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.

Wick has a young age profile with one of the highest proportions of under 15s and an above average proportion in the 16 to 49 age group. However, there has been a significant overall population decline in four areas of Wick since the 2001 Census and an overall fall in the Ward of 5%, the most significant in Highland.

Total Population

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Total Population	6,801	219,400	5,168,500
Source: GRO(S) 2008 mid-year estimates

Age Structure

Age	Ward (%)	Highland (%)	Scotland (%)	Ward (No.)	Highland (No.)	Scotland (No.)
0-15	19.7	17.8	17.7	1,341	39,114	913,534
16-49	43.6	42.1	46.6	2,963	92,414	2,410,263
50-64	18.3	21.9	19.1	1,246	48,009	988,160
65-74	10.0	10.0	9.0	677	21,887	463,364
75-84	6.2	6.1	5.7	422	13,434	292,696
85+	2.2	2.1	1.9	152	4,542	100,483
Source: GRO(S) 2008 mid-year estimates

Population Density

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of persons per square kilometre	287.1	8.3	66.3
Area (square kilometres)	24	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. The rate of self-reported long term illness in Wick is slightly above the Highland average.

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Percentage of total population:
with a limiting long-term illness	19.6	18.4	20.3
without a limiting long-term illness	80.4	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.

A low number of new homes were built in Wick during the last five years. The Local Plan also shows a modest supply of land zoned for housing development within the next four years but more sites will be available in the longer term. The overall supply is adequate and there are no Scottish Water infrastructure constraints.

Number of households

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of households	3,375	89,528	2,192,246
Source: Census 2001

House Prices

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of private house sales in 2008	98	3,276	85,937
Average house price	£87,788	£170,158	£169,706
Median (midpoint) house price	£74,500	£153,200	£140,000
Source: Communities Scotland/Registers of Scotland 2008

House Completions

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of house completions between 2005-2009	130	7,749	n/a
Average number of completions per year	26	1,550	n/a
Source: Highland Council

Housing Land Audit

	Ward	Highland
*Number of new homes that potentially will be built between 2008-2011 :**	258	17,575
* 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	968	13,679	325,553
Source: Highland Council / Scottish Executive 2009/10

Housing Tenure

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Percentage of households that are:
owner occupied	58.8	65.7	62.6
rented from the Council/Scottish Homes	30.9	18.0	21.6
rented from housing association	3.2	3.6	5.6
privately rented	3.1	8.5	6.7
other	4.0	4.2	3.5
Source: Census 2001

Housing Occupancy

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Percentage of housing stock that is:
occupied	95.1	89.8	94.9
second/holiday homes	0.6	6.2	1.3
vacant	4.3	4.0	3.8
Percenatges are based on housing stock figures of 3,549 (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.

9% of all workers in Thurso are self employed (Census 2001), one of the lowest rates in Highland. Wick has one of the highest dependencies on the public sector, and a low proportion of jobs in distribution & hotels and banking & finance.

Number of People in Employment

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of people in employment *	3,500	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	0.8	1.7	1.7
Energy & water	0.0	0.8	1.8
Manufacturing	3.0	8.0	8.7
Construction	9.0	6.7	5.9
Distribution, hotels and restaurants	19.8	25.6	22.2
Transport and communications	3.2	6.0	5.1
Banking, finance & insurance, etc.	7.0	14.9	19.1
Public admin., education & health	51.5	31.1	30.0
Other services	5.7	5.3	5.4
Source: Annual Business Inquiry 2008

Economic Activity

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Percentage of 16-74 year olds *
Economically active	66.2	68.1	65.0
Full-time employees	38.8	38.9	40.3
Part-time employees	13.9	12.9	11.1
Self employed	6.2	10.2	6.6
Full-time student	1.7	1.8	3.0
Unemployed	5.7	4.3	4.0
* total 16-74 year olds	5,584	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	26.8	26.1	24.7
Group 2	13.2	15.3	15.7
Group 3	5.5	6.4	7.0
Group 4	11.8	19.6	19.5
No qualifications	42.6	32.6	33.2
* total 16-74 year olds	5,584	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.

Wick has the highest unemployment rate and long term unemployment rate of all Highland Wards, and both have increased recently (at a time when rates throughout Highland and the rest of Scotland are generally decreasing). Both the Incapacity Benefit and Council Tax Benefit claim rates are much above the Highland average.

Latest unemployment rates ( February 2010 )

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Unemployment rate *	6.8	3.6	4.7
Long term unemployment rate **	2.2	0.9	1.5
* 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 February 2010 )

Figure 2: Long-term Unemployment Rates (October 2004 to February 2010 )

Incapacity Benefit / Severe Disability Allowance ( August 2009 )

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Incapacity Benefit / Severe Disability Allowance claimant rate *	9.6	6.6	7.9
* 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 August 2009 )

Council Tax Benefit ( 2004 )

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of claimants	890	17,475	518,935
Council Tax Benefit take-up rate *	26.2	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.

Three datazones in Wick are identified as severely deprived (Wick Pulteneytown South, Wick South and Wick Hillhead North) and the proportion of people classed as employment deprived and income deprived are both well above the Highland average. Average household incomes are slightly below the Highland average.

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of income deprived people *	1,525	30,195	879,190
Percentage of income deprived people *	22.4	13.8	17.0
Number of employment deprived people *	605	12,925	390,665
Percentage of employment deprived people *	7.4	5.0	6.4
Number of candidate Data Zones for Regeneration Funding	4	16	976
Average annual income **	£27,595	£31,727	£33,220
Percentage of households earning less than £10k per year **	6.1	8.6	8.4
* Source: Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2009 ** Source: CACI Paycheck 2008