happiness decreased slightly (7.1 this week, 7.2 last week).
Positive sentiment towards the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine remained high with 95% of adults reporting they had now either received a vaccine or would be likely to have a vaccine if offered (96% last week), an increase since the beginning of the vaccination programme (78% between 10 and 13 December 2020).
The latest week's estimates presented in this release are based on data collected after the UK government announcements on 5 July 2021 detailing plans for the final roadmap step four to remove remaining legal restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic.
3. Measuring the data
This release contains data and indicators from a module being undertaken through the Office for National Statistics' (ONS') Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN) to understand the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on British society.
Breakdowns by age, sex, region and country, including confidence intervals for the estimates, are contained in the Coronavirus and the social impacts on Great Britain dataset.
Where changes in results from previous weeks are presented in this bulletin, associated confidence intervals should be used to assess the statistical significance of the differences.
Positive vaccine sentiment
"Positive vaccine sentiment" refers to adults who:
have received a vaccine
have been offered a vaccine and are waiting to be vaccinated
report being very or fairly likely to have a vaccine if offered
Our survey does not include adults living in care homes or other establishments so will not capture vaccinations in these settings. Because of small sample sizes, the percentage of adults who have declined the vaccine should be treated with caution.
Estimates of attitudes towards vaccination provided since 13 to 17 January 2021 should be used with caution when compared with any weeks prior to this. In the weeks prior to this, adults were asked their likelihood of having a vaccine if offered but were not specifically asked if they had already been offered or received a vaccine.
Sampling and weighting
This week, 7 to 11 July 2021, we sampled 5,856 households. These were randomly selected from those that had previously completed the Labour Market Survey (LMS) or OPN. The responding sample contained 3,824 individuals, representing a 65% response rate.
Survey weights were applied to make estimates representative of the population (based on July 2021 population estimates). Further information on the survey design and quality can be found in the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey Quality and Methodology Information.
Nôl i'r tabl cynnwysManylion cyswllt ar gyfer y Bwletin ystadegol
policy.evidence.analysis@ons.gov.uk
Ffôn: +44 (0)300 0671543
2. Social impacts on Great Britain data
Coronavirus and the social impacts on Great Britain
Dataset | Released 16 July 2021
Indicators from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN) to understand the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on people, households and communities in Great Britain. Includes breakdowns by age, sex and region.
Coronavirus and the social impacts on Great Britain: Perceptions of compliance behaviours and planned behaviours when restrictions end
Dataset | Released 16 June 2021
Data on adult's compliance behaviours (hand washing or sanitising, face coverings and social distancing), perception of the importance of and other people's compliance behaviours to slow down the spread of the coronavirus and adults planned behaviours and attitudes towards the ending of COVID-19 restrictions. Data from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, collected between 7 to 11 July 2021.