previous | contents | next

Estimates of Households and Dwellings in Scotland, 2012

2. Detailed results

2.1 Number of households and dwellings

Table 1 shows the number of households in each local authority in Scotland from 1991 to 2012, and Table 2 shows the number of dwellings from 2002 to 2012. Figure 1 shows the annual change in the number of households from 2002 to 2012, and Figure 2 shows the percentage change in the number of households between 2002 and 2012 in each local authority in Scotland.

These tables and figures show the following trends:

Figure 1: Annual increase in the number of households in Scotland between 2002 and 2012 (Chart)

Figure 1: Annual increase in the number of households in Scotland between 2002 and 2012 (Chart)

Figure 2: Percentage change in the number of households 2002-2012 by local authority (Chart)

Figure 2: Percentage change in the number of households 2002-2012 by local authority (Chart)

2.2 Characteristics of dwellings

Tables 3 to 6 show the number of dwellings by Council Tax band, type of dwelling (flat, terraced, semi-detached or detached), number of rooms per dwelling and density of housing. Information on the definitions of these dwelling characteristics is given in Section 3.2.

These figures are summarised by urban/rural classification in Table 3 (according to the Scottish Government (SG) 6-fold urban/rural classification), by level of deprivation in Table 4 (according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD)) and by local authority in Table 5. Strategic Development Plan (SDP) areas are planning authorities which cover the four largest city regions around Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Summary information is available for each SDP area and for Scotland's two National Parks in Table 6. Background information on the Scottish Government Urban/Rural Classification and the SIMD is given in Sections 3.6 and 3.7.

A description of the SDP areas and National Parks areas is given in Section 3.8. Background information on the population by age group is included in Tables 3, 4 and 6.

These tables highlight the following trends:

Council Tax Band

Types of property

Figure 3: Dwelling type by urban/rural classification, 2012 (Chart)

Figure 3: Dwelling type by urban/rural classification, 2012 (Chart)

Figure 4: Dwelling type by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD 2012) decile, 2012 (Chart)

Figure 4: Dwelling type by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD 2012) decile, 2012 (Chart)

Density of housing

Characteristics of households

Tables 7 to 10 show the percentage of dwellings which are occupied, vacant or second homes. They include the percentage of dwellings which are entitled to a Council Tax discount because they are occupied by one adult (living alone, with children, or with other adults who are 'disregarded' for Council Tax purposes). They also show the percentage of dwellings which are occupied but exempt from paying Council Tax, such as households entirely occupied by students, or armed forces accommodation.

These figures are summarised by urban/rural classification in Table 7, by level of deprivation in Table 8 and by local authority in Table 9. Summary information is available for each Strategic Development Plan (SDP) area and for Scotland's two National Parks in Table 10.

These tables highlight the following trends:

Vacant dwellings and second homes

Figure 5: Vacant dwellings and second homes by urban/rural classification, September 2012 (Chart)

Figure 5: Vacant dwellings and second homes by urban/rural classification, September 2012 (Chart)

Figure 6: Vacant dwellings and second homes by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) decile, September 2012 (Chart)

Figure 6: Vacant dwellings and second homes by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) decile, September 2012 (Chart)

Figure 7: Percentage of dwellings which are vacant in each local authority in Scotland, 2012 (Map)

Figure 7: Percentage of dwellings which are vacant in each local authority in Scotland, 2012 (Map)

Single adult discount

Figure 8: Percentage of dwellings entitled to a 'single adult' discount from Council Tax by urban/rural classification, September 2012 (Chart)

Figure 8: Percentage of dwellings entitled to a 'single adult' discount from Council Tax by urban/rural classification, September 2012 (Chart)

Figure 9: Percentage of dwellings entitled to a 'single adult' discount from Council Tax by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) decile, September 2012 (Chart)

Figure 9: Percentage of dwellings entitled to a 'single adult' discount from Council Tax by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) decile, September 2012 (Chart)

'Occupied exemptions'

2.3 Variation within local authority areas

Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics and Data Zones

There can be a great deal of variation in household characteristics within a local authority. The Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics (SNS) website contains statistics for each 'data zone' in Scotland. Data zones are a standard geography used for a range of statistics. When first created in 2004, the average data zone was designed to contain around 750 people, which is small enough to provide quite detailed local information and can be aggregated to different areas of interest.

The information summarised in this publication is available at data zone level from the SNS website. This includes the number of dwellings by Council Tax band, type of dwelling, number of rooms per dwelling, density of housing and the percentage of dwellings which are occupied, vacant, second homes, entitled to a 'single adult' Council Tax discount, or an 'occupied exemption'. The SNS website allows users to view tables or maps for individual areas, or to download all of the data in order to analyse it further.

Figures 10, 11, 12 and 13 illustrate the types of maps that can be produced to show information at data zone level.

Vacant Dwellings

Figure 10 shows the percentage of dwellings in each data zone which are vacant. This shows the considerable local variations in the percentages of vacant dwellings in every local authority. The map also highlights the relatively high percentage of vacant dwellings in remote rural parts of local authorities such as Highland. These cannot be identified by looking at Figure 7, which shows figures for entire local authorities.

The inset maps in Figures 7 and 10 show that, in general, there are lower percentages of vacant dwellings in much of the 'Central Belt' of Scotland. However, the data zone map (Figure 10) shows that there are still some data zones in this area with high percentages of vacant dwellings. These might be caused by new builds, long term empty properties or by vacant properties awaiting demolition. Some data zones in urban areas which contain high concentrations of vacant dwellings may not be easily seen on a map such as Figure 10 because they have a small land area. It is possible for users to produce more focused maps using the SNS website.

Second Homes

Figure 11 shows the percentage of dwellings which are second homes in each data zone in Scotland. The map shows that there are wide variations in the proportions of second homes within many local authority areas, such as Highland. North Ayrshire is another example of an area with wide variation in the percentage of second homes; the mainland part of the council has relatively low percentages of second homes compared with the islands of Arran and Greater Cumbrae. There are relatively high numbers of second homes in remote rural areas.

Flats

Figure 12 shows the percentage of dwellings in each data zone which are flats. Urban areas and areas closer to the 'Central Belt' of Scotland tend to have higher proportions of flats. The inset map shows that there are local variations in the percentages of flats and these are often in town centres or in cities. In general, remote rural areas have low percentages of flats.

Council Tax Bands

Figure 13 gives an illustration of a more detailed map that can be obtained from the SNS website. It shows the percentage of dwellings in Council Tax bands A to C in each data zone in Glasgow City and some of the surrounding areas. The highest proportions of such dwellings are mainly in the central areas of Glasgow City with much lower proportions in the outer lying areas, with some exceptions for other built-up areas.

Figure 10: Percentage of dwellings which are vacant in each data zone in Scotland, 2012 (Map)

Figure 10: Percentage of dwellings which are vacant in each data zone in Scotland, 2012 (Map)

Figure 11: Percentage of dwellings which are second homes in each data zone in Scotland, 2012 (Map)

Figure 11: Percentage of dwellings which are second homes in each data zone in Scotland, 2012 (Map)

Figure 12: Percentage of dwellings which are flats in each data zone in Scotland, 2012 (Map)

Figure 12: Percentage of dwellings which are flats in each data zone in Scotland, 2012 (Map)

Figure 13: Percentage of dwellings in Council Tax bands A-C in each data zone in Glasgow City, 2012 (Map)

Figure 13: Percentage of dwellings in Council Tax bands A-C in each data zone in Glasgow City, 2012 (Map)

Figures 10, 11, 12 and 13 provide useful illustrations of the data. However, users can produce more detailed maps for any part of Scotland, from the SNS website.

Box plots

An alternative way of illustrating the variation within a local authority is through the use of boxplots. Figures 14, 15, 16 and 17 use boxplots ranked by median, to illustrate the variation within each local authority. These show the percentage of dwellings in each local authority that are vacant, second homes, have 'single adult' discounts, or are classed as 'occupied exemptions'. Boxplots show the middle ranked data zone and they also show the level of variation - the larger the box, the more variation there is within that local authority area. An illustration of a boxplot is shown below.

Example of a box plot:

Percentage of data zones that are vacant dwellings in Glasgow City

Example of a box plot: Percentage of data zones that are vacant dwellings in Glasgow City

The example above shows the percentage of dwellings that are vacant in each data zone in Glasgow City (from Figure 14). The boxplot shows how the proportion of data zones varies in this local authority. In half of the data zones in Glasgow City, less than two per cent of dwellings are vacant. In the five per cent of data zones with the lowest figures, less than 0.5 per cent of all dwellings are vacant. In the five per cent of data zones with the highest figures, over 11 per cent of dwellings are vacant. Various regeneration projects are taking place across Glasgow. These often involve dwellings lying vacant whilst awaiting demolition or repair work.

Figures 14, 15, 16 and 17 confirm some of the trends seen in the previous tables.

Vacant dwellings

Figure 14 shows that, in general, there is a higher proportion of vacant dwellings in the local authorities containing more rural areas, and in the island local authorities. However, there are a few data zones with particularly high numbers of vacant dwellings (where over 10 per cent of dwellings are vacant) in Inverclyde and Glasgow City. This may be related to regeneration work.

Second homes

Figure 15 shows that there is generally a higher proportion of second homes in the local authorities containg more rural areas and the island local authorities. In almost half of the data zones in Argyll and Bute, fewer than one in 20 dwellings is a second home. However, in five per cent of data zones in this local authority, at least four out of 20 dwellings are second homes.

'Single adult' discounts

Figure 16 shows that there tend to be more dwellings with 'single adult' discounts in the urban local authorities, though there is a lot of variation within every local authority. Glasgow City has the highest median value of 'single adult' discounts, at 47 per cent. In five per cent of data zones, less than a quarter of dwellings have a 'single adult' discount. In contrast, there are five per cent of data zones with more than 65 per cent of dwellings with a 'single adult' discount. This discount category includes one adult living alone, with children or with other people who are 'disregarded' for Council Tax purposes.

Dwellings which are occupied but exempt from Council Tax

Figure 17 shows that most local authority areas have relatively few dwellings entitled to 'occupied exemptions' from Council Tax. The exceptions tend to be areas with large student populations (e.g. City of Edinburgh, Dundee City, Glasgow City, Aberdeen City and Stirling) and areas with armed forces bases (e.g. Moray, City of Edinburgh and Argyll & Bute). These areas tend to be quite concentrated - the median percentage of 'occupied exemptions' in these local authorities is less than four per cent, but they also contain data zones with far higher figures. The largest variation can be seen in Moray, where there are two Royal Air Force bases. For Moray, the median number of 'occupied exemptions' is less than one per cent. Despite this, in five per cent of Moray's data zones, around a third of dwellings or more are entitled to occupied exemptions.

Figure 14: Percentage of dwellings in each data zone which are vacant in each local authority, September 2012 (Boxplot)

Figure 14: Percentage of dwellings in each data zone which are vacant in each local authority, September 2012 (Boxplot)

Figure 15: Percentage of dwellings in each data zone which are second homes in each local authority, September 2012 (Boxplot)

Figure 15: Percentage of dwellings in each data zone which are second homes in each local authority, September 2012 (Boxplot)

Figure 16: Percentage of dwellings in each data zone with a 'single adult' discount from Council Tax in each local authority, September 2012 (Boxplot)

Figure 16: Percentage of dwellings in each data zone with a 'single adult' discount from Council Tax in each local authority, September 2012 (Boxplot)

Figure 17: Percentage of dwellings in each data zone with 'occupied exemptions' from Council Tax (e.g. all student households or armed forces accommodation) in each local authority, September 2012 (Boxplot)

Figure 17: Percentage of dwellings in each data zone with 'occupied exemptions' from Council Tax (e.g. all student households or armed forces accommodation) in each local authority, September 2012 (Boxplot)

2.4 Changes in household size and type

Since 2001, the average household size has become smaller. More people live alone or in smaller households. Figure 18 shows that the average household size decreased from 2.27 people per household in 2001 to 2.17 people per household in 2008 (a 4.3 per cent decrease). Since 2008, average household size in Scotland has remained constant, but in a few areas (mainly the big cities), household size has started to increase slowly.

Figure 18: Average household size in Scotland between 2001 and 2011 (Chart)

Table 11 shows the average household size by local authority in Scotland from 2001 to 2011. In 2011, average household size varied from 2.03 people per household in Dundee City to 2.40 people per household in East Renfrewshire. Almost all local authorities saw a decrease in average household size between 2001 and 2011, ranging between -11.9 per cent in Eilean Siar to -0.3 per cent in Perth and Kinross. The only exception to this was the City of Edinburgh, which saw a 0.6 per cent increase in average household size. In Edinburgh, average household size decreased from 2.14 in the year 2001, to 2.09 in 2007, but then rose again to 2.15 in 2011. This pattern of decreasing average household size, followed by an increase in that size can also be seen in some other local authorities, particularly those with large urban areas.

Table 12 and Figure 19 show information on changes in household size and type, taken from the Scottish Household Survey. They show the following:

Figure 19: Change in household type, 1971-2011 (Chart)

Figure 19: Change in household type, 1971-2011 (Chart)

Sources: 1971 and 1981: Census. 1991, 2001: Census and mid-year population estimates. Other years: Scottish Household Survey. Please note that these figures have not been revised to reflect the 2011 Census results, as these had not yet been released at the time of publication.

2.5 Household type by level of deprivation

Table 13 and Figures 20 and 21 illustrate how different types of households are distributed across the SIMD rankings, using data from the most recent Scottish Household Survey (SHS), in 201116. In Scotland, the more deprived an area, the more one-person households there are. The 10 per cent most deprived areas have 42 per cent of households in this category. This figure almost halves to 22 per cent in the second to last decile of least deprived areas. However, it increases slightly to 24 per cent in the final 10 per cent least deprived areas.

The number of households with one adult with children also decreases as the level of deprivation lessens, from 11 per cent of all households in the 10 per cent most deprived areas, to 2 per cent in the 10 per cent least deprived areas.

The opposite trend is true for two-adult households and two-adult households with one or more children. For these households, generally, the more deprived an area, the fewer of these types of households there are. The 10 per cent most deprived areas have 23 and 17 per cent of households in this category respectively, whereas this figure increases to 39 and 26 per cent in the 10 per cent least deprived areas.

The number of households with two or more adults with children shows a similar trend (Figure 21). The percentage of households in this category generally increases as levels of deprivation decrease (from 17 per cent in the 10 per cent most deprived areas to 26 per cent in the 10 per cent least deprived areas).

The number of households with three or more adults, without children remains relatively constant across all SIMD deciles at an average of 10 per cent.

Figure 20: Estimates of the percentage of households with one, two or three adults (without children) in each Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) decile, in 2011

Figure 20: Estimates of the percentage of households with one, two or three adults (without children) in each Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) decile, in 2011

Figure 21: Estimates of the percentage of households with one or two-or-more adults with children, in each Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) 2012 decile, Scotland, in 2011

Figure 21: Estimates of the percentage of households with one or two-or-more adults with children, in each Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) 2012 decile, Scotland, in 2011

previous | contents | next