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.

Inverness South is mainly a rural Ward but it contains the Inverness expansion areas of Westhill and the development areas south east of the Southern distributor road, giving a population density slightly above the Highland average. The Ward has a higher proportion of people in the under 50 age groups than the Highland average. The population grew by 25% between 2001 and 2005, by far the highest growth rate in Highland, with increases across all of the age groups.

Total Population

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Total Population	12,223	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	21.9	17.8	17.7	2,681	39,114	913,534
16-49	48.7	42.1	46.6	5,957	92,414	2,410,263
50-64	18.0	21.9	19.1	2,197	48,009	988,160
65-74	6.5	10.0	9.0	792	21,887	463,364
75-84	3.5	6.1	5.7	429	13,434	292,696
85+	1.4	2.1	1.9	167	4,542	100,483
Source: GRO(S) 2008 mid-year estimates

Population Density

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of persons per square kilometre	23.4	8.3	66.3
Area (square kilometres)	522	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 is the lowest in Highland.

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Percentage of total population:
with a limiting long-term illness	13.6	18.4	20.3
without a limiting long-term illness	86.4	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.

Housing developments to the south and east of the southern distributor road during the last five years have resulted in by far the highest number of completions in Highland. The number of sites allocated in the Local Plan will allow development to continue at a slightly reduced rate over the next four years and the Scottish Water infrastructure is adequate to meet this demand.

Number of households

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of households	2,551	89,528	2,192,246
Source: Census 2001

House Prices

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of private house sales in 2008	330	3,276	85,937
Average house price	£212,675	£170,158	£169,706
Median (midpoint) house price	£200,000	£153,200	£140,000
Source: Communities Scotland/Registers of Scotland 2008

House Completions

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of house completions between 2005-2009	1,650	7,749	n/a
Average number of completions per year	330	1,550	n/a
Source: Highland Council

Housing Land Audit

	Ward	Highland
*Number of new homes that potentially will be built between 2008-2011 :**	1,806	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	46	13,679	325,553
Source: Highland Council / Scottish Executive 2009/10

Housing Tenure

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Percentage of households that are:
owner occupied	84.0	65.7	62.6
rented from the Council/Scottish Homes	2.9	18.0	21.6
rented from housing association	2.7	3.6	5.6
privately rented	6.9	8.5	6.7
other	3.5	4.2	3.5
Source: Census 2001

Housing Occupancy

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Percentage of housing stock that is:
occupied	94.8	89.8	94.9
second/holiday homes	2.3	6.2	1.3
vacant	2.9	4.0	3.8
Percenatges are based on housing stock figures of 2,691 (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.

14% of workers in Inverness South are self-employed, just below the Highland average. The Ward has the second highest proportion of jobs in each of manufacturing and banking & finance, and the second lowest dependency on the public sector.

Number of People in Employment

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of people in employment *	11,100	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	1.2	1.7	1.7
Energy & water	0.4	0.8	1.8
Manufacturing	11.0	8.0	8.7
Construction	3.6	6.7	5.9
Distribution, hotels and restaurants	16.7	25.6	22.2
Transport and communications	0.9	6.0	5.1
Banking, finance & insurance, etc.	19.8	14.9	19.1
Public admin., education & health	43.7	31.1	30.0
Other services	2.8	5.3	5.4
Source: Annual Business Inquiry 2008

Economic Activity

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Percentage of 16-74 year olds *
Economically active	75.3	68.1	65.0
Full-time employees	47.6	38.9	40.3
Part-time employees	14.2	12.9	11.1
Self employed	9.0	10.2	6.6
Full-time student	2.1	1.8	3.0
Unemployed	2.5	4.3	4.0
* total 16-74 year olds	4,681	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	26.2	26.1	24.7
Group 2	18.0	15.3	15.7
Group 3	7.9	6.4	7.0
Group 4	25.8	19.6	19.5
No qualifications	22.1	32.6	33.2
* total 16-74 year olds	4,681	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.

Unemployment, long term unemployment and Incapacity Benefit claim rates are well below the Highland average, and the Council Tax Benefit claim rate (which is a sixth of the Highland average) is by a long way the lowest in Highland.

Latest unemployment rates ( February 2010 )

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Unemployment rate *	1.5	3.6	4.7
Long term unemployment rate **	0.4	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 *	3.4	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	105	17,475	518,935
Council Tax Benefit take-up rate *	2.8	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 and the proportions of people classed as income deprived and employment deprived are both the lowest in Highland. Average household incomes are the highest in Highland.

	Ward	Highland	Scotland
Number of income deprived people *	650	30,195	879,190
Percentage of income deprived people *	5.3	13.8	17.0
Number of employment deprived people *	360	12,925	390,665
Percentage of employment deprived people *	2.4	5.0	6.4
Number of candidate Data Zones for Regeneration Funding	0	16	976
Average annual income **	£41,928	£31,727	£33,220
Percentage of households earning less than £10k per year **	7.6	8.6	8.4
* Source: Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2009 ** Source: CACI Paycheck 2008