Draft Equality Impact Assessment

Religious belief

According to the 2021 Census, 48.7 per cent (45.7 per cent) of the usual residents of Belfast were from a Catholic community background compared with 36.4 per cent (43.4 per cent) from a Protestant or other Christian related background, with 3.3 per cent (1.5 per cent) stating 'Other' and 11.6 per cent (9.3 per cent) stating 'None'.

(Figures in brackets refer to NI as a whole.)

The Continuous Household Survey 2019-2020 data showed that:

• A higher proportion of Catholics (35 per cent) have knowledge of Irish than both those with other or no religion (8 per cent) and Protestants (3 per cent).

Political opinion

Local government elections took place on 18 May 2023. The number of elected candidates were:

• 18 elected Sinn Féin Party 
• 14 elected Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) 
• 11 elected Alliance Party 
• 5 elected Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) 
• 3 elected Green Party Northern Ireland Party 
• 2 elected Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Party 
• 1 elected Independent 
• 1 elected People Before Profit Alliance Party 
• 1 elected Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) 

Racial group

Country of birth statistics taken from the last census in 2021, show that 8.6 per cent of all usual Belfast residents were born outside the UK and Ireland.

The Census showed that the most commonly spoken languages in Belfast (excluding English and Irish) are Polish, Arabic and Chinese

Age

The age profile of Belfast is slightly younger compared to that of the wider region. 18.0 per cent are aged under 15 (slightly lower than the Northern Ireland average of 19.2 per cent), 37.1 per cent are aged 15-39 (compared with 31.2 per cent), 30.1 per cent aged 40-64 (32.4 per cent for NI), and 14.7 per cent 65 and over (17.2 per cent).

The Continuous Household Survey 2019-2020 data showed that:

• Knowledge of Irish decreases with age, with those age 45 years and over being less likely to have knowledge than those aged 16-44 years (19 per cent and 15 per cent respectively).
• Age and level of deprivation of the area they live in area also related to the likelihood of having knowledge of Irish. People aged 45 years and over are less likely to have knowledge of Irish than those aged 16 to 44 years (19 per cent and 15 per cent respectively).
• In addition, adults living in the least deprived areas are less likely to have knowledge of Irish than those living in the most deprived areas (12 per cent and 23 per cent respectively).

Marital status

According to the 2021 Census, around one third (33.2 per cent) of all usual residents in Belfast (aged 16+) are married or in a civil partnership – a relatively low proportion when compared with the Northern Ireland average (45.8 per cent). Belfast has a higher percentage (49.8 per cent) of residents who are single when compared with the Northern Ireland average (38.1 per cent). There is also a higher than average proportion of people in Belfast who are separated, divorced or widowed (17.0 per cent to 16.2 per cent NI average). Belfast also has 720 residents who are in a registered same-sex civil partnership, around a quarter of all such partnerships in Northern Ireland (2742).

The Continuous Household Survey 2019-2020 data showed that for those who are married or cohabiting, the proportion who had some knowledge of Irish increased from 14 per cent in 2017-2018 to 17 per cent in 2019-2020. 2019-2020 data showed that adults who are married or cohabiting (17 per cent) are less likely to have knowledge of Irish than those who are single (19 per cent).  

Sexual orientation

According to the 2021 Census, 31,600 people aged 16 and over (2.1 per cent) identified as LGB+ ('lesbian, gay, bisexual or other sexual orientation'), 1.364 million people (90.0 per cent) identified as 'straight or heterosexual' and 119,000 (7.9 per cent) either did not answer the question or ticked 'prefer not to say'.

A higher proportion (4.1 per cent of adults) in Belfast identified as LGB+.

Several UK and NI based studies have attempted to quantify the number of people who identify as LGB+. Estimates for LGB+ population range from 0.3-10 per cent using different sources. A commonly used estimate of LGB+ people in the UK, accepted by Stonewall UK, is approximately 5-7 per cent of the population.

Men and women generally

Belfast has a slightly higher proportion of women (51.3 per cent) of all residents), in comparison with Northern Ireland as a whole (50.8 per cent).

The Continuous Household Survey 2019-2020 data showed that the proportion of males who have knowledge of Irish increased from 14 per cent in 2017-2018 to 16 per cent in 2019-2020 and the proportion of females who have knowledge of Irish increased from 15 per cent in 2017-2018 to 18 percent in 2019-2020. 2019-2020 data showed that men (17 per cent) are more likely to have knowledge of Irish than women (16 per cent).

Disability

2021 Census figures show that over one quarter (26 per cent) of Belfast residents have a long-term health problem or disability which affects their day to day activities. This is a slightly higher proportion than the Northern Ireland average (24.3 per cent). Over one-third of Belfast residents reported that they had a long-term condition (defined as a condition which has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 months). The most common conditions were mobility or dexterity, pain or discomfort, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, and emotional, psychological or mental health condition.

Deafness and hard of hearing 

This shows information on people with deafness (or partial hearing loss), blindness (or partial sight loss) and other communication difficulty. The Northern Ireland Census does not provide information on users of sign language or readers of Braille, but Department for Communities (DfC) estimates that approximately 5,000 people in Northern Ireland use sign language as the preferred means of communication, with 3,500 using British Sign Language (BSL) and 1,500 using Irish Sign Language (ISL).

In Belfast:

• 5.7 per cent of people (19,527) have deafness or partial hearing loss
• 2 per cent of people (6,869) have blindness or partial sight loss
• 1.6 per cent of people (5,659) have a communication difficulty

In Northern Ireland

• 5.8 per cent of people (109,457) have deafness or partial hearing loss
• 1.8 per cent of people (33,961) have blindness or partial sight loss
• 1.5 per cent of people (28,138) have a communication difficulty

DfC set up a Sign Language Partnership Group in 2005 which produced best practice guidance on providing public services to Deaf people who use BSL or ISL. Speaking in the Assembly on 1 December 2015, the Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure said that the Partnership Group had contributed much to improving the lives of sign language users and their families but that she was convinced of the need to do much more. She indicated that the Deaf community had made it clear that they want legislation to safeguard their rights as a cultural and linguistic minority.  The Minster said that she would take initial steps to address this issue before responsibility transfers to the Department for Communities in 2016. A draft Sign Language Framework was opened for public consultation from 15 March 2016 to 4 July 2016. The consultation report has not, to date, been published.

Dependants

According to the 2021 Census, 40.1 per cent of households in Belfast included no dependent children, in comparison with 44.9 per cent of households across Northern Ireland.

The Belfast City Council Residents Survey 2014, reported that 32.3 per cent of the population have dependants or caring responsibilities. The 2011 Census shows that 28.58 per cent of households in Belfast include dependent children, compared with the Northern Ireland average of 33.86 per cent.

The Continuous Household Survey 2019-2020 data showed that the same proportion of adults who do not have dependants have knowledge of Irish as those who have dependants (17 per cent).