We want to make sure that the decisions we make about the services we deliver, the policies we develop and the actions we take are the right decisions for the City. We use a variety of information, including: statistics, surveys, maps and results from consultations to inform our understanding and address equality issues across all areas of Newcastle. All of the information from the Council and its partners is brought together to form the Newcastle Future Needs Assessment (NFNA).
Newcastle Future Needs Assessment (NFNA)
One of the Council's key commitments is the development of the Newcastle Future Needs Assessment (NFNA). This means that the Council and its partners will look at all of the information and statistics available to see which issues should be prioritised. The NFNA will also look at what local residents are telling us through 'lets talk' Newcastle.
Newcastle Intelligence Online
'Newcastle Intelligence Online' is the Council's innovative information resource and provides, instant, online access to information, data, survey results and maps from both the council and our partners. It is used to create the Newcastle Future Needs Assessment (NFNA). The information is available by different themes and includes: population, employment, health and wellbeing, environment, communities and children and young people. A summary of the data is highlighted below.
Population
General
The population of Newcastle in 2010 was 292,200. In 2009, 88% of Newcastle's population was white British and 12% comprised other ethnic groups. The proportion of black and minority ethnic (BME) children is much higher than for adults. BME children accounted for 22% of the school population in 2011
Early Years
There are 19,050 0-5 year olds in Newcastle and the birth rate has been rising steadily from 2,889 in 2003/04 to 3,209 in 2009/10, peaking at 3,429 in 2008/09
School Years
GP registrations data suggests there are 41,942 5-18 year olds living in Newcastle. There are 36,338 children and young people attending state funded schools in Newcastle, The proportion from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds ranges from 28% at age 5 to 16% at age 16 and the proportion continues to rise each year. Around 26% of the school population is entitled to receive free schools meals
Later Years
The number of people aged 65-74 will grow by a third between 2008 and 2028. The over 85 age group will increase more significantly from a total population of 5,700 people in 2009 to an expected 9,000 people in 2029 (a 58% increase). The wards with the highest proportions of people aged 65 to 84 are Denton, Fawdon, Newburn, Walkergate, Westerhope and Woolsington, while the highest proportion of over-85s live in Dene, Denton, East Gosforth, Westerhope and West Gosforth.
Employment
Newcastle has a large number of people who are without work and claiming benefits. This represents 27,870 people or 15.6% of the working age population. Around half of those claiming out of work benefit in Newcastle claim Incapacity Benefit. Proportionally fewer black and minority ethnic people (BME) in Newcastle are in employment compared with white people
Average incomes also vary significantly within the city and the average wage of Newcastle residents is lower than the national average. According to the Index of Multiple deprivation 2010, Newcastle is ranked 40th most deprived local authority and 72,000 people in Newcastle live in the most deprived areas in the UK.
The map below illustrates the findings of the IMD 2010 for Newcastle upon Tyne. Concentrations of deprivation are illustrated on the map by the darkest shading of blue, whilst greater affluence is illustrated by the white shading.
Health and wellbeing
Newcastle has experienced increases in life expectancy in recent years but it has improved more slowly than England.
- Life expectancy at birth in Newcastle for men is 74.9 years, compared to 76.9 years for the national average.
- Within the city there are stark differences in life expectancy; the difference in male life expectancy between South Gosforth and Byker is 12.6 years.
- Disability-free life expectancy for men and women in Newcastle is shorter than the England average
- Compared to those in the richest areas, women and men in the poorest areas of Newcastle die younger and live a larger proportion of their shorter lives with a disability.
- 1 in 5 people in Newcastle have a limiting long-term illness
- Newcastle has a high number unpaid carers.
- Carers who provide 20 or more hours of care per week are more likely to live in Social Housing; live in a household with no working adult; and live in a household with a person with a limiting long-term illness
Mental Health
- One in six people are likely to be affected at some point in their lives by common mental health problems such as stress, anxiety and depression.
- The likelihood of experiencing mental health problems is linked to a number of factors including age, disability, gender, sexual orientation and experiencing discrimination.
For more detailed information on health and wellbeing, please visit our Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) website.
Environment
- A larger proportion of the North East population are in fuel poverty than any other English region.
- We define households that need to spend 10% or more of their income on fuel costs as being in fuel poverty.
- The links between poor quality housing, fuel poverty and poor health are widely recognised; more people die in the days following a cold snap and Newcastle has a high rate of these winter deaths.
The Council is committed to working with partners to tackle fuel poverty and improve energy efficiency. This work is led by Warm Up North with the aim of benefiting all households across the City, beginning with those most in need of intervention. A range of plans have been implemented to tackle fuel poverty and energy efficiency, which include offering energy advice, providing cavity wall and loft insulation, and reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Communities
Newcastle is one of the safest cities in England, and Safe Newcastle is committed to making it even safer for those who live, work, visit or socialise here.
Safe Newcastle aims to create better lives and stronger communities by reducing crime, anti-social behaviour, alcohol misuse and the supply of drugs throughout the City.
Statistics relating to crime are collated regularly by Northumbria Police and examined at key geographies for monitoring purposes by the City Council. Trends are available over time on key crime types including violent offences, burglary, vehicle theft and criminal damage. To access these stats please click here Newcastle Intelligence Online
Hate Crime
The Newcastle ARCH system is a reporting system for racist, religious, homophobic, transphobic and young people being bullied incidents. It is an innovative way of attempting to:
- Increase the proportion of hate incidents that are reported
- Improve the levels of support available to victims of hate incidents
- Increase the enforcement action taken against perpetrators
From 2003 to 2010 there has been an increase of 461% in incidents reported to ARCH. There has also been a 51.9% increase in the number of cases dealt with in accordance to agency service standards from 2005 to 2010
Residents' Survey
Our most recent Residents' Survey also asks people how they feel about living in their local neighbourhood. The main results are highlighted below:
Young People
- Some anti-social behaviours were considered more of problem by young people for example noisy neighbours, loud parties,drunk and rowdy behaviour, parents not taking responsibility for children and people being attacked because of their skin colour, ethnic origin or religion. They were also less likely to consider that they were treated with respect and consideration.
Disabled People
- were less likely to consider that the Council treated all types of people fairly
Ethnic minorities
- were less satisfied with their local area and choice of housing than white respondents and fewer considered that they belonged to their neighbourhood and that people in the local area could be trusted.
- They were more likely to consider anti-social behaviours a problem and less likely to consider they were treated with respect and consideration by local public services. They felt less well informed about the Council.
LGBT people
- were less satisfied with the opportunities for participation in local decision making and to influence policies and services
- they were less likely to feel that they were treated with respect and consideration by public services
- more likely to consider vandalism, graffiti and rubbish lying around a problem as well as people being attacked because of their skin colour, ethnic origin or religion a problem.
To access the full Residents' Survey results, analysed by age, gender, disability, religion and sexual orientation please click on the link: Residents' Survey 2010
Migrants and asylum seekers
In recent years, there has been a large increase in migration to the UK. There has been less migration into the North East than many other places but evidence suggests that Newcastle is by far the most popular destination for migrants into the region. Measuring migration is not straightforward and we use different information in order to give us a broad indication.
Some examples and information sources that tell us how Newcastle's population is changing are:
- The number of babies born in Newcastle to mothers who were born outside of the uk.
- National Insurance Numbers issued to non-UK nationals. These are issued to anyone is who is entitled to work or claim benefit in the UK. However, national insurance data will not tell us about people such as asylum seekers who are not entitled to work or claim benefits.
It is important that we understand this and our changing population so we can:
- Plan and provide services
- Fulfil our legal duty to promote "good relations"
- Inform our economic development decisions.
Children and Young People
There are 64,600 children and young people aged 0 to 19 years old in Newcastle
Evidence suggests that children who grow up in poverty are less likely to do well at school, achieve good qualifications and participate in higher education. They are at higher risk of living in poverty as adults and more likely to see negative outcomes in adulthood.
30% of children in Newcastle live in poverty compared to an English average of 20.1%. Children of lone parents, disabled children and those from certain (but not all) BME backgrounds are at greater risk of living in poverty.
- In 2011, 52.3% of children left school with 5 or more GCSEs or equivalent at grades A*-C including English and maths. This was below the national average (58.3%). Academic achievement among young people living in deprived areas is lower than the average for Newcastle
- The rate of under 18 conceptions in Newcastle is higher than the national average (47.5 per 1,000 compared to a national rate of 38.2) and is a lot higher in the more deprived areas of the city.
- According to research by Stonewall, almost two thirds of young lesbian, gay and bisexual pupils in British schools have experienced direct bullying. There is evidence that lesbian and gay pupils are more likely to leave school at 16 despite performing well enough to continue their education. It is also estimated that three in four bullied lesbian and gay young people pretend they are ill or play truant to escape the impact of bullying. Children and young people in Newcastle have told us that tackling bullying, racism and homophobia should be one of our priorities.
Customer Services satisfaction
The Council regularly reviews and undertakes customer satisfaction research of its Customer Services Centres. Information can be broke down by gender, age, ethnic origin and disability. For more information and results of the research please click here: Customer Services Research