Summary
THE debate regarding the impact of population change on Scotland's future prospects will remain a major issue in 2006. The SNP has launched a campaign to encourage Scots who have emigrated abroad to return home and use their skills to help boost economic growth. Now comes the revelation that in only 24 months' time the number of Scots in care will surpass the number in education. This signals that in future decades there will be fewer in work to support those in need of state support in old age.
However, demographics remains an uncertain science. Last year, the Registrar General was predicting that the population of Scotland would decline below five million within two decades. But in 2005, as a result of an upturn in the birth rate and an influx of immigrants from eastern Europe, this pessimistic forecast has altered. Population may not dip below five million until the 2030s.See the full content of this document
Extract
Leader: Robbing Peter to Pay Paul
The correct conclusion to draw from this variable data is that we should use the current deceleration in population decline to put in place the policies that will mitigate any eventual social or economic problems brought ...
See the full content of this document
Sponsored links
