Consultation regarding the redraw of Data Zones

7. Implications of Changing Data Zones to other Statistical Outputs

7.1. The two statistical outputs that will be most directly affected by changes to the Data Zone geography are the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) and the 6 and 8-fold Urban Rural Classification. These changes will result in a discontinuity for SIMD. This is unfortunate, but unavoidable, as the only way to prevent this would be to make absolutely no changes at all to Data Zones.

7.2. The Urban Rural classification is essentially a shape-file, but it is also released as a postcode lookup and a Data Zone lookup. The majority of official statistics will use the postcode lookup when producing analysis by the Urban Rural classification, and changes to Data Zones will not affect these analyses. Analysts who use the Data Zone lookup to analyse their own or other published statistics by Urban Rural classification will be affected.

7.3. Health Boards and NUTS are completely independent of Data Zones, they will not be affected by our proposals.

7.4. Data Zones have no influence over Local Authority boundaries. However Local Authority boundaries affect Data Zones.

7.5. Data Zone level statistics will not as a matter of course be produced for both existing Data Zones and 2011 Data Zones. Previous statistics will not be recalculated for 2011 Data Zones, as a matter of course.

7.6. Table 1.1 describes the level of change by Local Authority. The highest level of change was seen in Glasgow, where 15.4% of all data zones that changed were located. South Lanarkshire, Aberdeenshire, Fife, Edinburgh, and North Lanarkshire each account for between 5 and 10% of the total change, While Orkney, Shetland, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, and North Ayrshire each accounted for less than 1% of the total change. No changes were required in Eilean Siar after the initial best-fit aggregation of 2011 COAs.

7.7. Of the 976 Data Zones identified as 'most deprived' on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD, 2012), 113 of these have changed. The greatest proportion of these (47) are located in Glasgow, representing 41.6% of total changes to most deprived data zones.

Table 1.1: 2001 Data Zone Changes