Census 2011: Release 3L

Detailed characteristics on Housing and Accommodation in Scotland

The statistics published today by the Registrar General for Scotland on the Scotland’s Census website present further details on housing and accommodation (Release 3L), from national to local level.

Key points - Release 3L

Car or van availability

• At the time of the 2011 Census, 69 per cent of the 2.4 million households in Scotland had at least one car or van available, including 27 per cent which had two or more cars or vans available. Just under a third (31 per cent) of households had no cars or vans available, compared with 34 per cent in 2001 and 43 per cent in 1991. 
• The proportion of households with no cars or vans available was highest for those comprising one person aged 65 or over living alone (64 per cent) and for those comprising of all full-time students (63 per cent). The proportion of households with two or more cars or vans available was highest for married couple families with children, at 63 per cent. 
• The proportion of households with at least one car or van available was higher for those who owned their property (85 per cent) than for those in social rented accommodation (37 per cent) or in private rented accommodation (57 per cent). It was also higher for households living in houses or bungalows (81 per cent) than for those in flats (49 per cent). 
• The proportion of households with no car or van available was generally higher for those where the Household Reference Person (HRP) [Footnote 1] was from a minority ethnic group; it was highest for households where the HRP was from the ‘African’ (60 per cent) or ‘Caribbean or Black’ (49 per cent) ethnic groups. 
• Of the 473,000 people in households who had a long-term health problem or disability that limited their day-to-day activities a lot, 46 per cent lived in households with no cars or vans available. The corresponding proportion was 34 per cent for the 523,000 people whose day-day activities were limited a little and 19 per cent for the 4.2 million people who had no limiting long-term health problem. 
• In 2011, a total of 4.3 million people aged 16 and over lived in households in Scotland. Of those who were employees, 85 per cent lived in households with at least one car or van available. The corresponding proportion for people who were self-employed was 93 per cent; it was lower for people who were retired (66 per cent), unemployed (57 per cent) or long-term sick or disabled (48 per cent). 
• Slightly fewer males (21 per cent) than females (26 per cent) aged 16 and over lived in households with no cars or vans available. 
• A total of 348,000 people living in households in Scotland in 2011 were born outside the UK. The proportion of these people in households with no cars or vans available decreased with length of residence in the UK: it was 54 per cent for those resident for less than two years and 21 per cent for those resident for ten years or more. 
• Of the 2.7 million people aged 16 and over in households in Scotland who were working or studying in the week before the 2011 Census, 85 per cent lived in households with at least one car or van available. This proportion was 97 per cent for those who drove to their workplace or place of study, 83 per cent for those who travelled as a passenger in a car or van, 79 per cent for those who travelled by train or underground, 73 per cent for those who travelled by bicycle, 64 per cent for those who went on foot and 61 per cent for those who travelled by bus. 

Tenure by economic activity by age - Household Reference Persons

• In 2011, there were 1.8 million Household Reference Persons (HRPs) in Scotland aged 16 to 64. Of those who owned their property with a mortgage or loan, the great majority (97 per cent) were economically active. The corresponding proportions for HRPs who owned their own property outright, lived in social rented accommodation or lived in private rented accommodation were 81 per cent, 63 per cent and 81 per cent respectively.

The tables of census results covered in Release 3L are listed below. They are a mixture of ‘Detailed Characteristics’(DC) and ‘Local Characteristics’ (LC) tables. DC versions of tables include the most complex cross-tabulations and are therefore not available at smaller geographic areas (generally available down to postcode sectors). LC versions of tables include less complex cross-tabulations and are therefore available down to the lowest geographic levels (generally census output areas). In some instances, no LC version of a table is produced as a statistical disclosure control measure. Similarly, the DC version of some tables is produced for council areas only.

Tables included in Release 3L

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

Footnote

1. The Household Reference Person provides an individual person within a household to act as a reference point for producing further derived statistics and for characterising a whole household according to characteristics of the chosen reference person. Please go to the Scotland’s Census website for further details.