2014

The statistics published today by the Registrar General for Scotland on the Scotland’s Census website (www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk), present key results from the 2011 Census on long-term health conditions, central heating and deprivation (Release 2D), and further details on ethnicity, identity, language and religion (Release 3C), from national to local level.

Key points - Release 2D

Long-term health conditions

• In 2011, 70 per cent of the population in Scotland did not have any type of long-term health condition.

• The most common category for those who reported at least one long-term health condition was ‘Other condition’ (19 per cent of total population, 988,000).

• ‘Physical disability’ and ‘Deafness or partial hearing loss’ were the second and third most common categories of long-term health conditions, each affecting 7 per cent of the population (353,000 and 351,000 respectively).

Central heating

• In Scotland in 2011, almost all households (98 per cent, 2.3 million) had central heating, an increase of five percentage points from 2001 (93 per cent, 2.0 million).

• Gas was the most common type of central heating in most council areas, used by an average of 74 per cent of households, with the exception of Shetland Islands and Orkney Islands, where there is no mains gas supply, and Eilean Siar which has limited gas supply.

• Electric central heating was the most common type in Orkney Islands (41 per cent of households, 4,000) and Shetland Islands (48 per cent, 5,000). Oil central heating was the most common type in Eilean Siar (40 per cent, 5,000).

Deprivation

• In Scotland in 2011, 40 per cent of households were not categorised as deprived in any of the four measured dimensions: employment, education, health and housing.

• 32 per cent of households were deprived in one dimension, 20 per cent in two dimensions, six per cent in three dimensions and the remaining one per cent in all four dimensions.

• The most common dimensions for deprivation of households were education and health, either as the only dimension of deprivation (14 per cent and 11 per cent respectively of all households) or in combination with each other (12 per cent of all households).

Key points – Release 3C

Country of birth by English language skills

• The proportion of Scotland’s population aged three and over who could speak, read and write English was 94 per cent. This proportion was lowest for those born in the European Union (EU) Accession countries (75 per cent) or in the Middle East and Asia (89 per cent).

• The proportion of people aged three and over who could only understand (but not speak, read or write) English was highest (four per cent) for those born in EU Accession countries. This group of people also had the highest proportion (three per cent) who had no skills in English.

The other tables included in Release 3C are all ‘Local Characteristics’ (LC) versions of tables that have already been published as ‘Detailed Characteristics’ (DC) tables in Releases 3A and 3B. They provide information down to census output area (the lowest level of geography for which census tables are produced) but generally include less detailed categories than the DC version of the tables as a statistical disclosure control measure. The tables are on:

• Age by sex
• Ethnic group by age
• National identity by sex by age
• Country of birth by age
• Proficiency in English by age
• Language other than English used at home by age
• English language skills by age
• Ethnic group by religion
• National identity by religion
• Country of birth by ethnic group
• Country of birth by religion
• Country of birth by national identity
• Country of birth by age of arrival in the UK

All the data contained in these two releases can be accessed on the Scotland’s Census website (www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk).

National Records of Scotland (NRS) has today announced that it intends to focus on planning for a census in 2021 which will be primarily online, while offering alternative modes of completion where necessary. It also aims to make best use of technology and administrative data in its design, building on the online approach used successfully in the 2011 census.

This follows on from the Beyond 2011 programme of work in Scotland to review the options for providing population statistics. The review focused on two options:

• an online census option carried out every 10 years supplemented by the use of administrative data to produce annual population estimates in intervening years
• an administrative data option using administrative data already held by government and annual surveys.

The decision to focus plans on a census in 2021 in Scotland was based on a variety of evidence, including results from research, stakeholder engagement, a user consultation and international experience. A final decision will be taken in 2016 on the basis of the business case.

A programme of consultation and engagement will continue by NRS to understand user requirements and shape the design of the 2021 Census. The findings from Beyond 2011 to date will be incorporated into the programme of work.

Further research will be carried out to enable greater use of administrative data and surveys in the future.

England & Wales (UK Statistics Authority) also plan to carry out a modernised census in 2021 building on an online approach.

For further information please go to the new Census 2021 on the NRS website.

Growing number of people living more than a century

Life expectancy at birth in Scotland has reached its highest ever level and the number of people in Scotland living for more than a century continues to grow.

Figures published today by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) show that in 2012 there were 800 people who are a century old or more living in Scotland, a rise of 280 compared with 2002.

In 2012, there were 18 male centenarians for every 100 female centenarians, compared with 11 males per 100 females in 2002.

Separate figures released by Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that since 1980-1982, male life expectancy has increased by 7.4 years and females have seen an increase of 5.4 years. Based on statistics covering 2010-2012, life expectancy is now 76.5 for males and 80.7 for females in Scotland.

Registrar General for Scotland and NRS Chief Executive Tim Ellis said:

“The number of people living in Scotland who are 100 years old or more has been steadily rising. In 2002 there were 520 centenarians increasing to 800 in 2012. The majority of centenarians are females although the proportion who are male has increased from 10 per cent in 2002 to 15 per cent in 2012. This suggests that the gap in mortality between men and women for this age group is narrowing.”

“More generally, while life expectancy at birth in Scotland is higher than it has ever been, life expectancy at birth in Scotland is still the lowest within the UK. In Scotland, males and females can expect to live shorter lives (by 2.5 years and 2.1 years respectively) than in England, where male and female life expectancy is the highest in the UK.”

Main findings from the statistics released today

National Life Tables

• A newborn baby boy could expect to live 76.5 years and a newborn baby girl 80.7 years if mortality rates remain the same as they were in Scotland in 2010-2012 throughout their lives.
• The gap for life expectancy at birth between males and females has narrowed from 6.2 years in 1980-1982 to 4.2 years in 2010-2012.
• Life expectancy at birth has increased by two and a half years per decade since 1980-1982 in the Scotland for males, and by about two years per decade for females.
• Life expectancy at age 65 in Scotland increased by 38 per cent to 17.0 years for males and for females by 21 per cent to 19.4 years in the 30 years between 1980-1982 and 2010-2012.
• In 2010-2012 a male in Scotland aged 85 had an average further 5.5 years of life remaining and a female 6.4 years.
• Scottish males and females have the lowest life expectancy at birth within the UK. Male life expectancy is 2.2 years lower than the UK average and female life expectancy is 1.9 years lower.
• In Scotland, males and females can expect to live shorter lives (by 2.5 years and 2.1 years respectively) than in England, where male and female life expectancy is the highest in the UK.
• Amongst European Union (EU) countries, male life expectancy was highest in Sweden (79.9 years), 3.4 years higher than in Scotland. Female life expectancy was highest in Spain (85.1 years), 4.4 years higher than in Scotland.

Centenarians and population aged 90+

• A century ago living to a hundred was very uncommon, but this changed at the beginning of the 21^st century when estimates showed there were over 500 people aged 100 years old and over in Scotland. The number of centenarians has been increasing ever since.
• The overwhelming majority of centenarians are women. In 2012, women accounted for 680 of Scotland’s centenarians (85 per cent) while 120 men had reached the milestone. Although the male population aged 90 to 99 increased from 2011 to 2012, almost three quarters of people in their 90s are women (73 per cent).
• The following infographic illustrates the 2012 data by looking at centenarians figures as groups of 100 people. If we were to gather 100 centenarians together then on average there would be 15 men and 85 women.

Number of males and females per 100 centenarians, Scotland 2012

• Since 2002, the number of centenarians relative to the rest of the population has increased. But there are still less than 2 centenarians for every 10,000 people (1.5 per 10,000).

The full publication Centenarians in Scotland, 2011 & 2012 is available on the NRS website.

NRS also published today the Scottish National Life Tables on the NRS website.

The statistics published today by the Registrar General for Scotland on the Scotland’s Census website, present further details from the 2011 Census in Scotland on Ethnicity, Identity, Language and Religion, from national to local level.

Key points

Country of birth by national identity

• The proportion of Scotland’s population who felt they had some Scottish identity either on its own or in combination with another identity was highest for people born in Scotland, at 94 per cent. This proportion was 26 per cent for those born in England, 16 per cent for those born in Northern Ireland and 21 per cent for those born in Wales.
• For people born outside the UK, the proportion who felt they had some Scottish identity ranged from 38 per cent for those born in North America and 37 per cent for those born in Antarctica and Oceania (mainly Australia and New Zealand), to 10 per cent for those born in central Asia and 13 per cent for those born in the European Union (EU) Accession countries.
• Nearly all (99 per cent or over) of people born in Scotland, England or Wales felt they had some UK (including Scottish) identity. This proportion was 94 per cent for those born in Northern Ireland, 85 per cent for those born in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, 30 per cent for those born in the Republic of Ireland, 17 per cent for those born in the EU Accession countries and 47 per cent for those born in other EU member countries. For people born elsewhere, the proportion ranged from 26 per cent for those born in central Asia to 68 per cent for those born in south and eastern Africa.

Country of birth by age

• Of the population who were born in Scotland, 9 per cent were aged 18 to 24, generally speaking the student age population. This proportion was similar for people born in England (10 per cent) and Wales (8 per cent) but was slightly higher for those born in Northern Ireland (15 per cent). It was also generally higher for people born outside the UK, ranging up to 33 per cent for those born in eastern Asia and 36 per cent for those born in central Asia.
• The proportion of the population of younger working age (25 to 39) was 17 per cent for those born in Scotland. This proportion was generally higher for people born elsewhere, ranging up to 53 per cent for people born in the EU Accession countries and 54 per cent for who were born in a west and central African country.

Country of birth by religion by sex

• Of the population who were born in Scotland, 37 per cent stated they belonged to the Church of Scotland, 16 per cent stated they were Roman Catholic and 37 per cent stated they had ‘No religion’. The ‘Other Christian’ and ‘Muslim’ groups accounted for 3.2 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively of the Scottish-born population.
• The proportion of the population who stated they were Roman Catholic was highest for those born in the Republic of Ireland (69 per cent), the EU Accession countries (64 per cent) and central America (47 per cent). The proportion of the population who stated they were Muslim was highest for those born in North Africa (61 per cent), middle eastern countries (57 per cent) and southern Asia (46 per cent).
• The proportion of the population who stated they had ‘No religion’ ranged from 6 per cent for those born in central and western Africa to 70 per cent for those born in eastern Asia.

Ethnic group by age of arrival in the UK

• The great majority (89 per cent) of the population born outside the UK arrived in the UK aged under 35; this pattern was generally reflected across all ethnic groups.

Country of birth by age of arrival in the UK

• While just over a third (35 per cent) of the population who were born outside the UK arrived into the UK aged 16 to 24, this proportion was 47 per cent for those born in the Republic of Ireland and 49 per cent for those born in in eastern Asia.

Proficiency in English by age of arrival in the UK

• The proportion of the population aged 3 and over reported as not being able to speak English well or at all was 1.4 per cent overall and 11 per cent for those born outside the UK. This proportion generally increased with age of arrival into the UK: for those who arrived aged under 16 it was 5 per cent while for those who arrived aged 65 and over it was 31 per cent.

Other tables in this release present information on:

• Gaelic language skills by sex by age
• English language skills by sex by age
• Language other than English used at home by sex by age

All the data contained in this release can be accessed on the Scotland’s Census website.

Provisional figures for births, deaths, adoptions, marriages and civil partnerships registered during 2013 are published today by the National Records of Scotland.

The statistics show that there were nearly 3,000 fewer marriages in Scotland in 2013 compared to 2012. The fall of around ten per cent takes the annual total to just above the level in 2009, which saw the fewest marriages in over a century.

Tim Ellis, Chief Executive of the National Records of Scotland (NRS) said:

“27,547 marriages were registered in Scotland in 2013. This fall in the annual total follows three consecutive increases from 27,524 in 2009 to 30,534 in 2012."

The provisional figures also show that:

• There were 530 civil partnerships (216 male and 314 female), 44 fewer than during 2012.
• 56,014 births were registered in the year – 2,013 (3.5 per cent) fewer than in 2012.
• 54,700 deaths were registered in Scotland in 2013 – 237 (0.4 per cent) fewer than in 2012. This is the fourth lowest number of deaths recorded in over 150 years. Only 2009, 2010 and 2011 had lower totals.
• Deaths from cancer fell by 0.4 per cent to 15,803, deaths from coronary heart disease fell by 4.6 per cent to 7,192, and there were 4,444 deaths from stroke (a drop of 0.7 per cent).

Tim Ellis commented:

“The number of births fell in 2013, continuing the trend of gradual decline from the most recent peak of 60,041 in 2008. Levels of births and deaths are both relatively low in historical terms and there have been more births than deaths each year since 2006.

“In recent years, the annual number of deaths has been below 55,000, compared to levels of around 60,000 to 65,000 from the mid-1940s to the mid-1990s, and larger numbers before then.”

The chart on the NRS website which shows how the total numbers of birth, marriages and deaths registered each year have varied since 1974 (which is the first year for which there are records of individual vital events in NRS's statistical database). The chart shows the longer-term trends, and also short-term fluctuations in the some of the numbers.

The full publication 2013 Births, Deaths and Other Vital Events - Preliminary Annual Figures is available on the NRS website.

NRS also published today the full list of Babies’ first names for 2013 .

The National Records of Scotland is pleased to announce that it has made Inhabited House Tax rolls, 1778-1798, available online via the ScotlandsPlaces website.

Duties on inhabited houses were first imposed in 1778 and the resulting 64 rolls (or 'schedules') cover the whole of Scotland from 1778 until 1798, but with gaps for some areas for some years (reference E326/3).

On the 10,000 pages of the schedules you can find the names of householders and annual value of houses, but the initial assessment was on houses with an actual or notional rental value of at least £5 per annum. There was a sliding scale of duty for houses valued between £5 and £19, between £20 and £39 and £40 or over. By and large, for rural areas only a handful of individuals were liable for tax in each parish but for researchers interested in inhabitants of the prosperous towns during the 'Age of Improvement' the Inhabited House Tax schedules are a valuable source of information.

They are part of a new batch of records being added to the ScotlandsPlaces site  along with sources from the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.

Access to the the Inhabited House Tax rolls on the ScotlandsPlaces site requires a subscription, but they are also available in the Historical Search Room at the National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh (free of charge) and in the ScotlandsPeople Family History Centre.

In the extract from the 1783 schedule for Ayrshire below (E326/3/4/73), the celebrated Scottish author, James Boswell, is listed as one of three people in Auchinleck parish liable for the tax. He had become the 9th laird of Auchinleck shortly before this. In the schedule Auchinleck House was assessed as having a rental value of 25 pounds and was liable for 18 shillings and 9 pence in Inhabited House Tax.

The wills of 26,000 Scottish soldiers who died in the Great War are to be made available by the National Records of Scotland via ScotlandsPeople

In May 2014 these poignant historical records will go online for the first time as part of commemorations of the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War.

The release has been announced on 24 February by the First Minister, Alex Salmond, at Portlethen near Aberdeen. Welcoming the project, he said:

“This year, when we mark the centenary of the start of the Great War, we reflect on the sacrifices made by generations of service men and women, including those currently serving. Digitally archiving all 26,000 wills online presents a unique glimpse into the lives of the individuals who fought and fell for our freedom. “

The statistics published today by the Registrar General for Scotland on the Scotland’s Census website provide further details from the 2011 Census in Scotland on Ethnicity, Identity, Language and Religion, from national to local level.

Key points

National identity by sex by age

• 62 per cent of the total population stated their identity was ‘Scottish only’. That proportion varied from 71 per cent for 10 to 14 year olds to 57 per cent for 30 to 34 year olds.
• The second most common response was ‘Scottish and British identities only’, at 18 per cent. This was highest in the 65 to 74 age group, at 25 per cent.
• ‘British identity only’ was chosen by 8 per cent of the population. The highest proportion stating this identity was the 50 to 64 age group (10 per cent).
• ‘Other identity only’ represented 4 per cent of the population. The proportion was highest in the 20 to 24 (11 per cent), 25 to 29 (13 per cent) and 30 to 34 (11 per cent) age groups.
  National identity and ethnic group
• 34 per cent of all minority ethnic groups felt they had some Scottish identity either on its own or in combination with another identity.
• The figure ranged from 60 per cent for people from a mixed background and 50 per cent for those from a Pakistani ethnic group, to 21 per cent for those from an African ethnic group. This compared to 83 per cent for all people in Scotland. 
• 62 per cent of the total population stated ‘Scottish identity only’ as their national identity, of which 98 per cent stated their ethnicity as ‘White: Scottish’.
• 18 per cent of the total population stated ‘Scottish and British identity only’ as their national identity, of which 97 per cent stated their ethnicity as ‘White: Scottish’.
• 8 per cent of the total population stated their national identity as ‘British identity only’. Of these,  49 per cent stated their ethnicity as ‘White: Scottish’, 38 per cent were ‘White: Other British’, and 8 per cent were ‘Asian’.
• 4 per cent of the total population stated their national identity as  ‘Other identity only’ (i.e. no UK identity), 32 per cent of those were ‘White: Other White’, 22 per cent were ‘Asian’ and 21 per cent were ‘White: Polish’.

National identity by religion

• For most national identities the most common answer to the religion question was ‘no religion’. However ‘Roman Catholic’ was the most common answer for ‘Other identity only’ (36 per cent), and ‘Church of Scotland’ (44 per cent) was the most common answer for ‘Scottish and British identities only’

   Country of birth by ethnic group

• 96 per cent of ‘White: Scottish’ respondents were born in Scotland, whilst 2 per cent were born in England. 
• 78 per cent of ‘White: Other British’ respondents were born in England, whilst 9 per cent were born in Scotland, 4 per cent in Northern Ireland and 3 per cent in Wales.

Ethnic group by religion

• Within the ‘White: Scottish’ ethnic group there was an even split of those stating ‘Church of Scotland’ religion and those stating ‘No religion’ (both 37 per cent), with ‘Roman Catholic’ next highest at 15 per cent.
• ‘No religion’ was the most common answer for those with ‘White: Other British’, ‘White: Other White’, ‘White: Gypsy/Traveller’, ‘Caribbean or Black’ and ‘Mixed or multiple ethnic groups’ ethnicities. ‘Roman Catholic’ was the most common response for ‘White: Irish’ and ‘White: Polish’, whilst ‘Muslim’ was most common for ‘Asian’ and ‘Other ethnic groups’, and ‘Other Christian’ was the most common response for the ‘African’ ethnic group.

Ethnic group by sex by age

• All minority ethnic groups in Scotland had a younger age profile than white UK groups.
• 29 per cent of ‘White: Scottish’ people were aged 16 to 39 compared to over 50 per cent of ‘White: Polish’, ‘Asian’, ‘African’ or ‘Other’ ethnic groups.
• This distribution of ethnic groups by age band was similar for males and females.

Religion by sex by age

• ‘No religion’ was the most common response for all age bands up to 45 to 49, whilst from age bands 50 to 54 upwards, ‘Church of Scotland’ was the most common answer, with the highest proportion in the 80 to 84 and 85 and over age bands (60 per cent).
• Males were more likely to state they had ‘No religion’ (39 per cent) than females (34 per cent)

Scots language by sex by age

• 55 to 74 year olds were the highest proportion of people with some skills in Scots, with 43 per cent stating they could do one or a combination of read, write, speak or understand Scots.

All the data contained in this release can be accessed on the Scotland’s Census website.

Property records covering the whole of Scotland in 1885 have been made available via ScotlandsPeople giving historians and genealogists an excellent resource for researching late Victorian Scotland. The Valuation Rolls comprise over 77,000 digital images taken from 144 volumes and include 1.4 million index entries. Visitors to the ScotlandsPeople website and Centre are now able to search Valuation Rolls covering the years 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915 and 1920 - often providing valuable information about the inter-census years.

Some famous episodes in Scottish history can be traced using the Rolls including the 'Battle of the Braes' crofters protest in the Highlands and Islands, Dr Sophia Jex-Blake, one of the first female medical students of Edinburgh University, the social housing project paid for by John Ritchie Findlay, proprietor of The Scotsman, William Arrol the famous engineer and Scotland's infamously bad poet William McGonagall.

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs in the Scottish Government, said:

“Scotlands People is a superb digital resource for those who to wish explore their family pasts, both for Scots who live here now and for those whose ancestors left Scotland as part of the Diaspora. I hope that researching these new online records will inspire people to visit Scotland to see the places where their ancestors lived and worked, making their own journey of discovery in this year of Homecoming.”

Tim Ellis, Registrar General and Keeper of the Records of Scotland, said:

“The Valuation Rolls of 1885 are a wonderful quarry for people wanting to find out more about the lives and homes of their Victorian ancestors – or for those who are interested in the rich stories and characters of that period.  The National Records of Scotland is committed to continuously improving and enhancing its services, and I’m delighted that we’ve now been able to make these fascinating records available online through our ScotlandsPeople website.”

The Valuation Rolls can be searched along with statutory registers, old parish registers, Catholic registers, census records, wills and testaments and coats of arms on the ScotlandsPeople website, at the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh, and at local family history centres in Glasgow, Kilmarnock, Hawick and Inverness.

Records are crucial for a democracy. They inform us about our past and our present and act as the ultimate guarantee of our rights, but we tend to take them for granted until some crisis highlights their importance. To address this issue, Parliament passed the Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011 (PRSA), which came into effect on 1^st January 2013.

New legislation was a recommendation of the Historical Abuse Systemic Review (Shaw Report) which in 2007 highlighted the destruction of thousands of records in the looked-after children sector. This left many people who had gone through the care system without any way of accessing records which document their formative years. The Act’s aim is to improve the quality of record keeping within 250 named Scottish public authorities.

The Act obliges authorities scheduled under the Act to prepare, implement and keep under review a records management plan setting out arrangements for the management of records either created or held by the authority. They must submit their plan to the Keeper of the Records of Scotland (the Keeper) for his agreement. Implementing agreed plans will help improve governance and efficiencies within authorities and increase accountability at a local level.

One year on, the signs are that matters are improving. A PRSA Assessment Team, based in the National Records of Scotland (NRS) in Edinburgh, has assessed 19 plans and these have been agreed by the Keeper. A list of agreed plans can be seen on the NRS(NAS) website.  Over the next four years all scheduled authorities will be invited to submit plans for assessment.  The Keeper’s Model Plan and Guidance, issued to support public bodies develop their plans, has proven to be very useful and in May, the Assessment Team were awarded the Information and Records Management Society’s prestigious Records Management Team of the Year Award for 2013 in recognition of the success of these documents.

During 2013 the Assessment Team actively engaged with public authorities by holding a series of 8 ‘Surgery’ events at venues across Scotland, including Ayr, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Kirkwall. Surgeries provided practical advice on how to create a plan and gave representatives of public authorities the opportunity to engage directly with the Assessment Team. Feedback from these events was extremely positive and they will continue in 2014.

The year ended with an inaugural PRSA Conference on 3^rd December, held in the City Halls, Glasgow. A wide range of speakers from across the UK delivered talks on the relationship of the Act with other information regulation regimes and the influence of the Act on record keeping practices within Scottish public authorities.

There is evidence that the Act is influencing practice elsewhere in Europe and in North America. This is extremely encouraging as the Assessment Team aims to continue working with authorities in Scotland to encourage best practice records management. As well as providing efficiencies in the public sector, this will continue to safeguard the rights of Scottish citizens, particularly the most vulnerable in our society.