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Household projections in Scotland. Esther Roughsedge General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/library/household-estimates-projections/index.html. Talk outline. How we produce household projections What they show Potential ways to improve them.
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Household projections in Scotland Esther Roughsedge General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/library/household-estimates-projections/index.html
Talk outline • How we produce household projections • What they show • Potential ways to improve them
Purpose of household projections • Mainly used to inform local authority decisions about future housing and service need • Need to know projected number of households, and type. • GROS produces projections in a consistent way across the country. • Local projections may be used in strategic plans, where this can be justified.
How they are produced • Produced every 2 years, to cover a 20-year period. • Based on population projections; • Subtract communal establishment population (from Census); • Project household composition information from the 1991 + 2001 Censuses.
Categories used • 32 local authorities in Scotland • 7 household types: • 10 age groups for the head of household:
Household composition • ‘Head of household’ = first person on Census form. • The number of heads of households = the number of households. • Headship rates: the proportion of people who head a household within an age group, by household type and LA.
Aberdeen: households with 2 adults Headship rate × household population = households
Advantages / disadvantages of this methodology • Advantages • Robust • Fairly easy to understand and interpret • The data we require are available • Disadvantages • Based on past trends • Reliant on Census data
Differences from other parts of UK • England and Wales: • Different household types (include marital status, but not necessarily children). • Incorporate Labour Force Survey results. • Include age cohort effects. • Projections produced every 4-6 yrs. • Northern Ireland: • Similar to Scotland, but use household propensities rather than headship rates – based on household size.
Summary of household projections results, 2004-2024 • Overall number of households up 13%, despite smaller change in population. • Average household size decreasing. • More people living alone. • Ageing population – more households with older people, fewer households with children. • Large geographical variations.
Media coverage • ‘Lonely future for Scots as one-person families soar’- Scotsman • ‘1 in 4 will live alone’ - Herald • ‘City to grow a quarter by 2024’ - Edinburgh Evening News • ‘Church says Labour policies to blame for death of the family’ - Mail
Notes on household projections • Projections are based on past trends. • They don’t take account of future policy initiatives / planned housing developments (or bird flu). • There is some demand to include additional information, e.g., economic predictions, or plans for future housing developments. But it would be difficult to do this consistently.
Incorporate survey results • Information on household type is based on last 2 Censuses. • Household estimates constrain the figures • But no information on household type • Could include results of surveys (e.g., Scottish Household Survey, Labour Force Survey) to update this at national level.
Different geographic areas • Current household projections are for: • Councils • Structure plan areas • Changes to planning system need projections for ‘city regions’ and national parks. • Require small area households estimates, to form ‘building blocks’ for projections for different areas.
Other potential improvements • Update communal establishment information. • Review the household types and age groups used. • Produce variant projections?
Future PhD • Ashley McCormick will start a PhD supervised by Paul Williamson on incorporating social trends into household projections. • Combine headship rates at sub-national level with dynamic micro-simulation to project household and family formation. • Experiment with different headship definitions.
Summary: potential improvements • Incorporate survey results to update information on household composition. • Produce projections for different areas. • Update communal establishment information. • Variant projections. • Potential alternatives to projections methodology and headship definitions.