Safeguarding Children, Young People and Adults Policy Details of Evidence

S75 Equality And Good Relations Screening Form

Section 75 Category Details of Evidence/Information:

The Census statistics in 2021 collated by NISRA detailed the usual resident population of Causeway Coast & Glens Local Government District to be 141,746 accounting for 7.45% of the N.I. total.     Statistical information with regards to the districts makeup and individuals therein was also reviewed. 

Religious Beliefs 

The 2021 Census outlined:

Religion / religion brought up in:    
Census 2021                                               CC&G Borough Council            Northern Ireland
Roman Catholic                                             40.12%                                      45.70%
Protestant & Other Christian
(including Christian related)                           51.17%                                     43.48%
Other Religions                                                0.78%                                       1.50%
None/Not stated                                               7.94%                                       9.32%



Staff breakdown by Religious Belief / Community Background                   (Figures as at 21 October 2022)

Religious Belief /
Community Background                      Gender                  Number of Staff 

Roman Catholic                                   Male                      119 (19.67%)
                                                            Female                  126 (20.82%) 
Protestant                                            Male                      199 (32.89%)
                                                            Female                  128 (21.16%)
Non-Determined                                  Male                        17 (2.81%)
                                                            Female                    16 (2.65%)
Total                                                                                   605

A full consultation process was carried out in 2018.  As part of the review documentation an audit was undertaken to identify if there were any issues flagged by the lead officers or relevant officers who operated the policy.  Operational suggestions raised in this audit were incorporated within the revised policies and procedures.  The policy was then amended in line with best practice as detailed by the NSPCC.  
Although it is clear from statistics that there are 3 separate groupings with regards to religious belief; this information nor the audit raised any concerns or amendments.  
There is no evidence to suggest a negative impact on this Section 75 Group.  This category of information is not recorded within the policy or its subsequent documentation.
 

Political Opinion

The Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (2021) provides the following information on the political parties people in Northern Ireland feel closest to (this information is not available at local government level) :

                                                                                            %
DUP/Democratic Unionist Party                                         12
Sinn Féin                                                                            13
Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)                                               13
Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)                     13
Alliance Party                                                                     19
Green Party                                                                         5
Other Party                                                                          4
None of these                                                                    11
Other answer                                                                      1
Don't know                                                                          9

A full consultation process was carried out in 2018.  As part of the review documentation an audit was undertaken to identify if there were any issues flagged by the lead officers or relevant officers who operated the policy.  Operational suggestions raised in this audit were incorporated within the revised policies and procedures.  The policy was then amended in line with best practice as detailed by the NSPCC.  
Although it is clear from statistics that there are 3 separate groupings with regards to political opinion this information nor the audit raised any concerns or amendments.
There is no evidence to suggest a negative impact on this Section 75 Group.  This category of information is not recorded within the policy or its subsequent documentation.

Racial Group

On Census Day 21 March 2021 the resident population was:  
 
Census 2021                          CC&G Borough Council         Northern Ireland
White                                               98.55%                             96.55%
Irish Traveller                                    0.03%                               0.14%
Roma                                                0.01%                               0.08%
Indian                                                0.15%                               0.52%
Chinese                                             0.22%                               0.50%
Filipino                                               0.10%                               0.23%
Pakistani                                            0.03%                               0.08%
Arab                                                   0.03%                               0.10%
Other Asian                                        0.10%                               0.28%
Black African                                      0.12%                               0.42%
Black Other                                        0.04%                               0.16%
Mixed                                                 0.51%                               0.76%
Other ethnicities                                 0.11%                               0.19%

The 2021 Census detailed 98.55% of our population is white, with 1.45% from an ethnic background. The largest minority ethnic groups in Causeway Coast and Glens are the Chinese (0.22%), Indian (0.15%) and Filipino (0.10%). The proportion of ethnic groups from a non-white background has increased in Causeway Coast and Glens over the last 10 years by 0.95% slightly increasing the diversity in our population.
 

Country of Birth (basic detail)
Table MS-A16: Census 2021                         CC&G Borough Council
Europe: United Kingdom: Northern Ireland             127,171
Europe: United Kingdom: England                              5,991
Europe: United Kingdom: Scotland                             1,556
Europe: United Kingdom: Wales                                    234
Europe: Republic of Ireland                                        1,931
Europe: Other EU countries                                       2,733
Europe: Other non-EU countries                                   149
Africa                                                                             384
Middle East and Asia                                                     825
North America, Central America and Caribbean           499
South America                                                                55
Antarctica, Oceania and Other                                      219

Number of people born outside UK/Ireland in CC&G Borough Council for the years 2011 and 2021 
Census 2021
                                                                                    2011        2021
Number of people born outside UK/Ireland               4,100       4,900

Of the total population in Causeway Coast and Glens 3.45% of our residents were born outside the UK/Ireland as demonstrated in the table above this is an increase over the last 10 years of 0.56%.

Main Language

Census 2021                                    CC&G Borough Council
English                                                               98%
Other languages                                                  2%

Although our population is becoming more diverse 97.8% speak English as their main language.  The other main languages spoken are Polish, Irish and Portuguese closely followed by Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese and Cantonese.

Main Language (Count)
Census 2021 MS-B12a All usual residents aged 3 and over

                                                                    CC&G Borough Council
English                                                            134,147 (97.80%)
Polish                                                                  1,524 (1.11%)
Lithuanian                                                                49 (0.04%)
Irish                                                                        231 (0.17%)
Romanian                                                                79 (0.06%)
Portuguese                                                              39 (0.03%)
Arabic                                                                      63 (0.05%)
Bulgarian                                                                 66 (0.05%)
Chinese (not otherwise specified)                           68 (0.05%)
Slovak                                                                     32 (0.02%)
Hungarian                                                               18 (0.01%)
Spanish                                                                   50 (0.04%)
Latvian                                                                    36 (0.03%)
Russian                                                                   29 (0.02%)
Tetun                                                                         6 (0.00%)
Malayalam                                                              24 (0.02%)
Tagalog/Filipino                                                      46 (0.03%)
Cantonese                                                              69 (0.05%)
Other languages                                                    584 (0.43%)
All Residents                                                   137,160

It is important to note that while other family members may be able to support translation, 1.30% or 750 households do not speak English as their main language and therefore would require translation services.

Household language (Count)
Census 2021 MS-B11a                                                        CC&G Borough Council
All people aged 16+ years have English
as a main languag                                                                56,063 (97.37%)
At least one but not all people aged 16+ years
have English as a main language                                             600 (1.04%)
No people aged 16+ years have English as a
main language, but at least one person aged
3-15 years has English as a main language                            163 (0.28%)
No people have English as a main language                           750 (1.30%)
                                                                                                 57,576

Children’s Social Care Statistics for Northern Ireland 2021/22 (DoH) stated that:
Almost three quarters (71%) of the children in need were recorded as White, with 6% from Ethnic Minorities (including Irish Travellers, Roma Travellers, Asian, Black and those of mixed Ethnicity). Ethnic background was not recorded for 22% of children in need.

The Modern Slavery: National Referral Mechanism and Duty to Notify statistics UK (end of year summary, 2021) identified that the most common nationality referred was UK nationals, which accounted for 31% (3,952) of all potential victims (compared to 34% in 2020). The second most referred nationality was Albanian (20%; 2,511) and the third was Vietnamese (8%; 991). A large proportion (75%; 2,981) of UK nationals were child potential victims, whilst for Albanian nationals, most (81%; 2,046) were adult potential victims. For Vietnamese nationals, 64% (635) were adults and 27% (269) were child potential victims (Figure 6). Referrals for Albanian nationals increased as a percentage of all referrals this year, now accounting for 20% of all referrals, compared to 15% in 2020. There was also a notable increase in referrals for Eritrean nationals this year (712, 6%), compared to 359 (3%) in 2020

A full consultation process was carried out in 2018.  As part of the review documentation an audit was undertaken to identify if there were any issues flagged by the lead officers or relevant officers who operated the policy.  Operational suggestions raised in this audit were incorporated within the revised policies and procedures.  The policy was then amended in line with best practice as detailed by the NSPCC.  

The policies will be uploaded to the website to support translation into a suitable language and individuals will be directed to this.  However if an individual identified under the policy or procedures requires a translator; Council will provide one.

Our staff profile:
Staff breakdown by Racial Group / Ethnic Origin           (Figures as at 21 October 2022)
Racial Group / Ethnic Origin                    Number of Staff
Mixed Ethnic Group                                    1 (0.16%)
Other                                                           2 (0.33%)
White / White European                          546 (90.25%)
Unknown                                                   56 (9.26%)
Total                                                              605

There is no evidence to suggest a negative impact on this Section 75 Group.  This category of information is not recorded within the policy or its subsequent documentation.

Age

Age: (NISRA Census 2021 – Table MS-A02) 

                           CC&G Borough Council               Northern Ireland
0-4 years                        7,973 (5.62%)                  113,820 (5.98%)
5-9 years                        8,878 (6.26%)                  124,475 (6.54%)
10-14 years                     9,113 (6.43%)                  126,918 (6.67%)
15-19 years                     8,326 (5.87%)                  113,203 (5.95%)
20-24 years                     7,873 (5.55%)                  111,386 (5.85%)
25-29 years                     7,713 (5.44%)                  116,409 (6.12%)
30-34 years                     8,460 (5.97%)                  126,050 (6.62%)
35-39 years                     8,528 (6.02%)                  127,313 (6.69%)
40-44 years                     8,513 (6.01%)                  122,163 (6.42%)
45-49 years                     9,322 (6.58%)                  121,670 (6.39%)
50-54 years                   10,412 (7.35%)                  130,967 (6.88%)
55-59 years                   10,150 (7.16%)                  129,276 (6.79%)
60-64 years                     9,171 (6.47%)                  113,049 (5.94%)
65-69 years                     7,769 (5.48%)                    93,464 (4.91%)
70-74 years                     6,990 (4.93%)                    83,467 (4.39%)
75-79 years                     5,659 (3.99%)                    66,377 (3.49%)
80-84 years                     3,718 (2.62%)                    43,776 (2.30%)
85-89 years                     2,126 (1.50%)                    25,879 (1.36%)
90+ years                        1,051 (0.74%)                    13,512 (0.71%)
TOTAL Population       141,745                            1,903,174

Statistics in the table above highlight an ageing population.  

Age Comparison for CC&G Borough Council for the years 2011 and 2021 

Census 2021
Age Range (years)                 2011                2021
0-14                                        19%                 18%
15-39                                      33%                  29%
40-64                                      33%                  34%
65+                                         15%                  19%

It can be seen from the 2 tables above, that  the 2 younger age groupings our borough have decreased and are lower than the Northern Ireland average.  Whereas the number of individuals aged 45 years and upwards has increased and our percentages in these groupings are higher than the Northern Ireland Average.

This is a trend which is forecast to continue as identified in NISRA’s 2020-based Interim Population Projections for Northern Ireland, which states that "by mid-2027, the number of people aged 65 and over is projected to overtake the number of children" . 

There are 2 separate policies to support individuals classed as children or adults to support the specific needs of these groupings.

Staff breakdown by Age                  (Figures as at 21 October 2022)

Age Group                         Number of staff
22-29                                  21 (3.47%)
30-34                                  28 (4.63%)
35-39                                  64 (10.58%)
40-44                                  71 (11.74%)
45-49                                  99 (16.36%)
50-54                                115 (19.01%)
55-59                                  92 (15.21%)
60-64                                  88 (14.54%)
65-120                                27 (4.46%)
Total                                 605

Children’s Social Care Statistics for Northern Ireland 2021/22 (DoH) identified that:
As of 31st March 2022, there were 2,346 children on the child protection register in Northern Ireland.  Neglect and Physical abuse were the main reasons for a child being on this register.  Broken down by age the statistics are as follows:

• Under 1 year: 227
• 1 to 4 years: 623
• 5 to 11 years: 859
• 12 to 15 years: 498
• 16 years and over: 139

Also, as of 31st March 2022, 24,545 children in Northern Ireland were known to Social Services as a child in need.  Some 34,969 children were referred to Social Services, with Police referrals being the highest followed by School/EWO referrals.  

At 31 March 2022, 3,624 children and young people were in care in Northern Ireland.  This was the highest number recorded since the introduction of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.

A full consultation process was carried out in 2018.  As part of the review documentation an audit was undertaken to identify if there were any issues flagged by the lead officers or relevant officers who operated the policy.  Operational suggestions raised in this audit were incorporated within the revised policies and procedures.  The policy was then amended in line with best practice as detailed by the NSPCC.  

Age information is used to determine the correct referral procedure and relevant GDPR procedures are in place.

There is no evidence to suggest a negative impact on this Section 75 Group.

Marital Status

Marital status by former legacy Council area (most recent figures available from Census 2021):

Census 2021                                   CC&G Borough Council          Northern Ireland

Single (never married or never
registered a civil partnership)             40,720 (35.67%)                 576,708 (38.07%)
Married                                               54,576 (47.81%)                 690,509 (45.59%)
In a civil partnership                                155 (0.14%)                        2,742 (0.18%)
Separated (but still legally married
or still legally in a civil partnership)        3,795 (3.32%)                     57,272 (3.78%)
Divorced or formerly in a civil
partnership which is now legally
dissolved                                                 7,258 (6.36%)                    91,128 (6.02%)
Widowed or surviving partner
from a civil partnership                            7,655 (6.71%)                    96,384 (6.36%)
All usual residents aged 16 and over       114,159                              1,514,743

Causeway Coast and Glens follows a similar pattern to that of Northern Ireland in that the highest percentage of residents are married (47.81% compared with the NI average of 45.59%).  The patterns are all higher than the NI average with the exception of Individuals in a civil partnership which at 0.14% is slightly lower than the NI average of 0.18%.  

Same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland has been legal since 13 January 2020. (Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019)

Staff breakdown by Marital Status                           (Figures as at 21 October 2022)

Marital Status                                 Number of staff
Unknown                                          60 (9.92%)
Married \ Civil Partnership              336 (55.54%)
Divorced                                           12 (1.98%)
Other                                                19 (3.14%)
Separated                                       12 (1.98%)
Single                                            164 (27.11%)
Widowed                                           2 (0.33%)
Total                                               605

A full consultation process was carried out in 2018.  As part of the review documentation an audit was undertaken to identify if there were any issues flagged by the lead officers or relevant officers who operated the policy.  Operational suggestions raised in this audit were incorporated within the revised policies and procedures.  The policy was then amended in line with best practice as detailed by the NSPCC.  
There is no evidence to suggest a negative impact on this Section 75 Group.  

Sexual Orientation

The 2021 census for the first time included a question on sexual orientation.  
 

Sexual orientation  MS-C01: Census 2021               CC&G Borough Council               Northern Ireland
Straight or heterosexual                                              104,205 (91.28%)                   1,363,859 (90.04%)
Gay or lesbian                                                                    906 (0.79%)                          17,713 (1.17%)
Bisexual                                                                              596 (0.52%)                          11,306 (0.75%)
Other sexual orientation                                                     135 (0.12%)                            2,597 (0.17%)
Prefer not to say                                                              4,502 (3.94%)                          69,307 (4.58%)
Not stated                                                                        3,816 (3.34%)                          49,961 (3.30%)
All usual residents aged 16 and over
114,160 1,514,743

These statistics were also reviewed by smaller age groupings:

Sexual orientation by broad age bands
MS-C02: Census 2021                           CC&G Borough Council              Northern Ireland
All usual residents aged 16 and over             114,158                                  1,514,745
Straight or heterosexual                                 104,203 (91.28%)              1,363,859 (90.04%)
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, other sexual
orientation                                                         1,637 (1.43%)                      31,617 (2.09%)
Prefer not to say/ Not stated                             8,318 (7.29%)                    119,269 (7.87%)
Usual residents aged 16-24 years                    14,576                                      201,369
Straight or heterosexual                                  13,099 (89.87%)                  175,346 (87.08%)
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, other sexual
orientation                                                            517 (3.55%)                      9,283 (4.61%)
Prefer not to say/ Not stated                                960 (6.59%)                    16,740 (8.31%)
Usual residents aged 25-39 years                       24,700                                    369,770
Straight or heterosexual                                  22,732 (92.03%)                 330,734 (89.44%)
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, other sexual
orientation                                                           649 (2.63%)                       13,991 (3.78%)
Prefer not to say/ Not stated                             1,319 (5.34%)                      25,045 (6.77%)
Usual residents aged 40-64 years                       47,568                                  617,126
Straight or heterosexual                                   44,419 (93.38%)                    571,502 (92.61%)
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, other sexual orientation     419 (0.88%)                        7,459 (1.21%)
Prefer not to say/ Not stated                                2,730 (5.74%)                     38,165 (6.18%)
Usual residents aged 65+ years                               27,314                               326,480
Straight or heterosexual                                   23,953 (87.69%)                  286,277 (87.69%)
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, other sexual orientation       52 (0.19%)                          884 (0.27%)
Prefer not to say/ Not stated                               3,309 (12.11%)                    39,319 (12.04%)

The council currently has no data specific to its workforce with regards to sexual orientation.

A full consultation process was carried out in 2018.  As part of the review documentation an audit was undertaken to identify if there were any issues flagged by the lead officers or relevant officers who operated the policy.  Operational suggestions raised in this audit were incorporated within the revised policies and procedures.  The policy was then amended in line with best practice as detailed by the NSPCC.  

There is no evidence to suggest a negative impact on this Section 75 Group.  

Men and Women Generally Gender:  

(Census 2021 – Table MS-A07)  
                             CC&G Borough Council          Northern Ireland
Male                        69,848 (49.28%)                   936,132 (49.19%)
Female                    71,898 (50.72%)                  967,043 (50.81%)



Staff breakdown by Gender                     (Figures as at 21 October 2022)

Gender                                   Number of staff
Male                                         335 (55.38%)
Female                                     270 (44.62%)
Total                                         605

PSNI Domestic Abuse Incidents and Crimes Recorded by the Police in Northern Ireland (update to 31st March 2023):

In the 12 months from 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023:

• there were 32,875 domestic abuse incidents in Northern Ireland
• Causeway Coast and Glens (policing district) had 2,206 incidents and 1,464 crimes April 2022 – March 2023 

A full consultation process was carried out in 2018.  As part of the review documentation an audit was undertaken to identify if there were any issues flagged by the lead officers or relevant officers who operated the policy.  Operational suggestions raised in this audit were incorporated within the revised policies and procedures.  The policy was then amended in line with best practice as detailed by the NSPCC.  

There is no evidence to suggest a negative impact on this Section 75 Group.