01 North, West and Central Sutherland

Population

National Records of Scotland (NRS) supplies us with annual population estimates for small areas which we build up to give totals and changes at Ward level. These estimates aim to exclude short term migrants.

North, West & Central Sutherland is our second largest Ward with the lowest population density in Highland. It has an ageing population with a low proportion of children and high proportions in each of the over-50 age groups. The Ward has experienced fairly high rates of inward migration and the west coast is a popular destination for house buyers from the rest of Scotland and UK, but the ageing population and outward migration of young people resulted in a population fall of 2.1% between 2004 and 2009.

Total Population

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Total Population	5,681	220,490	5,194,000
Source: GRO(S) 2009 mid-year estimates

Age Structure

Age	Ward (%)	Highland (%)	Scotland (%)	Ward (No.)	Highland (No.)	Scotland (No.)
0-15	14.9	17.7	17.6	848	39,120	912,340
16-49	35.6	41.7	46.4	2,024	92,009	2,411,340
50-64	26.4	22.0	19.3	1,500	48,487	1,001,808
65-74	13.1	10.2	9.0	743	22,491	469,991
75-84	7.7	6.1	5.7	439	13,534	295,004
85+	2.2	2.2	2.0	127	4,849	103,517
Source: GRO(S) 2009 mid-year estimates

Population Density

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of persons per square kilometre	1.2	8.3	66.7
Area (square kilometres)	4,867	26,489	77,925
Source: GRO(S) 2008 mid-year estimates

Health

This Census response is one of the best simple measures we have of the health of our population. North, West & Central Sutherland has a high rate of self-reported illness, due in part due to the ageing population.

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Percentage of total population:
with a limiting long-term illness	20.2	18.4	20.3
without a limiting long-term illness	79.8	81.6	79.7
Source: Census 2001

Households & Housing Stock

The following tables provide information on housing and household tenure in this Ward. Housing completions provide us with a picture of the growth of the local area whilst housing tenure and occupancy examine the nature of housing in the Ward.

The number of new homes built during the last five years was around half of the Highland average. The majority of housebuilding in North, West & Central Sutherland has historically been the result of small ‘windfall’ developments. A new Local Plan was adopted in 2010 and it is anticipated that continued windfall plus newly allocated sites will give an adequate supply of housing, although Scottish Water infrastructure improvements will be needed in some places before development can take place.

Number of households

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of households	2,776	89,528	2,192,246
Source: Census 2001

House Prices

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of private house sales in 2009	73	2,490	55,349
Average house price	£133,897	£156,113	£153,057
Median (midpoint) house price	£130,000	£140,000	£134,100
Source: Communities Scotland/Registers of Scotland 2009

House Completions

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of house completions between 2006-2010	154	7,329	n/a
Average number of completions per year	31	1,466	n/a
Source: Highland Council

Housing Land Audit

	Ward	Highland
*Number of new homes that potentially will be built between 2010-2014 :**	431	24,178
* identified in the Local Plan or with planning permission Source: Highland Council

Further information about the Housing Land Audit is available on the Housing Land Audit webpage.

Number of Council Houses

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of Council owned houses	403	13,581	323,138
Source: Highland Council / Scottish Executive April 2011

Housing Tenure

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Percentage of households that are:
owner occupied	62.7	65.7	62.6
rented from the Council/Scottish Homes	17.1	18.0	21.6
rented from housing association	1.9	3.6	5.6
privately rented	10.3	8.5	6.7
other	8.1	4.2	3.5
Source: Census 2001

Housing Occupancy

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Percentage of housing stock that is:
occupied	76.9	89.8	94.9
second/holiday homes	18.3	6.2	1.3
vacant	4.8	4.0	3.8
Percenatges are based on housing stock figures of 3,609 (Ward), 99,739 (Highland) and 2,308,939 (Scotland) from the Census 2001

Employment & Economic Activity

The following series of tables provide information on employment status and the types of industries that provide jobs in the Ward. This information provides us with an understanding of the nature of employment within the Ward.

15.7% of working age pepole are self employed (Census 2001), the second highest proportion in Highland, reflecting the rural nature of the Ward. The Ward has the second lowest number of jobs in Highland: of these, it has the highest proportion of jobs in agriculture and fishing, and the economy is heavily dependent on the public sector and tourism with relatively few jobs in manufacturing or banking & finance.

Number of People in Employment

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of people in employment *	1,600	109,300	2,420,400
* Rounded to nearest 100 people Source: Annual Business Inquiry 2008

Employment by Sector

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Percentage of people employed in:
Agriculture & fishing	10.5	1.7	1.7
Energy & water	0.9	0.8	1.8
Manufacturing	3.4	8.0	8.7
Construction	4.4	6.7	5.9
Distribution, hotels and restaurants	30.2	25.6	22.2
Transport and communications	5.1	6.0	5.1
Banking, finance & insurance, etc.	6.2	14.9	19.1
Public admin., education & health	32.4	31.1	30.0
Other services	6.8	5.3	5.4
Source: Annual Business Inquiry 2008

Economic Activity

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Percentage of 16-74 year olds *
Economically active	64.1	68.1	65.0
Full-time employees	28.8	38.9	40.3
Part-time employees	12.4	12.9	11.1
Self employed	15.7	10.2	6.6
Full-time student	0.9	1.8	3.0
Unemployed	6.2	4.3	4.0
* total 16-74 year olds	4,398	152,675	3,731,079
Economically active people are defined as those aged 16 to 74 who are working, actively looking for work or full-time students Source: Census 2001

Qualifications

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
*Percentage of 16-74 year olds whose highest qualification is:**
Group 1	24.2	26.1	24.7
Group 2	14.6	15.3	15.7
Group 3	4.7	6.4	7.0
Group 4	20.0	19.6	19.5
No qualifications	36.4	32.6	33.2
* total 16-74 year olds	4,398	152,675	3,731,079
Group 1: 'O' Grade, Standard Grade, Intermediate I or 2, City & Guilds Craft, SVQ level 1 or 2 or equivalent Group 2: Higher Grade, CSYS, ONC, OND, City & Guilds Advanced Craft, RSA Advanced Diploma, SVQ level 3 or equivalent Group 3: HND, HNC RSA Higher Diploma, SVQ level 4 or 5 or equivalent Group 4: First degree, Higher degree, Professional qualification Source: Census 2001

Unemployment & Benefits

The following tables provide information about the rate of unemployment and those receiving both Incapacity and Council Tax Benefits. One feature of Highland life is that employment is often dependent on seasonal industries such as tourism, and employment rates vary through the year as people take up seasonal jobs but are unemployed for the rest of the year.

Parts of North, West & Central Sutherland have high reliance on seasonal jobs. The unemployment rate varies through the year and is above the Highland average, as is the long term unemployment rate. The Incapacity Benefit claim rate is around the Highland average the and Council Tax Benefit claim rate is slightly above above the Highland average.

Latest unemployment rates ( August 2011 )

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Unemployment rate *	2.7	2.8	4.5
Long term unemployment rate **	1.3	0.9	1.7
* Percentage of resident working age population claiming Job Seekers Allowance ** Percentage of resident working age population claiming Job Seekers Allowance for 6 months or more Source: Department for Work and Pensions date from NOMIS

Figure 1: Unemployment Rates (October 2004 to August 2011 )

Figure 2: Long-term Unemployment Rates (October 2004 to August )

Incapacity Benefit / Severe Disability Allowance / Employment and Support Allowance ( February 2011 )

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Incapacity Benefit / Severe Disability Allowance claimant rate *	5.4	5.4	6.3
Employment and Support Allowance Claimant Rate *	0.0	0.0	0.0
* Percentage of resident working age population Source: Department for Work and Pensions data from NOMIS

Figure 3: Incapacity Benefit / Severe Disability Allowance / Employment and Supprt Allowance claimant rates (February 2001 to February 2011 )

Income & Deprivation

The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, SIMD, is the Executive’s official measure for identifying small area concentrations of multiple deprivation. Household incomes are taken from CACI Paycheck, a commercial database based on lifestyle surveys and market research data, supplied by Communities Scotland to help with housing analysis.

No datazones within the Ward are identified as severely deprived but the proportion of people classed as employment deprived and income deprived are both slightly above the Highland average. Average household incomes are well below the Highland average, reflecting lower incomes in rural areas.

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of income deprived people *	790	27,260	779,135
Percentage of income deprived people *	13.8	12.5	15.1
Number of employment deprived people *	320	12,165	373,100
Percentage of employment deprived people *	9.6	9.2	11.6
Number of candidate Data Zones for Regeneration Funding	0	16	976
Average annual income **	£27,201	£31,368	£33,207
Percentage of households earning less than £10k per year **	15.4	12.8	12.6
* Source: Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2009updated ** Source: CACI Paycheck 2009