Baseline data for Equality Impact Assessments: Data section

Introduction

This baseline data is separated into:

protected characteristics which includes:
- age
- population density
- disability
- gender identity
- pregnancy and maternity
- race/ethnicity (including migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers)
- migration
- refugees and asylum seekers
- religion or belief
- sex
- sexual orientation
- marriage and civil partnership
other characteristics which includes:
- a person's first or preferred language
- community cohesion

Age

Age of resident population

Brighton & Hove has a resident population of 278,000 people, including;

41,300 children aged 0 to 15 years (15%)
201,700 working-age adults aged 16 to 66 (73%)
34,900 older people aged over 66 (13%)

Age profile compared to the South East and England

Brighton & Hove has a very different age profile compared to the South East and England.

In Brighton & Hove there are fewer children aged 0 to 15 years (15%) compared to the South East (19%) and England (19%).

In Brighton & Hove there are more working-age adults aged 16 to 66 (73%) compared to the South East (64%) and England (65%).

In Brighton & Hove there are fewer older people aged over 66 (13%) compared to the South East (18%) and England (17%).

Population density

Densely populated areas

Some of Brighton & Hove's neighbourhoods are the most densely populated in England.

The most densely populated area of the city is the neighbourhood north of Western Road between Norfolk Square and the Palmeira Square gyratory (over 30,000 residents per square kilometre).

Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOA)

The 2 LSOAs that make up this neighbourhood are in the 100 (out of 33,700) most densely populated LSOAs in England.

In total 7 LSOAs in the city are in the 1% most densely populated LSOAs in England.

Disability

Nearly 1 in 5 residents (51,797 people, 19%) in Brighton & Hove are disabled as defined by the Equalities Act. This is higher than seen in both the South East (16%) and England (17%).

Effects on activities

Among disabled residents, for:

2 out of 5 (20,351, 39%) people their day-to-day activities are limited ‘a lot’
3 in 5 (31,446 people, 61%) people their activities are limited ‘a little’

Both proportions are similar to what's seen in the South East and England.

Over 4 out of 5 residents (225,306 people, 81%) are not disabled as defined by the Equalities Act. This is lower than seen in both the South East (84%) and England (83%).

Among residents without a disability, nearly 1 in 10 (20,502 people, 8%) have a long-term physical or mental health condition. However, this condition does not affect their day-to-day activities. This is similar to what is seen in both the South East (8%) and England (7%).

Nearly three-quarters of residents have no long-term physical or mental health condition (74%). This is lower than seen in the South East (76%) and England (76%).

Location of residents with a disability

Residents with a disability under the Equalities Act are concentrated in the central/eastern area of the city, particularly in the wards of:

East Brighton
Queens Park
Hollingbury
Stanmore

However, there are also higher proportions of disabled people:

in the east in Woodingdean
to the west in Hangleton and Portslade

Ranking upper-tier local authorities by the proportion of residents with a disability shows that Brighton & Hove (19%) is ranked 51 out of 152 authorities (second quintile). Blackpool (25%) is ranked first and Slough (5%) is ranked last.

Gender identity

Based on a voluntary question from the 2021 census.

In Brighton & Hove a total of 220,742 residents (93.8%) of the population aged 16 years and over answered the question.

Number of residents who indicated their gender identity matched their sex registered at birth

A total of 218,401 residents (92.8%) answered “yes”, indicating that their gender identity was the same as their sex registered at birth.

Number of residents who indicated their gender identity did not match their sex registered at birth

A total of 2,341 residents (1.0%) answered “no”, indicating that their gender identity was different from their sex registered at birth. Within this group:

476 (0.2%) answered “no” but did not provide a write-in response
362 (0.1%) identified as a trans man
329 (0.1%) identified as a trans woman
1,174 (0.5%) wrote in a different gender identity

Pregnancy and maternity

There are estimated to be 64,300 women of childbearing (aged 15 to 44 years) resident in the city.

Fertility rate

Brighton & Hove had a general fertility rate of 35.8 live births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 years in 2021, with 2,304 live births. This was the lowest general fertility rate of any upper-tier local authority in England.

The rate has been falling. In 2010 it was 50 per 100,000 women aged 15 to 44 years.

Race/ethnicity (Including migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers)

Black or Racially Minoritised

More than a quarter of residents (72,272 people, 26%) are Black or Racially Minoritised (non-White UK/British).

This is higher than seen in the South East (21%) but similar to what is found in England (27%).

Despite the overall number of residents only increasing by 1% since the last Census, the number of Black or Racially Minoritised residents has increased by over a third (35%, 18,921 people).

Other White

More than a third of Black or Racially Minoritised residents are Other White (26,812 people, 37%).

Other White residents make up nearly 1 in 10 of all residents (9.7%).

The number of Other White residents has increased by 7,288 people (37%).

Mixed ethnicity

Nearly a fifth of Black or Racially Minoritised residents are of mixed ethnicity (13,228 people, 18%).

Residents of mixed ethnicity make up 1 in 20 of all residents (4.8%).

The number of residents of mixed ethnicity has increased by 2,820 people (27%).

Asian/Asian British

Nearly a fifth of Black or Racially Minoritised residents are Asian (13,217 people, 18%).

Asian residents make up 1 in 20 of all residents (4.8%).

The number of Asian residents has increased by 1,939 (17%).

Black/Black British

Nearly 8% of Black or Racially Minoritised residents are Black (5,458 people, 7.5%).

Black residents make up 1 in 50 of all residents (2%).

The number of Black residents has increased by 1,270 people (30%).

Arab

Nearly 1 in 20 Black or Racially Minoritised residents are Arab (3,049 people, 4.2%).

Arab residents make up over 1 in 100 of all residents (1.1%).

The number of Arab residents has increased by 911 people (42%).

Migration

One in 5 residents (54,343 people, 20%) were born outside of the UK. This is higher than seen in the South East (16%) and England (17%).

Despite the overall number of residents only increasing by 1%, the number of residents born outside of the UK has increased by 27% (11,456 people) since 2011, with the proportion increasing from 16% to 20%.

Residents born in the EU

Two out of 5 residents (23,104 people, 42%) born outside of the UK were born in the EU. This is higher than in the South East and England.

Among residents born in the EU, nearly two-thirds 65% were born in EU countries who have been members since before 2004 (EU 14). This is significantly higher than seen in the South East (47%) and England (44%).

Residents born outside of the EU

Half of all residents born outside of the UK were born outside of Europe (27,670 people, 51%). This is lower than seen in the South East (57%) and England (59%).

Among residents born outside of Europe, nearly half (12,517, 45%) were born in the Middle East and Asia and over a quarter (7,863 people, 28%) were born in Africa.

Where most non-UK residents were born

Most non-UK residents were born in:

Italy: 2,997 people
Poland: 2,484 people
North Africa (Region): 2,797 people
Spain: 2,382 people
India: 1,956 people
USA: 1,655 people
China excluding Hong Kong: 1,433 people
South Africa (country): 1,423 people
Australia: 1,237 people
Iran: 1,176 people

Refugees and asylum seekers

As of December 2021, there were thought to be:

100 adult asylum seekers and a further 70 in contingency hotels
approximately 45 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (under 18) and 78 care leavers aged 18 to 25
approximately 69 people on the vulnerable person’s resettlement scheme

Using national estimates suggests there are approximately 300 people unaccounted for, likely to be overstayers and refused asylum seekers.

Refugees from Ukraine

As of 13 June 2022, Brighton & Hove was expecting 570 people from Ukraine, with 295 already arrived, of whom 113 are children.

Religion or belief

Based on a voluntary question from the 2021 census.

Residents with no religion

Over half of residents (152,966 people, 55%) have no religion or belief. This is significantly higher than seen in the South East (40%) England (37%) and the highest proportion of residents with no religion in England (upper tier local authorities).

Did not answer

19,760 residents (7.1%) did not answer the question.

Comparisons to the South East and England

Compared to the South East and England, Brighton & Hove has proportionally more:

Buddhists (2,455 people, 0.9%)
Jews (2,455 people, 0.9%)
other religions (2,860 people, 1.0%)

Compared to the South East and England, Brighton & Hove has proportionally fewer:

Christians (85,629 people, 30.9%)
Hindus (2,100 people, 0.8%)
Sikhs (378 people, 0.1%)

Sex

Brighton & Hove has a relatively even sex distribution until the age of 75 years old.

In 2022, there are estimated to be 141,900 female (51%) and 136,000 male (49%) residents in the city.

Apart from within the age range 19 to 21 (more female students than male students) there is a relatively even distribution of males and females across all ages up until the age of 75 years old.

Aged 75 and over

Similar to the picture seen in England, beyond the age of 75 years old the proportion of female residents increases.

There are an estimated 18,600 residents aged 75 or older, of which 58% (10,800 people) are female and 42% (7,900 people) are male. By the age of 90 or older, the difference is 2 to one with 1,400 female (67%) to 700 male (33%) residents.

Sexual orientation

Based on a voluntary question from the 2021 census.

Number of people who identified as straight or heterosexual

Around 189,745 people (80.6%) identified as straight or heterosexual.

Number of people who identified with an LGB+ orientation

Around 25,247 people (10.6%) identified with an LGB+ orientation (gay or lesbian, bisexual or other sexual orientation).

Did not answer

The remaining 20,375 people (8.7%) did not answer the question.

Comparisons to the South East and England

The proportion of residents aged 16 and over in Brighton & Hove identifying with an LGB+ orientation (10.6%) is 3 times higher than seen in both the South East (3.1%) and England (3.1%).

The proportion of residents aged 16 and over in Brighton & Hove identifying with an LGB+ orientation (10.6%) is the highest proportion seen in any upper-tier authority in England.

Marriage and civil partnership

Only a third of Brighton & Hove residents (33%, 77,241 people) aged 16 or older are married or in a civil partnership. This is significantly lower than seen in the South East (48%) and England (45%).

Among residents married or in a civil partnership, 3,867 residents (5%) are in a same-sex marriage or civil partnership.

Comparisons to the South East and England

Among all residents aged 16 or older, 3,867 people (1.6%) are in a same-sex marriage or civil partnership. This is 3 times higher than seen in the South East (0.4%) and England (0.4%) and proportionally the highest number of residents in a same-sex marriage or civil partnership in England (upper tier local authorities).

A person's first or preferred language

Comparisons to the South East and England

For nearly 1 in 10 residents (24,579 people, 9.1%) English is not their first or preferred language. This is higher than in the South East (7.2%) but similar to England (9.2%).

British Sign Language

For 145 residents their main or preferred language is sign language. 120 residents use British Sign Language.

Proficiency of English spoken

Among residents (24,577) for whom English is not their main or preferred language:

87% speak English very well or well
11% (2,732 people) cannot speak English well
2% (386 people) cannot speak English

Households with no speakers of English as a main or preferred language

In more than 1 in 20 city households (7,817, 6.4%) no adult speaks English as a main or preferred language.

Community cohesion

More than 3 in 4 residents (76%) feel strongly that they belong to their immediate neighbourhood.

Nearly 19 out of 20 residents (94%) agree that, in their local area, people from different backgrounds get on well together.