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Area Definitions

Key Indicators Area Types

The Key Indicators web site has data for a number of different area types. The main ones are Unitary Authorities and Local Enterprise Areas (formerly LECs). You can download a profile for individual areas of either type. The profile will also contain data for the relevant Enterprise Network (Scottish Enterprise or Highlands and Islands Enterprise) and Scotland for comparison purposes. It is possible to change these comparison areas to individual areas from any of the six main types detailed below. Source data isn't always available for all these area types and so, where possible, Key Indicators attempts to supply data by aggregating smaller areas. As geographic boundaries for each of the area types are not coincident, some of the data is aggregated using a best fit methodology. Any assumptions made are detailed in the relevant area description.

City Regions

City regions are geographical areas relating to people's whole lives: that is, the area in which most people live, travel to work, go to school, shop and spend their leisure time.

There are four City Regions defined. As data is not normally produced for these areas, they are aggregated where possible from LEAs (detailed below). Both the Dundee and Edinburgh City Regions comprise parts of Fife. However, as most of the data is not available for areas smaller than Fife, it is included in whole in both City Regions. As such, there will be an unavoidable element of double counting.

  • Aberdeen City Region : SE Grampian
  • Dundee City Region : SE Tayside, SE Fife
  • Edinburgh City Region : SE Lothian and Edinburgh, SE Fife, SE Borders, SE Forth Valley
  • Glasgow City Region : SE Glasgow, SE Renfrewshire, SE Lanarkshire, SE Dunbartonshire, SE Ayrshire

Enterprise Networks

Enterprise Networks is the collective name for the economic development agencies of Scotland.

There are two Enterprise Networks, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. In most cases, data is aggregated from the LEAs overseen by each. Where LEA data is not available, data has had to be aggregated from Unitary Authorities. However, the UA for Argyll and Bute is split between the two networks. A best fit is necessary and Argyll and Bute has been wholly included in Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Local Enterprise Areas (LEAs, formally known as Local Enterprise Companies)

Local economic areas are formally the administrative and delivery areas of the Enterprise Networks, otherwise known as local enterprise companies. These local areas where responsible for business development, government-funded training programmes, inward investment and the environment at a local level within Scotland. They have now been replaced by Regional Advisory Boards.

As administrative areas in their own right, data is often compiles at LEA level both by the Scottish Government and Office for National Statistics (ONS). However, many data suppliers only disseminate data at Unitary Authority (UA) level and so LEA data has often been aggregated from UA data. The match for best fitting is generally good for the Scottish Enterprise LEAs. However, the Highlands and Islands Enterprise LEAs do not match well, the Highlands UA for example covering several LEAs. In instances where data suppliers only release UA data and that data can be aggregated, LEA figures will be provided by Key Indicators but several LEAs, especially in HIE will be missing. The UA makeup of the LEAs is as follows.

  • Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire : East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire
  • Scottish Enterprise Dumfries & Galloway : Dumfries & Galloway
  • Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire : not possible as Argyll and Bute is in both this LEA and Argyll and the Islands
  • Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian : Edinburgh, City of, East Lothian, Midlothian, West Lothian
  • Scottish Enterprise Fife : Fife
  • Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley : Clackmannanshire, Falkirk, Stirling
  • Scottish Enterprise Glasgow : Glasgow City
  • Scottish Enterprise Grampian : Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire
  • Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire : South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire
  • Scottish Enterprise Renfrewshire : East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire
  • Scottish Enterprise Borders : Scottish Borders
  • Scottish Enterprise Tayside : Angus, Dundee City, Perthshire & Kinross
  • HIE Argyll and the Islands (HIE Earra-Ghaidheal) : not possible as Argyll and Bute is in both this LEA and Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire
  • HIE Caithness and Sutherland (HIE Gallaibh agus Cataibh) : not possible as Highlands UA covers a much larger area
  • HIE Innse Gall (HIE Outer Hebrides) : Eilean Siar
  • HIE Inverness and East Highland (HIE Inbhir Nis agus Taobh Sear na Gaidhealtachd) : not possible as Highlands UA covers a much larger area
  • HIE Lochaber (HIE Loch Abar) : not possible as Highlands UA covers a much larger area
  • HIE Moray : Moray
  • HIE Orkney : Orkney Islands
  • HIE Shetland : Shetland Islands
  • HIE Skye and Wester Ross (HIE An t-Eilean Sgitheanach is Taobh Siar Rois) : not possible as Highlands UA covers a much larger area

There was a recent change in the Highland and Island Enterprise LEA areas. However, back data for changed areas is not available. This means that time series are often incomplete. It will be available for areas which did not change and data for Moray has been taken from the UA figure which is coincident. Where ONS data sources from Nomis are available, figures for the new areas has been aggregated from data zone figures.

Regional Operational Areas

Regional operational areas have replaced the Local Enterprise Companies. These regional areas will deliver national and regional economic development activity in their respective areas. They, alongside the other offices within each region, will be involved in providing company account management, support for priority industries and the delivery of regional and national projects.

There are six Regional Operational Areas defined. As data is not normally produced for these areas, they are aggregated where possible from LEAs (detailed below).

  • East and Central Scotland : SE Lothian and Edinburgh, SE Fife, SE Forth Valley
  • Grampian : SE Grampian
  • Highlands and Islands : All LEAs in Highlands and Islands Enterprise
  • South of Scotland : SE Borders, SE Dumfries & Galloway
  • Tayside : SE Tayside
  • West Central Scotland : SE Ayrshire, SE Dunbartonshire, SE Glasgow, SE Lanarkshire, SE Renfrewshire

Unitary Authorities (UA)

Unitary Authorities are the single-tier basis of local Government in Scotland. Most data providers disseminate data at unitary authority level. However, Futureskills Scotland's Employer Skills Survey was conducted on an LEA base. As a UA is typically smaller than an LEA, it is not possible to derive UA figures for this dataset. Profiles downloaded for UA areas do not contain data from these tables. ESS data can be downloaded from an LEA profile of a custom query.