Ward Statistics

Population

The General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) 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. Despite the ageing population, the total population has been stable as a result of inward migration with the west coast proving a popular destination for house buyers from the rest of Scotland and UK. 60 overseas migrant workers moved into the Ward between 2002 and 2006, almost all from eastern Europe.

Total Population

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Total Population	5,738	215,310	5,116,900
Source: GRO(S) 2006 mid-year estimates

Age Structure

Age	Ward (%)	Highland (%)	Scotland (%)	Ward (No.)	Highland (No.)	Scotland (No.)
0-15	16.6	18.5	18.2	944	39,392	921,833
16-49	37.6	42.6	46.9	2,099	91,485	2,397,345
50-64	24.8	21.3	18.5	1,461	46,396	959,754
65-74	11.9	9.7	9.0	675	20,786	455,744
75-84	7.1	6.0	5.6	423	12,997	287,021
85+	2.1	1.9	1.8	136	4,254	95,203
Source: GRO(S) 2006 mid-year estimates

Population Density

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of persons per square kilometre	1.2	8.1	65.7
Area (square kilometres)	4,867	26,489	77,925
Source: GRO(S) 2006 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 is being prepared and it is anticipated that continued windfall plus newly allocated sites will give an adequate supply of housing, although Scottish Water infrastructure improvements may be needed before some developments 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 2006	93	3,921	110,604
Average house price	£143,055	£147,217	£141,830
Median (midpoint) house price	£147,500	£130,000	£114,000
Source: Communities Scotland/Registers of Scotland 2006

House Completions

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of house completions between 2002-2007	169	8,547	n/a
Average number of completions per year	28	1,425	n/a
Source: Highland Council

Housing Land Audit

	Ward	Highland
*Number of new homes that potentially will be built between 2007-2011 which are:**
constrained by water supply and/or sewerage infrastructure	5	1,422
unconstrained by infrastructure	6	5,445
* 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	434	14,889	351,925
Source: Highland Council / Scottish Executive 2007

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.

24% of all workers are self employed (Census 2001), the 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 *	1,700	104,800	2,370,600
* Rounded to nearest 100 people Source: Annual Business Inquiry 2006

Employment by Sector

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Percentage of people employed in:
Agriculture & fishing	7.9	3.6	1.5
Energy & water	1.0	0.7	1.6
Manufacturing	3.5	8.9	9.4
Construction	3.4	6.5	5.8
Distribution, hotels and restaurants	28.9	26.7	22.4
Transport and communications	4.8	4.5	5.1
Banking, finance & insurance, etc.	7.5	11.3	18.3
Public admin., education & health	39.0	32.8	30.4
Other services	3.4	4.9	5.4
Source: Annual Business Inquiry 2006

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 but the long term unemployment rate is below the Highland average. Incapacity and Council Tax Benefit claim rates are both above the Highland average.

Latest unemployment rates ( June 2008 )

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Unemployment rate *	1.9	1.6	2.3
Long term unemployment rate **	0.9	0.4	0.6
* 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 June 2008 )

Figure 2: Long-term Unemployment Rates (October 2004 to June 2008 )

Incapacity Benefit / Severe Disability Allowance ( November 2007 )

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Incapacity Benefit / Severe Disability Allowance claimant rate *	7.1	7.9	9.6
* Percentage of resident working age population Source: Department for Work and Pensions data from NOMIS

Figure 3: Incapacity Benefit / Severe Disability Allowance claimant rates (February 2004 to November 2007 )

Council Tax Benefit ( 2004 )

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of claimants	615	17,475	518,935
Council Tax Benefit take-up rate *	18.0	17.0	21.8
* Percentage of working age population Source: Department for Work and Pensions data from NOMIS

Further information on unemployment in Highland is available on the Unemployment webpage.

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 below the Highland average.

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of income deprived people *	646	23,874	707,728
Percentage of income deprived people *	11.3	11.1	13.8
Number of employment deprived people *	395	13,552	409,907
Percentage of employment deprived people *	11.7	10.6	12.9
Number of candidate Data Zones for Regeneration Funding	0	17	976
Average annual income **	£27,982	£30,570	£31,406
Percentage of households earning less than £10k per year **	11.6	9.9	10.2
* Source: Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2006 ** Source: CACI Paycheck 2006

You can also view a profile of North, West and Central Sutherland Multi-Member Ward at the Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics website by clicking the link below: