5Rural Scotland
92.A rural area is classed by the Scottish Government as a settlement of 3,000 people or fewer. Rural Scotland, while accounting for the majority of Scotland’s land mass, has 18% of the population.102 There has been a turnaround in population trends in recent years and overall rural Scotland has experienced more rapid growth than Scotland as a whole, although as with the rest of Scotland this has not been spread evenly among all rural areas.
93.People in rural Scotland also tend to live longer than in other parts of Scotland. According to the Scottish Public Health Observatory Healthy of life expectancy at birth was on average 5.4 years better in remote rural areas compared with large urban areas.103 Scotland’s rural population will see the average age rise at a faster rate than Scotland as a whole. Dr Gould from the Skye and Lochalsh access panel, a group working towards improving access for disabled people in the area, told us that:
Recent statistics for Scotland as a whole have shown that, between 2006 and 2031, the number of people aged 75 years and over is projected to increase by 81%. However, the number of people aged 75 years and over in Skye and Lochalsh is projected to increase by 143.5%, so you can see that compared to the national average we are much higher.104
Highlands and Islands
94.When we visited the Isle of Skye, Professor Jim Hunter summarised population trends in the Highlands and Islands. He told us that:
Across the Highlands and Islands as a whole this was an area characterised for a very long time by runaway population loss. The Highlands and Islands had a much higher proportion of the overall Scottish population if you go back to the 18th century and presumably beyond that, although details are scanty once you go further back. That began to change in the 19th century, particularly with the Highland Clearances and related events, and, as a result of the famine of the 1840s, population outflow became so extensive that it began to run away altogether.105
95.While in the last 10 years the Highlands and Islands have experienced a higher percentage of population growth compared with Scotland as a whole, this growth has not been uniform. In evidence John Norman MacLeod, Director of Studies and Vice-Principal of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, said:
There are still areas of the Highlands and Islands that are suffering population decline—particularly Argyll and The Isles is one area—but there have also been huge increases in population, like the Inner Moray Firth area, Shetland and this particular sub-area as well of HIE (Highlands and Islands Enterprise), that is Skye, Lochaber and Wester Ross.106
96.Alistair Danter from Highlands Council agreed, saying that “there are pockets where the population has grown and Skye is one of them”.107 He did, however, note that in other areas there were still population challenges and gave the example of Sutherland which has a population density of less than three people per square kilometre.
97.As with much of Scotland, the Highlands and Islands have difficulty retaining young people. As the graph below shows, the 16 to 29 year old age group accounted for the largest group of inward migrants to the Highlands and Islands there but are also large numbers of people leaving the Highlands and Islands in this age group. More specifically, for 18 to 20 year olds there is net out migration (and also the biggest spike in either net in or out migration). It is likely that this reflects young people leaving to attend university. The highest net inward migration is among 22 to 23 year olds but this is a much smaller figure than the net out migration of the younger age group.
Figure 8: All Migrants, by single year of age, 2013–2015 (Highland) In, out and net migration, by council area and single year of age, 2013–2015 average
Source: National records of Scotland, ‘Total Migration to or from an Area’, accessed 17 November 2016
98.This trend means that larger numbers of young people move away and do not return to their birthplace compared with Scotland as whole. We heard that in some parts of the Highlands and Islands a number of job vacancies remain unfilled, in particular in the health and social care sectors.108 In other areas, the trend reflects a lack of suitable jobs to attract young people to return.109
99.Access to health and social care service can be more difficult in Highlands and Islands, which includes some of the most remote parts of Scotland. Morag Hannah, Citizens Advice in Skye, told us:
What we are finding, through our monthly staff feedback and discussions, is that clients in Skye and Lochalsh are now having difficulty just getting to travel to their local GP surgeries. So, yes; it is the travel to consultants at Belford and Inverness hospital but it is even just locally, 10 miles up the road; the affordability and the transport links.110
100.Lack of internet access was also raised as a problem both for businesses and for individuals who needed to access services. Sandra Mackenzie from Skye and Lochalsh Mental Health Association told us that many people “do not have access to the internet”111 and even if they did, that:
They would not even know where to begin doing that. That is another issue—I know it was spoken about earlier on—broadband. If there was wi-fi available, we as workers would be able to take equipment into people’s homes and do things with them whereas we cannot at the minute because it is not there.112
Addressing rural Scotland’s population challenges
101.When considering how to address rural Scotland’s population challenges, we have looked at those regions where there has been population growth in recent years, to see if lessons can be learnt for other rural areas. We heard that the Isle of Skye and the Shetland Islands, in particular, have seen their population grow well in the last number of years. Professor Jim Hunter argued that the unique local culture and the Highlands and Islands University have been key contributors to population growth in Skye.113
102.In talking about the Highlands and Islands University, Professor Hunter emphasised the important part that the University plays in the creation of jobs. Similarly, Alistair Danter, from the Highlands Council, said:
The demographics may be different but, similar to other areas, what has to happen in the Highlands and Islands area is that we have to create a situation where we have an enterprise culture, where there is opportunity for young people and for working age people to successfully relocate to live in these communities. In many ways people coming to live in this part of the world, their requirements are no different to people living anywhere. Essentially, they are opportunities for employment, good housing and education and a decent transport and communication network.114
103.Broadband was identified by the Scottish Government as a key factor in determining the attractiveness of rural Scotland as a place to live. They said that a key to keeping young people in rural areas would “of course, be our broadband connections”.115 They went on to say that:
That is why the Scottish Government is working with others just now to make sure that in the course of this Parliament we have 100% superfast broadband coverage; otherwise, it would be very difficult indeed to persuade young people to live in some places in Scotland.116
104.Access to superfast broadband is not a luxury add-on for rural communities, but a key part of the infrastructure required for those communities to thrive and develop. We acknowledge that the UK Government is working to ensure that rural areas throughout the UK get superfast broadband coverage. We are also pleased that the Scottish Government is working to ensure 100% superfast broadband coverage over the next five years.
102 Scottish Government, ‘National Statistics—Rural Scotland Key Facts 2011’, accessed 18 November 2016
103 Public Health Information for Scotland, ‘Healthy life expectancy: urban rural classification’, accessed 18 November 2016
104 Q235
105 Q201
106 Q215
107 Q216
108 Q241
109 Q234 & Q219
110 Q247
111 Q240
112 Q240
113 Q207
114 Q219
115 Q285
116 Q286
28 November 2016