Scottish Government

Section 7 | Urban-Rural Scotland

7.1 The primary focus of the report thus far has been on the aggregate national workforce. However, policy decisions and workforce implications are likely to differ by geography so this chapter will look at the data spatially. Using the official Scottish Executive definition it is possible to look at some of the key variables by comparing and contrasting urban and rural areas, as well as accessible and remote areas.

7.2 The official Scottish Executive Urban Rural Classification classifies areas on the basis of settlement size and distance to a settlement of 10,000 or more people. ¹⁴ This gives six geographies of varying rurality and accessibility. Table 7-1 shows the six categories and the map on Page 29 shows the information graphically. Combining the first 4 categories with the last 2 categories also allows for analysis of urban-rural areas more generally. Whilst combining categories 1-3 with 5 and categories 4 and 6 it is also possible to analyse the data on an accessible-remote basis.

Table 7-1

7.3 Comparing the six categories in relation to their respective populations sizes, with a few notable exceptions, there appear to be minimal differences between urban and rural areas in terms of both service provision and staffing levels.

7.4 Analysing by service units, Figure 7.1 appears to show that large urban areas are slightly under represented in three service types with the exception of Care Homes for Children and Young People, while rural areas more generally tend to be slightly over represented. Combining this with the staff numbers contained in Figure 7.2 it is possible to make some inferences about the relative size of centres.

7.5 Using large urban areas and remote-rural areas for comparison purposes, it is clear that in large urban areas there are proportionately more staff than units. The opposite is true in remote rural areas. From this we can infer that units tend to be fewer and larger in urban areas than in rural areas. Due to the relative population densities and the ability to benefit from economies of scale, this is what might have been predicted. One obvious exception to this prediction is Care Homes for Children and Young People where services in Other Urban Areas tend to be smaller than might have been anticipated while those in Accessible Rural Areas tend to be larger.

7.6 Figure 7.4 show combined SHS areas to allow for analysis of differences between urban-rural areas(a) or remote-accessible areas(b). Services in both urban and rural areas are broadly in line with the overall population, with only some minor variations between service types. However, the differences between remote and accessible areas are more noticeable particularly with regard to support services.

7.7 In terms of staff numbers, the contrast between areas becomes apparent with some clear differences emerging. Repeating the finding in paragraph 7.4, Care Homes for Children and Young People appear to employ fewer staff in urban areas than might be expected in relation to population. In addition, when the areas are aggregated in this form, the same becomes true of care homes for adults. In contrast, looking at service units, comparisons between accessible and remote areas appear to be more reflective of their respective populations than those between urban and rural areas, with the exception of support services.

7.8 In terms of service providers, there are some minor differences between rural and urban areas where services in urban areas are more likely to be provided by the local authority, with private, voluntary and other being more important providers in rural areas, as shown in Figure 7.5. We do not know to what extent these variations are due to different levels of contracting out of services between individual authorities.

7.9 The data also suggest some minor differences in the ages of staff between urban and rural areas. Figure 7.6 shows that the urban workforce tends to have a lower age profile than rural areas with a greater proportion of employees in their twenties. The urban workforce also appears to be slightly more stable with a gradual decline in numbers of those from their early forties to retirement compared with a more erratic decline in rural areas.

7.10 Analysis of the gender breakdown using the urban-rural classification supports previous findings in this chapter which suggest that there are no systematic differences between urban and rural areas. While there are some minor variations, all six areas are sufficiently comparable to the gender split identified in earlier chapters.

7.11 While the first labour market report did not contain any urban-rural comparisons, subsequent analysis of the 2004 data has confirmed that the two years' data produce similar findings and that little has changed in the intervening period.

Key Points:

• Social service provision closely reflects the urban-rural population of Scotland with no significant differences emerging.
• Services in urban areas are more likely to be operated by local authorities than the private or voluntary sectors compared with rural areas.
• The rural workforce is slightly older than the urban workforce.