This is the set of postcode boundaries used for 2001 census outputs. The postcode boundaries for census were originally frozen in January 2001 for the purposes of producing census outputs. The dataset contains 139,045 postcode polygons.

This dataset shows the 2001 Census Output Areas (OAs) Household Weighted Centroids. An individual Output Area generally covers a sufficiently small area (subject to meeting minimum population / household counts) so that user defined or ad-hoc areas can be created while maintaining a sufficient level of quality. National Records of Scotland (NRS) produces only one set of OAs and creates all other output geographies using the OA as the building brick. Each OA is assigned to an area in a higher geography by first selecting one of the postcodes in the OA as a ‘master’ postcode. The OA inherits all of the characteristics of the master postcode including its assignments to higher areas and its grid reference. The master postcode was selected using an algorithm which calculates the postcode centroid within an OA which has grid references closest to the household-weighted centre of the OA.

From 1845 to1930, civil parishes formed part of Scotland’s local government system. The parishes, which had their origins in the ecclesiastical parishes of the Church of Scotland, often overlapped the then existing county boundaries. Parishes have had no direct administrative function in Scotland since 1930. There are 871 civil parishes in Scotland. The initial version of the Civil Parish boundaries was first created by Geography Branch, GROS in the mid-1960s. The boundaries were plotted on to Ordnance Survey 1:10,000 maps using the written descriptions of the parishes. In the late 1980s the boundaries were digitised using the Geographic Information System, called “GenaMap”. In 2006, GenaMap was replaced by ESRI’s ArcGIS product, and the civil parish boundaries were migrated to the new system. In March-April 2009 many of the coastal postcodes were edited to improve their alignment with MasterMap’s coastal detail. As a result, in May 2009 some of the coastal parishes were edited to ensure that all postcodes’ Gridlink points would fall within the limits of the civil parish boundaries. In terms of provenance, the vast majority of the civil parish boundaries date back to their original drawing in the mid-1960s onto OS 1:10,000 maps.

A 2011 LC sector was one of 2 special postcode sectors created for 2011 Census Output. A postcode sector comprises all the unit postcodes that have the same identifier except for the last two characters. Special postcode sectors are created for census output to ensure sectors conform to a minimum threshold and do not cross Council Area boundaries. LC sectors have a minimum threshold of 20 households and 50 persons, the same minimum threshold as Census Output Areas. There are 1,012 LC sectors. Corrections and Revisions Revision to Local Characteristic (LC) sector boundaries at boundary between East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire Council areas. (7 October 2013) LC Sectors S29000556, S29000558, and S29000870 have been amended following a correction to Ordnance Survey BoundaryLine.

This dataset shows the 2011 Census Output Areas (OAs). OAs are the smallest geographical unit for which Census data is released, and as a result, they act as the basic “building-blocks” for the creation of other “higher” geographies, eg Datazones, council areas. The OAs are constructed by aggregating together a small number of postcodes. Because the OAs cover small areas and contain relatively small numbers of households and population (households in the range 20 to 77; population >/= 50), there is only a limited amount of Census data that can be released without infringing confidentiality. One of the main requirements during the creation of the 2011 OAs was to attempt to keep the 2011 boundaries the same as the 2001 OAs – this would make it easier to comparison over 10 years. There are 46,351 Census 2011 OAs in Scotland. Revisions and Corrections Revision to 2011 Output Area codes (13 September 2013) An anomaly was discovered in the 2011 Census Output Area (OA) codes which were published on 15 August 2013. The anomaly meant that, whilst all the current 2011 Census OA codes were unique, they did not always run in sequential order by council area. We decided to replace the codes with new ones that start at S00088956 and end with S00135306. Revision to Output Area boundaries at boundary between East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire Council areas (7 October 2013) Output Areas S00102734, S00102787, and S00128636 have been amended following a correction to Ordnance Survey BoundaryLine. Correction to Output Area boundaries (7 October 2013) Output Areas S00092480, S00092699, S00093130, S00094559, S00094726, S00102583, S00119179, S00119262, S00126169, S00126157, and S00133403 have been amended as part of the cosmetic exercise/spatial improvement.

This dataset shows the 2011 Census Output Areas (OAs) Population Weighted Centroids. An individual Output Area generally covers a sufficiently small area (subject to meeting minimum population / household counts) so that user defined or ad-hoc areas can be created while maintaining a sufficient level of quality. National Records of Scotland (NRS) produces only one set of OAs and creates all other output geographies using the OA as the building brick. Each OA is assigned to an area in a higher geography by first selecting one of the postcodes in the OA as a ‘master’ postcode. The OA inherits all of the characteristics of the master postcode including its assignments to higher areas and its grid reference. The master postcode was selected using an algorithm which calculates the postcode centroid within an OA which has grid references closest to the population-weighted centre of the OA. An anomaly was discovered in the 2011 Census Output Area (OA) codes which were published on 15 August 2013. The anomaly meant that, whilst all the current 2011 Census OA codes were unique, they did not always run in sequential order by council area. We decided to replace the codes with new ones that start at S00088956 and end with S00135306.

Local Administrative Units (LAU) - Level 1 are part of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) hierarchical classification of UK areas created by the European Office Statistics (Eurostat) in order to produce regional statistics which are comparable across the European Union. There are 3 NUTS levels moving from larger to smaller areas, NUTS 1 is Scotland, NUTS 2 divides Scotland into 4 areas and NUTS 3 divides Scotland into 23 areas. NUTS areas are stable and are only amended periodically. NUTS 4 and NUTS 5 have been superseded by Local Administrative Units (LAU), which were introduced in July 2003 as there was a requirement for statistics at local level which were compatible with NUTS. LAUs are amended to reflect administrative boundary changes. LAU boundaries were created by National Records of Scotland (NRS) from existing geographies. LAU Level 1 (formerly NUTS level 4) are Council Areas, Local Enterprise Companies (LECs) or a combination of both. Scotland is covered by 41 LAU1 areas.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) create and maintain digital settlement boundaries to support the creation of statistics for geographies that generally describe the urban areas of Scotland. NRS define a settlement as a collection of contiguous high density postcodes, bounded by low density postcodes (or water), with a population of 500 or more. While settlements can go a long way in defining the towns and cities in Scotland, some cover extensive areas and group together large populations. Current Settlement boundaries are reflective of mid-2016 populations, having been created using an amended version of postcodes from the Scottish Postcode Directory (SPD) 2016, release 2. Older versions of Settlements and Localities geographies are available from the NRS website.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) create and maintain digital locality boundaries to support the creation of statistics for geographies that generally describe the urban areas of Scotland. Localities have a minimum rounded population of 500 people or more and generally correspond with the more recognisable towns and cities of Scotland. Localities nest within NRS Settlements geography, with every settlement having at least one locality (i.e. the Locality is the Settlement). Current Locality boundaries are reflective of mid-2016 populations, having been created using an amended version of postcodes from the Scottish Postcode Directory (SPD) 2016, release 2. Older versions of Settlements and Localities geographies are available from the NRS website.

This is the set of postcode boundaries used for 2011 census outputs. The postcode boundaries for census were originally frozen in January 2011 but have since been re-aligned to Ordnance Survey 2011 BoundaryLine for the purposes of producing census outputs. The re-alignment work ensures consistency of approach with the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and the Scottish Government (SG). The improvements made to the dataset as a result of re-alignment did not affect any existing higher area assignments in the Postcode Index although there will be some very minor differences in the boundaries if compared against the 2011_1 set of postcode boundaries already published. The dataset contains 145,690 postcode polygons. Revisions and Corrections Revision to postcode boundaries at boundary between East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire Council areas (7 October 2013) Postcodes PA2 7DA, PA2 7TX, PA2 8TY, G53 7TH, G78 1HJ, and G78 1TJ have been amended following a correction to Ordnance Survey BoundaryLine.