The Scottish Government

This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007

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High Level Summary of Equality Statistics

28/11/2006

The Scottish Executive today published the High Level Summary of Equality Statistics - Key Trends for Scotland 2006.

The publication presents statistics on key outcomes by equality groups - age, gender, disability and ethnicity - across a number of areas of government activity. This marks a major improvement in the accessibility of Executive statistical trends disaggregated by these equality groups and assists in supporting analysis and policy development and practice in light of the existing and forthcoming equality public duties.

The majority of data used to show these HLSES trends are already in the public domain. This publication presents key trends together in a comparable format and enables equality data and sources to be more readily accessed.

The key trends are:

Population and Migration

• For both males and females, almost all minority ethnic populations have a younger age distribution than the white majority
• Muslims have the youngest age profile of all religious groups, with almost a third aged under 16
• The white majority (all ages) have a higher rate of limiting long-term illness than minority ethnic groups (all ages)
• The population aged 65 and over is projected to increase sharply up to 2031 - by 71 per cent for males and 50 per cent for females
• The working age population is projected to fall as a percentage of total population, from 63 per cent in 2004 to 59 per cent in 2031, despite the increase in state pension age for women between 2010 and 2020

Businesses

• Self-employment rates vary considerably by ethnic group and by religion group
• Self-employment varies considerably with age with older workers more likely to be self-employed
• Self-employment differs considerably by gender with males much more likely to be self-employed

Labour Market

• While the gap between male and female full time pay has reduced since 1999 there is still a considerable gap between the genders (14percent) and in fact this has increased slightly between 2004 and 2005
• The employment rate and economic activity rate of minority ethnic groups are considerably lower than for the white majority.
• Employment rates for disabled people have increased considerable since 2002
• While employment rates have increased overall and for the majority of age groups, employment rates for those aged 16-24 are now below the rates for those aged 55-59/64

Transport and Travel

• Fifty-six per cent of adults with a disability or long-term illness had used a local bus service in the month prior to the interview, compared with 42 per cent of adults with no disability or long-term illness
• Following the introduction of the national minimum standard for concessionary fares, the percentage of pensioners using their local bus service in the past month has increased from 46 per cent in 2002 to 51 per cent in 2005; which is a larger rise than for the adult population as a whole
• Only 8percent of adults with a disability or long-term illness had used a train in the past month - this compares to 22 per cent of adults with no disability or long-term illness
• Pensioners are less likely to use train services than the adult population as a whole; 11 per cent compared with 19 per cent
• Men are more likely to use the car to get to work (71 per cent of males compared to 65percent of females) and less likely to walk (10 per cent of males compared to 15 per cent of females) or get the bus (9 per cent of males compared to 14 per cent of females)
• The proportion of adults going to work by car increases with age up to 49, and then starts to decline. The opposite is shown for bus commuting; the proportion using the bus to get to work falls with rising age to 59, and then increases for those over 60
• Fifty-nine per cent of pupils of primary school age walked to school compared to 45 per cent of those of secondary school age. Primary school pupils were also more likely to go by car (26 per cent compared to 14 per cent) and less likely to go by bus (13 per cent compared to 38 per cent)
• Seventy-two per cent of adults (aged 17 years and over) without a disability or long-term illness have a full driving licence; this compares to only 44 per cent of those with a disability or long-term illness
• Those in minority ethnic groups are less likely to have a driving licence than white majority; 48 per cent of adults from minority ethnic groups (aged 17 years and over) compared to 66percent of adults in the white majority

Lifelong Learning

• In the ten years since 1994-95, the number of male HE students studying in Scotland has increased by 14percent from 105,690 to 120,090, whilst for females it has increased by 60percent from 97,670 to 156,615
• The number of female graduates from higher education courses is increasing. In 1995-96, 51 per cent of all graduates were female and by 2003-04 this had risen to 57 per cent
• In 2004-05, the Age Participation Index for Scotland is 46.4. This has declined by 2.5 percentage points since 2003-04
• Between 2000-01 and 2004-05 the number of disabled people enrolling at FE level almost doubled, up from 18,645 to 37,130
• The number of students in receipt of Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) from SAAS has increased almost three fold, from 975 in 1999-00 to 2,775 in 2004-05
• Data on disability and ethnicity are difficult to analyse as these factors are self-reported and not known for a significant proportion of students

School Education

• Girls continue to outperform boys academically, and more female school leavers enter higher or further education
• Fewer girls are excluded from schools, though their numbers are increasing faster than for boys
• There is a wide variation amongst attainment of different ethnic groups, with Asian Chinese pupils being the highest attaining group
• Exclusion rates are highest amongst Black Caribbean and Gypsy/Traveller children, and lowest amongst Asian-Chinese
• Just under 1percent of teachers and 4 per cent of pupils were from minority ethnic groups

Tourism, Culture and Sport

• Participation in sport reduces with age, ranging from 83percent for 16-24 year-old to 44 per cent for people aged 55 or over (2000-02 data)
• Sport participation is lower for women, although the gap between men and women has been reduced from 18 percentage points (1988-90) to 9 percentage points (2000-02).
• Participation in arts and cultural activities, and attendance at cultural events, are broadly similar for men and women
• A large difference is seen between the percentages of non-disabled (79 per cent) and disabled (50 per cent) people attending cultural events
• Compared to the white majority, participation in arts and cultural activities is 10percent lower for minority ethnic groups.

Children and Young People

• Nearly all staff working in Pre-School Education and Childcare are female (98 per cent)
• Three quarters of children in secure accommodation are boys
• Eighty-four per cent of staff working in Scotland's local authority social work services are female
• Just under half of all children on local authority child protection registers are aged under 5 years (46 per cent).
• Half of all admissions to secure accommodation are for children aged 15 years
• Ten per cent of staff working in Pre-School Education and Childcare declared having a disability or health problem lasting one year or more
• Sixteen per cent of children being looked after by local authorities are reported to have a disability

Health and Community Care

• Life expectancy at birth is greater for females than for males although the gap is narrowing slightly
• Mortality rates (under 75 years of age) for Coronary Heart Disease and cancer much higher for males than for females although the gap is narrowing
• Slightly more women than men are obese. The prevalence of obesity has increased over time for both sexes
• Smoking is more prevalent amongst males than females
• Men are more likely than women to consume more than the recommended weekly limit of alcohol, although there has been a decrease in the proportion of men coupled with an increase in the proportion of women exceeding recommended limits
• The incidence of sexually transmitted infections is higher for younger age groups with 20-24 year olds showing the greatest incidence for both males and females
• There has been a shift in the balance of care from institutional to home-based settings in order to enable more people to live and be cared for in their own home

Crime and Justice

• Scottish homicide victims are far more likely to be male (80 per cent of the total in 2004-05). The number of homicide perpetrators was highest in the 16-29 age group (12 per 100,000 head of population in 2004-05).
• In 2004-05, 13 per cent per cent of all male convictions resulted in a custodial sentence, compared with 6 per cent of all female convictions
• In 2005-06, the average daily female population in Scottish prisons totalled 334 and females accounted for 5percent of the total prison population. However, between 1973 and 2005-06, the female prison population more than doubled, up from 180, and is currently at its highest level since 1973
• On the 30th June 2005, people from all minority ethnic groups accounted for 2.46 per cent of the total Scottish prison population and this is relatively similar to the proportion of the Scottish adult population as a whole who are from minority ethnic groups (1.77per cent according to the 2001 Census)
• Among the cohort of offenders who were discharged from custody or given a non-custodial sentence in 2002-03, reconviction rates were higher for males (47 per cent) and for those aged under 21 (54 per cent)

Housing

• There are marked differences in tenure in relation to disability: owner-occupiers made up just over half (54 per cent) of households including someone with a disability or long-standing illness, compared to nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) for households which did not include anyone with a disability or long-standing illness
• Households including someone with a disability or long-standing illness are more than twice as likely to be in the social rented sector compared to households which do not include anyone with a disability or long-standing illness (41 per cent and 17 per cent respectively)
• People with disabilities or long-standing illness are also more likely to report having experienced homelessness (7 per cent compared to 3 per cent)
• Elderly households are much more vulnerable to fuel poverty than younger ones. 35 per cent of single pensioner households and 27 per cent of pensioner couples were estimated to be in fuel poverty. This compares to 17 per cent of single (non-pensioner) adults and 10percent or less of other household types

Social and Welfare

• In 2004-05, on a before housing costs basis, just under a quarter (22 per cent) of all individuals living in households with at least one disabled adult or disabled child were living in relative low income, compared to 14 per cent of those in households with no disabled adults or disabled children
• On an after housing costs basis, just under a quarter (24 per cent) of all individuals living in households with at least one disabled adult or disabled child were living in relative low income, compared to 16 per cent of those in households with no disabled adults or disabled children
• On a before housing costs basis, 25 per cent of all individuals living in households headed by an adult from a minority ethnic group were living in relative low income households, compared to 16 per cent of those living in households headed by an adult from the white majority
• On an after housing costs basis, 29 per cent of all individuals living in households headed by an adult from a minority ethnic group were living in relative low income households, compared to 18 per cent of those living in households headed by an adult from the white majority

Analysis of Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) 2006 and Benefits

• The proportion of adults claiming key benefits has decreased for all age groups and both genders since 1999. The proportion claiming key benefits has fallen more markedly in the 15 percent most deprived areas compared to the rest of Scotland
• Over a third of 61-64 year olds claim key benefits compared to just over a tenth of 16-21 year olds
• A higher proportion (14 per cent) adults from the white majority claim key benefits compared to (10 per cent) of minority ethnic groups
• In the 15percent most deprived areas children/family centres, cr che facilities are well catered for but these areas only have 6percent of Scotland's play group services
• Over half of the deaths in the 10percent most deprived areas are in the under 75 age group compared to just less than a third in the 10percent least deprived areas so people in the 10percent most deprived areas tend to die younger
• In the 10percent most deprived areas 1 in 10 deaths are in the 20-49 year age group compared to 1 in 25 of the same age in the 10percent least deprived areas

Background:

1. The information presented in this publication can be accessed at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/HLSES and www.scotland.gov.uk/publications

2. This is the first time the Executive has developed and published such a report. This statistical publication reports data but does not give possible reasons for any differences or trends. Factors which contribute to differences between equality groups can relate to a number of cultural, demographic and socio-economic reasons and are outwith the scope of this publication.

3. Trends are presented individually for each sub topic; the publication does not aim to provide a flowing narrative between sub-topics and is not intended to provide a definitive set of equality statistics.

4. Further information on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) can be found at www.scotland.gov.uk/SIMD