Statistics

Changing the International Territorial Levels (ITLs) for Scotland – Consultation Analysis now published

December 11, 2024 by Office of the Chief Statistician No Comments | Category Geography

The Scottish Government has published its analysis of responses to the recent consultation on Changing the International Territorial Level geography for Scotland.

The Office for National Statistics are currently reviewing existing ITL boundaries for the UK. The report contains the Scottish Government’s recommendation to the Office for National Statistics for how the ITL boundaries for Scotland should be updated.

What are the ITL geographies?

The International Territorial Levels (ITLs) are geographic boundaries used in the production of statistics in the United Kingdom. They were created by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to produce regional statistics within the UK, and to allow international comparisons.

The ITL geographies are general purpose geographies, meaning they are used across a wide range of topic areas. They aim to balance current administrative boundaries with sensible community geographies so that statisticians can provide evidence that informs public policy and serves the public good.

The proposals outlined in the consultation document aim to improve ITL geographies by aligning boundaries to local authorities and rebalancing populations to make regions more comparable.

More information about ITLs is available on the ONS website.

Next steps

The Office for National Statistics will publish their finalised ITL boundaries shortly.

The new boundaries will be implemented from 1 January 2025

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