Insight UK. Northern Ireland, Scotland & Wales (FCO, 2001).pdf

INSIGHT UK

Northern Ireland,

Scotland & Wales

SCOTLAND

NORTHERN IRELAND

Population: 1.7 million

NORTHERN

IRELAND

Religious profile: 54% Protestant

42% Catholic

4% undisclosed religious minorities

WALES

Government

1998 – The Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement

Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK so long as the majority of people

living there wish.

2 December 1999 – Power devolved to new Northern Ireland Assembly

Responsible for many services including education, regional development,

health and social services and the arts.

At the heart of the Belfast Agreement are measures

designed to promote human rights and equal

opportunities in Northern Ireland.

A Victim’s Commission is deciding how best to recognise

the suffering of the last three decades of conflict.

Education

Current budget: £1,500 million.

Protestant children often attend ‘state’ Controlled Schools while

Roman Catholics attend separate Catholic schools.

Compulsory school age: four years old.

TOP LEFT, TOP RIGHT & BOTTOM:

Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Land and Culture

At 13,506 sq km,

Northern Ireland is the

size of Yorkshire.

2,500 new jobs created during

1999–2000, particularly in computer

software, telecommunications,

electronics and network services.

In criminal cases, the jury consists

of 15 members of the public (12

in the rest of the UK).

Government

July 1, 1999 – the Scottish

Parliament opened by HM the

Queen, the first Scottish Parliament

for 300 years. It has 129 members –

known as MSPs (Members of the

Scottish Parliament). The MSPs

select a First Minister.

Scottish Parliament

responsibilities include social

work services, health, local

government and education.

Its budget in 2000/01 was £16.9

billion.

Matters in Scotland that are still

controlled from London include

defence, foreign policy and

employment.

Among its most famous landscapes

are:

• Lough Neagh

The largest lake (396 sq km)

in the UK

• Lough Erne

a lake and network of islands

• The Giant’s Causeway

SCOTLAND

Area: 77,097 sq km

Population: 5.1 million

Least densely populated part of

the UK: 67 people per sq km.

Most people live in the

industrialised central belt

along the Forth–Clyde

valley (population density

is 400 people per sq km).

The gardens of Mount Stewart

House, Greyabbey, have been

declared a World Heritage Site.

Significant Northern Irish artists:

• Seamus Heaney Poet

• Van Morrison Singer/songwriter

• James Galway Flautist

• Kenneth Branagh Actor

1.25% minority ethnic population

– mainly Pakistani, Chinese and

Indian. Largest concentration in

Glasgow – 3.2% of the city’s

population.

Scotland has some 790

islands – 130 inhabited.

The Scottish form

of Gaelic is spoken

by 70,000 people.

Education

Scottish education policy is set

down by The Scottish Executive

Education Department.

The 32 Scottish local authorities

are responsible for educational

provision in their areas.

Devolved School Management

(DSM) – most Scottish schools

control their own budgets.

There is no statutory

National Curriculum

in Scotland.

Economy

Throughout the 1990s Northern

Ireland enjoyed the fastest

economic growth of any region in

the UK. Manufacturing output

grew by almost 22% between 1997

and 2001.

An average £17 million

worth of manufactured

goods are sold outside

Northern Ireland every

day of the year.

In 2000 2,353,000 employed.

In 1998 – 72,000 people received

unemployment benefit.

Glasgow – only 53% of its working

age population in jobs, the lowest

for any part of the UK.

TOP LEFT: © Creative Photography

TOP RIGHT: © Michael Nicholson

BOTTOM LEFT: © Foreign & Commonwealth Office

BOTTOM RIGHT: © Creative Photography

In Scotland there are 2,716 state-

funded schools (primary and

secondary) for 682,753 students.

130 independent schools educate

3 in every 100 Scottish students.

Famous Scots include:

• Alexander Graham Bell

developed the telephone

• John Logie Baird

pioneered television

• Adam Smith

philosopher and economist

• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

creator of Sherlock Holmes

• Robert Louis Stevenson writer

• Dame Muriel Spark writer

• Sir Sean Connery actor

• Sir Eduardo Paolozzi sculptor.

Inward migration from the rest

of the UK boosted the population

in the years 1991–98 by 120,000

people.

Welsh is spoken by two in

ten of the population – in

1900 it was five in ten.

Land and Culture

Highest point – Ben

Nevis 1,343 metres.

The Welsh Language Board

(budget 1999/2000: £6million) is

responsible for promoting the use

of the Welsh language in Wales.

Sianel 4 Cymru – broadcasts a

substantial number of Welsh

language TV programmes each day.

All road signs in Wales appear

in Welsh and English.

Average temperature range in

Edinburgh: January: 3°C (40°F)

July: 15°C (58°F)

The West Highlands

average 3,810mm of

rain a year.

Economy

Scotland’s electronics industry

employs over 50,000 people.

Scotland’s manufactured exports

were worth £18.5 billion in 1999.

54% are electrical and engineered

instruments.

Government

Acts of Union in 1536 and 1542

unite England and Wales.

26 May 1999 – HM the Queen

addresses the opening ceremony

of the National Assembly of Wales.

The National Assembly of Wales

has 60 elected members.

It has fewer powers than the

Scottish Parliament and is

responsible for passing

‘secondary’ legislation relevant

to Wales on issues ranging from

agriculture to the Welsh language.

Welsh MPs will still be elected

to Parliament in Westminster.

The Assembly’s budget for

2000/01 was £8 billion.

The finest salmon river is thought

to be the Tay – 188 km long.

There are 70 Nature Reserves in

Scotland and 1,442 Sites of Special

Scientific Interest.

Nearly 9 in 10 bottles of Scotch

whisky are sold abroad.

The word ‘tartan’

originates from a French

word. The Gaelic for the

material is ‘breacan’.

25th January – Burns’ Night –

commemorates the birthday of the

Scottish poet Robert Burns.

Celebrations may include the

serving of ‘haggis’ – minced

mutton, offal, oatmeal and spices

boiled in a sheep’s stomach.

WALES

Area: 20,628 sq km

Population: 2.9 million

5% of the UK population

lives in Wales.

Population density is 141 people

per sq km. Nearly a third of

the population lives in the

industrialised south.

FRONT COVER IMAGES

Education

Welsh language is part of

the curriculum.

The average school class size in

Wales is 25.1 pupils.

Welsh athletes won 15 medals,

including three gold, at the

Commonwealth Games in 1998.

The national game

of Wales is rugby.

Sources

About Scotland

The British Council

Wales

Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Northern Ireland

Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Scottish Statistics 2000

Scottish Executive

Land and Culture

Wales has been Christian since the

5th Century. In the 19th Century

rapid growth in new Protestant

church movements.

Economy

May 2000: 69.7% of people in

Wales in employment (UK 74.6%).

Aim to create 40,000 additional

jobs by 2010.

7.7 million tonnes of steel were

produced in 1999 – 42% of the

UK’s steel output.

Other significant industrial

activities in Wales:

• Mining and quarrying

• Electricity, gas and water supply

• Tourism 100,000 visitors a year

generate income of £1.9 billion

• Agriculture farmers are

encouraged to develop new

sources of income

Social Trends 30/31

The Stationery Office (2000/01)

Wales has 55 nature reserves

and three National Parks.

25% of Wales is designated a

National Park or an Area of

Outstanding Natural Beauty.

United Kingdom’s System

of Government

Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Northern Ireland Executive

www.nics.gov.uk

Ogof Ffynnon Ddu is the

deepest cave (308m) in the UK.

The largest festival in Wales is the

Royal National Eisteddfod at which

competitions in music, singing,

prose and poetry take place.

Published by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, London

Telephone: 020 7270 1500 Internet address: www.fco.gov.uk/

Significant Welsh artists past

and present:

• Sir Richard Burton

• Dame Shirley Bassey

• Sir Anthony Hopkins

• Dylan Thomas

• The Manic Street Preachers

Value of overseas

companies’ investment

in Wales since 1983:

£13.2 billion.

Details of other FCO publications are available from

www.informationfrombritain.com

Written by Jerome Monahan

Printed by ABC Printers

on paper produced from trees grown in sustainable forests and

made and supplied by an ISO14001 accredited supply chain

April 2001 Order No: 1047

4 in 10 people in Wales

participate in sport.

The Cardiff Bay Development

Corporation promotes regeneration

of the city’s docklands.

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