East Renfrewshire residents are near the top of Scotland’s life expectancy league table.

A report by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) has revealed that, across the country, only people in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and West Lothian live longer.

Figures for the first three months of this year show the death rate in East Renfrewshire was 11.3 per 1,000 residents, compared to a national average of 12.9.

The same report also shows that local men appear to be outliving their female counterparts.

In the first three months of this year, there were 265 deaths – 126 male and 139 female – in the East Renfrewshire Council area.

This was up from 242 for the same period in 2020, with Covid having an impact.

Across the country, a total of 17,371 fatalities were recorded between January and March 2021 – more than 8% above the five-year average.

Covid-19 was the underlying cause in 2,779 of those deaths.

In East Renfrewshire, the number of deaths rose from 242 to 265.

A spokesperson for the East Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) told the Barrhead News: “A wide range of factors contribute to life expectancy and these figures are encouraging.

“Our staff, including district nursing, health visiting, social work and care at home, are committed to providing the highest standard of care to our residents and to removing barriers so they can live life to the fullest.

“This, along with our work to tackle poverty-related issues, are all factors in high life expectancy levels in the area.

“Covid has presented new challenges but we are committed to continuing to make East Renfrewshire a fantastic place for people to live and thrive.”

Julie Ramsay, NRS statistician, added: “The pattern of excess deaths seen at the end of 2020 continued into the first quarter of 2021, coinciding with the peak of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in January.”

The pandemic has also had an impact on the wedding industry, according to the NRS report.

The number of couples in East Renfrewshire getting hitched in the first three months of this year was 25 – down from 40 in the same period last year.

Weddings in Scotland have only been able to take place on a restricted basis since late June 2020.

There were 197 births – 103 boys and 94 girls – in East Renfrewshire between January and March, representing an increase from last year’s figure of 182.

According to the report, East Renfrewshire’s population is 95,530, with more women 49,822) than men.