Economy, Poverty & Employment
Information for Professionals
Brief Data Summary
Purpose of the brief:
To provide an overview of child poverty to service managers and other strategic decision makers in Lanarkshire.
Purpose of the brief:
To provide an overview of statistics on Local Economic Inequalities to Support Inclusive Decision-Making.
Resources
ScotPHO Economic Indicators
ScotPHO Indicators are available at national and local level for Economic inactivity by selecting “All indicators”. The select an indicator drop down box allows selection of economic inactivity rate and economic inactivity due to long-term ill health. Data can be filtered by council areas and multiple areas at once for comparison.
Scotland’s Census Economic Census data
Scotland’s Census, provides census maps, data, reports, case studies, news, events and blogs. The maps tab provides data to be filtered by area and topic. For economic data select ”Search data> search data by topic” and select, “Education, labour market and travel to work”, then select “Economic activity”. Data downloads, analytical report and microdata are available within the data tab however, this is only available for specific years.
Nomis Official Census and Labour Market Statistics
The Labour Market Profiles provide detailed information for local authority areas, including North and South Lanarkshire. These profiles cover key topics such as qualifications, population, employment, economic activity, earnings, benefits, and registered businesses.
Further information is available on the NOMIS website, along with links to the Scottish Government official statistics. These explore various aspects of poverty using a range of indicators and present the data as three-year averages. The statistics are based on data from the Family Resources Survey, which has been the primary source of information on household income and poverty in Scotland since 1994/95. The measures consider poverty across all population groups, including children, working-age adults, and pensioners.
Finance within the NHS
Scottish Health Service Costs – or the ‘Costs Book’ – provides a detailed analysis of where its resources are spent.
Spatial Metadata portal, Scotland’s Catalogue of Spatial Data
SpatialData.gov.scot is a platform for accessing detailed geospatial datasets related to Scotland’s economy, environment, and planning.
To find economy-related data for Lanarkshire:
- Use the search bar and enter keywords such as “Lanarkshire,” “economy,” “employment,” or “land use.”
- Browse the search results to identify datasets relevant to economic activities, such as Employment Land Audits or Agricultural Land Capability.
- Click on a dataset title to view detailed metadata, including descriptions, formats, and download options.
- Download data in formats like ESRI Shapefile or WFS for use in GIS applications or further analysis.
Child Poverty Statistics & Improvement Scotland: Child Poverty Action Report (LCPAR)
The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 places a duty on local authorities and regional health boards in Scotland to produce an annual, joint Local Child Poverty Action Report (LCPAR). These reports provide an overview of ongoing and planned actions to tackle child poverty at the local level.
Complementing these efforts, local child poverty statistics offer a direct measure of poverty focused specifically on children. The data reveals the proportion of children living in relative poverty—defined as households earning less than 60% of the contemporary median income after housing costs. It highlights the areas and family types most affected, serving as a vital tool for campaigners, researchers, and decision-makers.
Together, the LCPARs and statistical insights inform policy, advocacy, and local action aimed at ending child poverty across Scotland.
Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF)
The Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF), developed by the Improvement Service with Solace (Scotland) and COSLA, offers a consistent approach to benchmarking across Scotland’s 32 councils. It helps councils assess how effectively they deliver key services such as education, social care, housing, environmental services, and economic development.
By exploring the data, users can view performance indicators for selected council areas. The ‘Economic Development’ Service Area includes data on the percentage of unemployed people assisted into work from Council Programmes, Town Vacancy rates, proportion of properties receiving superfast broadband; the ‘Culture & Leisure’ Service Area contains data on cost per attendance at libraries/parks, etc.
North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire Local Development Plan – Map Book
North Lanarkshire provides Local Development Plans containing document and map books for each locality. This Map Book illustrates where Policies in the Plan apply. There are two Maps covering each Plan page, a Promote Map and a Protect Map.
The Promote Map shows the locations that are identified for development and improvements to infrastructure. Sites proposed for development are shown and where possible a site reference is included which relates to Council Land Supply data and/or previous Plan Site References. The Protect Map shows the areas where there are Natural Environment, Green Network and Historic Environment that require to be protected. It also shows the EDQ2 Air Quality Management Areas.
The Promote Map also shows the Plan’s Place making Policy areas, including Mixed Use Centres, Business Centres and Visitor Economy Locations, along with the General Urban Area, Green Belt and Countryside. It is important that both the Promote Map and the Protect Map are used together to determine the Policies that are likely to apply to any given site or location.
The Plan for North Lanarkshire
The plan | North Lanarkshire Council
North Lanarkshire outlines the strategic direction for North Lanarkshire Council within the plan it notes some key data across demographics, the economy, education and skills, community wellbeing, housing, poverty and population. An analysis of the area profile through 28 health check indicators report on success and challenges faced by North Lanarkshire across these areas.
South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire Council Development Plans
South Lanarkshire Council’s Development Plans outline a strategic vision for land use and development across the region. The Local Development Plan, sets out policies and proposals to guide sustainable growth, protect the environment, and support community needs. It includes detailed settlement maps, environmental designations, and spatial frameworks for renewable energy.
The Local Development Plan is supported by a range of Supplementary Planning Guidance documents that provide further detail on specific topics, such as electric vehicle charging points, community infrastructure, and local nature reserves.
Department of Working Pensions Statistics
Stat-Xplore allows users to explore a wide range of statistical data, themes including Children, families and bereavement; Employment support schemes; Equality information; Health, disability and care; Housing and heating; Income and living standards; Pensions and older people; Spending, fraud and error; and Work and unemployment. You can create your own login to save data tables or generate larger tables with multiple data sets. Alternatively, a ‘guest log-in option’ is available for those who prefer not to register. To assist users, the site provides a helpful video: Basic introduction to DWP’s Stat-Xplore tool‘, which is easy to follow and linked directly on the homepage. The tool also enables users to drill down into data at different geographic levels, including North and South Lanarkshire, as well as intermediate and datazone levels, making it a useful resource for detailed data analysis.
South Lanarkshire connect council plan
The Connect Council Plan provides an overview of the council’s role, purpose, and strategic direction. It sets out the organisation’s vision, priorities, and the outcomes it aims to achieve across several key themes: Communities and Environment, Education and Learning, Health and Wellbeing, Children and Young People, Housing and Land, and the Local Economy.
For each theme, the plan brings together a summary of public views, data, examples of good practice, and the legislative and policy context. It outlines what South Lanarkshire currently delivers, the actions it intends to take, and the measures it will use to assess progress.
