§ 26. Mr. Lawsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the estimated percentage and number increase in the male population of Scotland, aged 512 between 20 and 40 years, from 1951 to the latest available date.
§ Mr. Brooman-WhiteBetween the censuses of 1951 and 1961 the male population of Scotland aged between 20 and 40 years fell by 49,662, or 7.1 per cent., reflecting a decline of 14 per cent. in male births twenty years earlier.
§ Mr. LawsonDo not the figures show that there has been a decrease in regard to both the older and the younger sections of the Scottish population? Does not the hon. Gentleman think that this very large decrease in the Scottish male population is explained by the fact that these are the very people who are regularly leaving Scotland?
§ Mr. Brooman-WhiteEmigration is undoubtedly a factor, but the main factor is the decline in the birth rate during the earlier period reflected in the figures I have given.