The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Plunging birth rates may threaten public services
Decline: Warning that education and health could be badly hit in future
The future of Tayside and Fife’s health and education systems is said to be “under threat” after figures revealed the region’s birth rates have plummeted over the past two decades.
Birth rates have fallen by an average of 12% in Dundee, Angus, Perth and Kinross and Fife since 1996.
The largest decrease was in Dundee (-13.6%), closely followed by Angus (-13.5%).
In Perth and Kinross, the change was -12.7% and in Fife it was -9.5%.
Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife and leader of Scottish Liberal Democrats said immigration should be encouraged to plug the gap, despite Brexit.
He explained: “The plunging birth rate means the sustainability of our society is under threat. If we don’t have sufficient people working and paying taxes we won’t have sufficient funds for our NHS and education.
“We also need enough educated and trained people to run our public services. That’s why I called for the true economic value of immigration to be recognised.
“Rather than pulling up the immigration drawbridge we should be encouraging more people to live and work here.”
Dundee council leader John Alexander said the city’s future looked “positive” and the overall population was expected to increase despite the declining birth rate.
“We continue to project an increasing population with an expectation that the city will grow by 5.9% by 2039,” Mr Alexander said.
“Birth rates are one part of the equation and as we all know, rates across the country and indeed in many western countries are declining.
“However, there are also internal movements, with people coming from other areas of the UK and immigration from farther afield.
“We have an increasingly older population which by its very nature requires more money for health, social care and pensions. To address that we need to build up our working age population.”
He added: “Brexit is a real headache on the horizon for a number of reasons. Key sectors such as care, hospitality, tourism or even the NHS are supported by an inward flow of working age European nationals who work, set up home and contribute back into the public purse.
“Whatever your view on Brexit, it is a reality that there is the potential at least in the shorter to medium-term for a detrimental impact on our working age population.”
MP for Angus Kirstene Hair said: “Over the past 45 years, Scotland’s population has been slowly falling.
“This reduces the number of people of working age and in a place like Angus, which has a lower birth rate than other more populous areas, this is of concern.
“We have already seen the impact here of a declining workforce on soft fruits, a major industry in my constituency.
“I have campaigned for a fair and effective permit system for migrant workers to come and work in the United Kingdom, which has a massive benefit to the economy.
“The UK Government has given the SNP the tools it needs to make Scotland a compelling place to live and work.
“But the SNP Government’s plans to tax hard-working middle earners mean this trend may never be reversed.”
If we don’t have sufficient people paying taxes we won’t have sufficient funds for our NHS and education