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02 DEFINITION OF THE CHILD
Articles: 1
98 A child is defined in several ways in Scottish legislation.
99 In certain circumstances, a child is defined, as in the UN Convention, as being under the age of 18. For example, the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003, which provides for the list of people unsuitable to work with children, defines children as under the age of 18. Part II of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 places duties on local authorities to promote and safeguard the welfare of children, defined as under 18, by providing services appropriate to their needs, to look after children including provision of accommodation and to provide services for disabled children. Parental responsibilities for providing guidance extend to those aged under 18.
100 There are, however, particular circumstances where a young person aged between 16 and 18 would not be regarded as a child. For example, the 1995 Act provides that parental rights and responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting a child's health, development and welfare, for providing direction and guidance about personal relations and acting as legal representative apply to children under 16 only. Similarly, the Children's Hearings System applies ordinarily to children who are not yet 16 (although it can extend to those aged 16 and 17 years who are subject to Supervision Requirements on their 16th birthday).
101 There are also age variations in terms of legal capacity to enter into transactions and make decisions. As a general rule (under the Age of Legal Capacity (Scotland) Act 1991) children under 16 have no capacity to enter into transactions but there are exceptions which allow children under 16 to enter into transactions which are commonly entered into by people of this age and which are not unreasonable. Children over the age of 12 have testamentary capacity and can consent to the making of an adoption order. Children under 16 are regarded as having capacity to agree to surgical, medical and dental procedures if a practitioner considers that the child is capable of understanding.
Population data
102 The tables opposite set out data in relation to children in Scotland. Please note the difference in the under 18 population figures for 2001 in Table 1 and Table 5. Table 1 is based on mid-year estimates (30 June 2001), Table 5 on census data collected on 1 April 2001. Only the census data provides the detailed information illustrated in Tables 3-5.
TABLE 1 Population aged under 18
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
|---|
Under 18 | 1,108,000 | 1,097,605 | 1,085,798 | 1,073,672 | 1,066,646 | 1,059,027 |
|---|
male | 566,980 | 562,065 | 556,126 | 549,817 | 546,216 | 542,589 |
|---|
female | 541,020 | 535,540 | 529,672 | 523,855 | 520,430 | 516,438 |
|---|
0-4 | 283,213 | 276,261 | 268,468 | 263,828 | 263,122 | 265,200 |
|---|
male | 145,456 | 141,772 | 137,399 | 134,880 | 134,505 | 135,541 |
|---|
female | 137,757 | 134,489 | 131,069 | 128,948 | 128,617 | 129,659 |
|---|
5-9 | 313,342 | 305,813 | 299,159 | 293,923 | 289,916 | 284,772 |
|---|
male | 160,183 | 156,355 | 153,336 | 150,645 | 148,674 | 146,258 |
|---|
female | 153,159 | 149,458 | 145,823 | 143,278 | 141,242 | 138,514 |
|---|
10-14 | 322,884 | 322,923 | 322,615 | 319,934 | 318,869 | 315,119 |
|---|
male | 165,676 | 165,739 | 165,377 | 163,651 | 162,887 | 160,962 |
|---|
female | 157,208 | 157,184 | 157,238 | 156,283 | 155,982 | 154,157 |
|---|
15-17 | 188,561 | 192,608 | 195,556 | 195,987 | 194,739 | 193,936 |
|---|
male | 95,665 | 98,199 | 100,014 | 100,641 | 100,150 | 99,828 |
|---|
female | 92,896 | 94,409 | 95,542 | 95,346 | 94,589 | 94,108 |
|---|
Source: General Register Office Scotland, mid-year population estimates
TABLE 2 Population aged under 18 as a proportion of the overall person/male/female Population
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
|---|
Under 18 | 21.9% | 21.7% | 21.5% | 21.2% | 21.0% | 20.8% |
|---|
male | 23.3% | 23.1% | 22.9% | 22.6% | 22.3% | 22.1% |
|---|
female | 20.6% | 20.4% | 20.0% | 20.0% | 19.8% | 19.6% |
|---|
0-4 | 5.6% | 5.5% | 5.3% | 5.2% | 5.2% | 5.2% |
|---|
male | 6.0% | 5.8% | 5.7% | 5.5% | 5.5% | 5.5% |
|---|
female | 5.2% | 5.1% | 5.0% | 4.9% | 4.9% | 4.9% |
|---|
5-9 | 6.2% | 6.0% | 5.9% | 5.8% | 5.7% | 5.6% |
|---|
male | 6.6% | 6.4% | 6.3% | 6.2% | 6.1% | 6.0% |
|---|
female | 5.8% | 5.7% | 5.6% | 5.5% | 5.4% | 5.2% |
|---|
10-14 | 6.4% | 6.4% | 6.4% | 6.3% | 6.3% | 6.2% |
|---|
male | 6.8% | 6.8% | 6.8% | 6.7% | 6.7% | 6.6% |
|---|
female | 6.0% | 6.0% | 6.0% | 6.0% | 5.9% | 5.8% |
|---|
15-17 | 3.7% | 3.8% | 3.9% | 3.9% | 3.8% | 3.8% |
|---|
male | 3.9% | 4.0% | 4.1% | 4.1% | 4.1% | 4.1% |
|---|
female | 3.5% | 3.6% | 3.6% | 3.6% | 3.6% | 3.6% |
|---|
Population | 5,062,940 | 5,064,200 | 5,054,800 | 5,057,400 | 5,078,400 | 5,094,800 |
|---|
male | 2,431,926 | 2,433,733 | 2,431,805 | 2,434,566 | 2,446,248 | 2,456,109 |
|---|
female | 2,631,014 | 2,630,467 | 2,622,995 | 2,622,834 | 2,632,152 | 2,638,691 |
|---|
Source: General Register Office Scotland
TABLE 3 Religion of population aged under 18 - by urban/rural location, 2001
Religion | Total % | Large Urban Areas | Other Urban Areas | Accessible Small Towns | Remote Small Towns | Accessible Rural | Remote Rural |
|---|
None | 34.68 | 31.58 | 36.64 | 37.05 | 37.62 | 35.87 | 35.52 |
|---|
Church of Scotland | 33.20 | 26.83 | 33.34 | 37.52 | 40.39 | 41.61 | 42.02 |
|---|
Roman Catholic | 15.83 | 22.62 | 15.15 | 11.52 | 6.71 | 8.34 | 5.96 |
|---|
Other Christian | 4.93 | 3.8 | 4.64 | 5.24 | 6.47 | 6.4 | 9.07 |
|---|
Buddhist | 0.07 | 0.09 | 0.06 | 0.04 | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.07 |
|---|
Hindu | 0.10 | 0.19 | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.01 | 0.03 | 0.01 |
|---|
Jewish | 0.09 | 0.2 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.04 | 0.03 |
|---|
Muslim | 1.36 | 2.93 | 0.59 | 0.45 | 0.25 | 0.33 | 0.09 |
|---|
Sikh | 0.18 | 0.39 | 0.08 | 0.05 | 0.03 | 0.06 | 0.01 |
|---|
Another religion | 0.29 | 0.28 | 0.24 | 0.25 | 0.42 | 0.37 | 0.51 |
|---|
Not answered | 9.26 | 11.11 | 9.19 | 7.82 | 8.02 | 6.89 | 6.69 |
|---|
Source: General Register Office Scotland, 2001 Census
TABLE 4 Ethnic group of population aged under 18 - by urban/rural location, 2001
| Total % | Large Urban Areas | Other Urban Areas | Accessible Small Towns | Remote Small Towns | Accessible Rural | Remote Rural |
|---|
White Scottish | 91.53 | 90.22 | 94.25 | 92.53 | 92.26 | 89.91 | 87.05 |
|---|
Other White British | 4.00 | 2.25 | 2.97 | 4.84 | 5.54 | 7.29 | 10.68 |
|---|
White Irish | 0.30 | 0.44 | 0.24 | 0.21 | 0.11 | 0.22 | 0.22 |
|---|
Other White | 1.15 | 1.47 | 0.78 | 0.97 | 0.9 | 1.32 | 1.19 |
|---|
Indian | 0.36 | 0.71 | 0.18 | 0.14 | 0.11 | 0.15 | 0.06 |
|---|
Pakistani | 1.08 | 2.35 | 0.47 | 0.31 | 0.12 | 0.22 | 0.04 |
|---|
Bangladeshi | 0.06 | 0.13 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.05 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
|---|
Other South Asian | 0.17 | 0.35 | 0.08 | 0.07 | 0.1 | 0.06 | 0.04 |
|---|
Chinese | 0.38 | 0.62 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.16 | 0.09 |
|---|
Caribbean | 0.03 | 0.04 | 0.02 | 0.04 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.04 |
|---|
African | 0.12 | 0.24 | 0.07 | 0.06 | 0.03 | 0.04 | 0.02 |
|---|
Black Scottish or other Black | 0.03 | 0.05 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.04 | 0.01 | 0.02 |
|---|
Other Ethnic Group | 0.21 | 0.36 | 0.12 | 0.11 | 0.09 | 0.13 | 0.09 |
|---|
Any mixed background | 0.57 | 0.77 | 0.45 | 0.45 | 0.43 | 0.46 | 0.43 |
|---|
Source: General Register Office Scotland, 2001 Census
TABLE 5 Age and long-term illness of population aged under 18 - by urban/rural location, 2001
| Total | Large Urban Areas | Other Urban Areas | Accessible Small Towns | Remote Small Towns | Accessible Rural | Remote Rural |
|---|
TOTAL under 18 | 1098864 | 404350 | 332607 | 121740 | 29834 | 149360 | 60973 |
|---|
Age 0-4 |
|---|
Total | 276874 | 104691 | 84356 | 30070 | 7054 | 36347 | 14356 |
|---|
With a Limiting long-term illness | 8503 | 3657 | 2506 | 836 | 197 | 928 | 379 |
|---|
Without a Limiting long-term illness | 268371 | 101034 | 81850 | 29234 | 6857 | 35419 | 13977 |
|---|
5-9 |
|---|
Total | 307138 | 111429 | 93243 | 34146 | 8447 | 42433 | 17440 |
|---|
With a Limiting long-term illness | 15877 | 6483 | 4851 | 1612 | 414 | 1786 | 731 |
|---|
Without a Limiting long-term illness | 291261 | 104946 | 88392 | 32534 | 8033 | 40647 | 16709 |
|---|
10-14 |
|---|
Total | 322870 | 117212 | 97259 | 36185 | 8957 | 44535 | 18722 |
|---|
With a Limiting long-term illness | 17570 | 6986 | 5310 | 1751 | 471 | 2161 | 891 |
|---|
Without a Limiting long-term illness | 305300 | 110226 | 91949 | 34434 | 8486 | 42374 | 17831 |
|---|
15-17 |
|---|
Total | 191982 | 71018 | 57749 | 21339 | 5376 | 26045 | 10455 |
|---|
With a Limiting long-term illness | 9934 | 3981 | 2960 | 1012 | 279 | 1220 | 482 |
|---|
Without a Limiting long-term illness | 182048 | 67037 | 54789 | 20327 | 5097 | 24825 | 9973 |
|---|
Source: General Register Office Scotland, 2001 Census
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