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Topic reports

Children and Young People in Calderdale

Background

Topic Reports are part of Calderdale Council’s set of publications based mainly or entirely on the 2001 Census, which is the key source for this Report, since no other data-set compares in both its coverage and the detail it provides.  However, the Report also uses some data from the health sector, the latest Indices of Deprivation, and the Council’s own data.

Purpose of the report

The objective of this Report is to provide a demographic context and aide for those planning and providing services to – or affecting – children and young people, as well as providing an overview for those with a general interest in the issues involved.

The Report’s focus is on identifying geographical differences in the numbers and socio-economic situation of children – both within Calderdale and between Calderdale and national averages. This includes concentrations of children of different ages, and the social, housing, economic and health indicators pertaining to, or affecting, children and young people.

It is not the aim to paint a picture of what it is like to be a child in Calderdale. The inclusion of data on behaviour and achievement, such as Key Stage and GCSE data, Statemented Children, or Offenders, was considered, but rejected as being beyond the objective of focusing on the socio-demographic context. For similar reasons, no attempt has been made to assess the level or quality of services provided to children and young people.

We have provided the most reliable and comprehensive data available.  The full Report concentrates on presenting this data in tables, graphics and maps, and comment is kept to a minimum.

Below is a summary of the key findings. Unless otherwise stated, the figures on which these findings are based come from the 2001 Census.

Key points

Age structure and trends, ethnicity and health

• Age Structure: for all age-groups, the child and young person population in Calderdale somewhat exceeds the national percentage. For the total aged 0-18, the Calderdale figure is about 1 percent above the national average.
• Trends and Projections
  • Mid-Year Population Estimates, show that over the 12 years 1991-2003 there were significant but not dramatic changes in the 0-15 population. The most marked changes have occurred since 2000, with a fall of about 1,000, over 2%, in 3 years.
  • Numbers in each of the four age-groups 0-4, 5-9, 10-14 and 15-19 were projected in the 2003-based Government projections to decrease in the next ten years. The smallest fall will be in the 0-4 age-group, and the largest in the 10-14 group. Altogether, the population aged 0-14 is projected to fall by 2,700, over 7%, between 2003 and 2013, and that aged 0-19 by over 3,000, almost 7%.
• Births - figures from the Office for National Statistics demonstrate the substantial fall in the number of live births up to the year 2000 (a fall of 10% over 6 years). However, in 2000 the number first stabilised and since 2002 has increased markedly. These changes may, if continued, reverse the trends projected. However, it will be some years before they have an impact on numbers in older age-groups. Furthermore, migration into and out of Calderdale may affect how far these birth figures translate into numbers of children in older groups.
• Migration: data from the NHS Register indicates that net loss or gain through migration of children under 16 within the UK has been very small in recent years. However, this has moved from small net loss to small net gain in recent years.  By contrast, the 16-24 age-group shows consistent substantial net loss, which is expected to continue. A major factor in this is movement to places with higher education institutions.
• Ethnicity:
  • The age-structure of different ethnic groups varies greatly. For example, whilst approximately 21% of Calderdale’s total population is under 16, and a further 10% is in the 16-24 age-group, the comparative figures for Calderdale’s Pakistani ethnic group are 37% and 20%.
  • Whilst the Pakistani population comprises only 4.9% of the Calderdale total, it accounts for much higher proportions of children, including 9.9% of infants under 5 and 9.4% of the 15-17 age-group.
  • The figures for the Pakistani population are substantially below those across West Yorkshire as a whole, but much higher than the national average.
  • For All Other Ethnic Groups, the Calderdale figures are far lower than both the West Yorkshire and England figures. This reflects the preponderance, amongst Calderdale’s black and minority ethnic groups, of people describing their ethnic group as Pakistani.
• Distribution and Concentrations of Children & Young People
  • There are especially high numbers of children and young people in Park ward – which has a high proportion of ethnic minority residents – and Ovenden. These two wards also have the highest numbers in each of the 0-4, 5-9 and 10-14 age-groups. Illingworth & Mixenden also has relatively high numbers.
  • The lowest proportions are mainly in the eastern part of the District - in Northowram & Shelf, Brighouse and Hipperholme & Lightcliffe – and in Skircoat ward in Halifax.
• Health and Care Provision
  • About one in every 25 children was described on the Census forms as having a limiting long-term illness. About 1% were described as Not in Good Health, and a similar proportion provided care in some form to other household members.
  • The proportion of children providing care, at 1.2% was slightly below the 1.3% for both West Yorkshire and for England.
  • There are strong variations between wards in the incidence of limiting long-term illness among under 16s, ranging from 2.2% in Northowram & Shelf and Hipperholme & Lightcliffe up to 5.2% in Park.  Surprisingly, the rate in Sowerby Bridge is far above that for the more deprived ward of Ovenden.
  • Figures from Calderdale and Huddersfield Health Informatics Service show very substantial differences in life expectancy, between Ovenden (75.5/76.0) and Northowram & Shelf (81.0/81.6) range. The rate of live births is highest by far in Park, whilst low birthweight rates are highest in Park, Ovenden and Warley – almost double the rates in Brighouse, Calder and Ryburn.

Households and household resources

• Households with Children
  • In total, at the time of the 2001 Census, there were 5320 households in Calderdale with a lone parent and 1 or more dependent children, containing 8228 dependent children.
  • At ward level, there was substantial variation. In the case of households with dependent children, Park ward had the highest proportion (39.3% compared to a district average of 30.7%), whilst in the five wards Brighouse, Northowram & Shelf, Skircoat, Sowerby Bridge and Town the figure was 28% or lower.
  • By contrast, only 8.4% of Park’s households were lone parent, compared to a district average of 9.2%. Ovenden (15.6%) had the highest proportion of lone parent households, and Skircoat (5.6%) the lowest.
• Household Facilities
  • there was a wide variation in the numbers and proportion of dependent children living in households without central heating or a car/van. For example, the percentage of 0-4 year olds living in accommodation lacking central heating ranged from 7% in Ryburn to 50% in Park, whilst for no car the range is 6% in Northowram & Shelf to 44% in Ovenden. Similar contrasts were apparent for “all dependent children”, and even at the Greater Town level there were quite large variations, with Halifax having the highest proportion of 0-4 years olds without central heating or access to a car.
  • Calderdale had a lower proportion of its children living without central heating than the West Yorkshire average, but both were far above the national average. There are clear historical roots to this.
  • A similar pattern is apparent with regard to children in households without a car, but the differences were far smaller.
  • Looking at the proportions living in flats or in accommodation where the lowest floor is the 1st floor or higher, the pattern was reversed, with England showing much higher figures than Calderdale, whilst West Yorkshire as a whole had the lowest percentage.
• Numbers of Adults in Employment: there was an enormous range here. Whereas in the five wards Greetland & Stainland, Hipperholme & Lightcliffe, Luddendenfoot, Northowram & Shelf and Skircoat, 10% or less of dependent children lived in households with no-one in employment, in the three wards Illingworth & Mixenden, Ovenden and Park, more than 20% lived in such households.
• Low Income
  • Figures from the Indices of Deprivation 2004 showed that proportions of on children under 16 living in deprived households ranged from 7% in Northowram & Shelf to 51% in Park. Ovenden and Illingworth & Mixenden also had figures far above the district rate of 23.5%.
  • Figures from Calderdale MBC Schools and Children's Services Directorate showed the percentage of children attending school in Calderdale (up to the age of 15) who receive Free School Meals ranged from under 5% in Hipperholme & Lightcliffe, Northowram & Shelf and Skircoat to almost 40% in Park, with 4916 recipients in total.

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