Equality screening outcome report: Belfast City Council Disability Action Plan 2022-2025

Data from the NI Census 2011^[2] and from the NI Survey of people with Activity Limitations amongst adults and children living in private households (NISALD) 2007 shows that there is no difference between disabled persons with differing religion or community background. Data from NISALD 2007 indicates that the risk of being disabled increases with age for Protestants ranging from approximately 40 per cent for people aged between under one year old and 15 years old, 57 per cent for people aged between 60 and 74 to 65 per cent for people aged 75 and over. The risk of being disabled decreases with age for Catholics ranging from approximately 50 per cent for people aged between under one year old and 15 years old, 41 per cent for people aged between 60 and 74 to 33 for people aged 75 and over. Risk differentials between Protestants and Catholics by age are in line with that found in the report ‘2013 Labour Force Survey Religion Report’ for the whole population. The report shows that the Protestant population has an older age profile compared to that of the Catholic population. Protestants account for 60 per cent of people aged 60 and over, compared to Catholics that account for 33 per cent for people aged 60 and over.

According to the 2011 Census, the relationship between general health (measured by whether day-to-day activities were limited because of a long-standing health problem or disability) and religion is quite notable. For example, respondents who stated their religion was ‘Christian’ claimed their day-to-day activities were limited ‘a little’ or ‘a lot’ was approximately 21 per cent, was markedly higher compared to other major religions within the UK such as Islam and Hinduism, which were 12.9 per cent and 12 per cent respectively. People who responded as having ‘no religion’ was 11.4 per cent.

No data available which indicates a positive or negative difference between groups of different political opinion.

The NI Census 2011^[3] contained two broad questions on health: one that asked respondents if their day-to-day activities were limited because of a long-standing health problem or disability (21 per cent of the usually resident population considered their activities to be limited ‘a little’ or ‘a lot’); and a second that asked respondents to describe their health in general (5.6 per cent of the population considered their general health to be ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’).
Probably related to their older age profile, usually resident people from the White ethnic group were most likely to perceive their general health to be ‘bad’ or ‘very’ bad (5.7 per cent), while those from the Mixed or Asian ethnic groups were least likely do so (1.6 per cent and 1.7 per cent respectively); the rates for people of Other or Black ethnicity were, respectively, 4.4 per cent and 2.3 per cent. In respect of all usual residents, rates of perceived ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’ health increased with age across all five main ethnic groups. However, within each main age group, there was relatively little difference between the rates of perceived ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’ health across the main ethnic groups.

 None

Data from NI Survey of people with Activity Limitations amongst adults and children living in private households (NISALD) 2007 indicates the risk of being disabled increases with age – ranging from 3.5 per cent for children aged under one to five years old, 7.6 per cent for children aged between six and 15, 4.9 per cent amongst young adults aged between 16 and 25 year old, 10.9 per cent for people between 26 and 44 years old, 22.6 per cent for people between 45 and 59 years old, 41.1 per cent for people between 60 and 74 years old to 59.8 per cent for people over 75 years old.

In households where there are children with disabilities, there is further evidence of an increased risk of poverty and social exclusion. The ‘Taking a Closer Look’ report 2006 found three out of five were poor and the NISALD survey found that 38 per cent of parents of disabled children had benefits as their only source of income. The report ‘Severe Child Poverty in NI’ 2011 found 12 per cent of children living with a disabled adult are in severe poverty compared to 8 per cent of those children who aren’t living with a disabled adult. The Labour Force Survey between April and June 2010 shows that the employment rate varies by age when compared to those with and without a disability with the disabled person's likelihood of being employed reducing with age. For people aged 30 to 39, the rate was 44 per cent disabled, 84 per cent non-disabled, people aged 40 to 49 are 41 per cent disabled, 90 per cent non-disabled, aged 50 to 64, 21 per cent are disabled, and 75 per cent are non-disabled. There is no estimate available for people aged 16 to 29 due to sample size. The NISALD survey indicated that the percentage of respondents stating that they been a victim of hate crime declined with age with 11 per cent in the 26 to 49 age range, 6 per cent in the 50 to 64 age range, and 3 per cent in the 65 years old and over age range.
According to the NI Census 2011^[4], the proportion of the population assessing their general health as ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’ increases with age. For example, in terms of those living in households, the proportion of the population who considered their general health to be ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’ rises from under 1 per cent among those aged under one year and 15  years old to one person in 10 (10.1 per cent) among those aged 45 to 64 and approximately one person in seven (14.3 per cent) among those aged 65 and over.

In addition, whereas 2.3 per cent of those aged under one year to 15 years old had a long-term health problem or disability which limited their day-to-day activities ‘a lot’, this increased to almost one person in twenty (5.2 per cent) among those aged 16 to 44, approximately one person in six (17.3 per cent) among those aged 45 to 64 and approximately one person in three (36.4 per cent) among those aged 65 and over.

Based on NISRA's fieldwork data^[5] from 2006, the prevalence of disability amongst adults varies significantly with age, ranging from a low of 5.5 per cent amongst young adults aged 16 to 25 to 60.2 per cent amongst those aged 75 and over. Amongst people aged 85 and above, the prevalence of disability increases to almost 67.6 per cent.
For both males and females, the prevalence of disability increases with age. The prevalence of disability is particularly high for females aged 75 and above (62.4 per cent). Certainly, it is only amongst the youngest adults, aged 16 to 25, that male prevalence rates (6.4 per cent) are higher than the equivalent for females (4.9 per cent). Amongst the very youngest within Northern Ireland’s households, the prevalence of disability is notably higher amongst boys than amongst girls. Approximately 8.1 per cent  of boys aged 15 and under were found to have a disability, compared to 4.4 per cent of girls of the same age.

Data from NISALD^[6]  in 2007 indicates the risk of being separated, divorced, or widowed is greater for disabled persons compared to the general population. Evidence from the Family and Children Survey 2008, Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), 2010 indicates that 33 per cent of unemployed single parents have a disability or longstanding illness and 34 per cent have a child with a disability. Children in lone parent households may have a higher risk of disability.

According to the Health and Social Wellbeing Survey^[7] in 2001, marital status could be determined as a barrier to regular physical activity. For those respondents that were single [never married] approximately 10.7 per cent ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘agreed’ that physical disability was a impediment to physical activity, which is notably lower than those respondents who were married and living with husband or wife (18.2 per cent).

The Institute for Conflict Research produced a report^[8] examining healthcare issues for transgender people resident in Northern Ireland which highlighted social factors impacting on transgender individuals’ sense of wellbeing and their experiences of healthcare services provision.

Their report found that a number of respondents reported experiences of inappropriate and prejudicial treatment when accessing some healthcare services, such as healthcare staff: using inappropriate pronouns; using and displaying old names in front of other patients; offering inappropriate services. Such experiences heightened respondents’ emotional vulnerability and delayed access to appropriate support.

From the Citizenship Survey^[9] in 2007, it is not possible to draw conclusions about the prevalence of limiting long-term illness/disability across broad sexual identity categories. Limiting long-term illness has a strong relationship with age and without age standardisation the data was not amenable to interpretation. From the data collated from the Survey, approximately a fifth (20.0 per cent) of heterosexual or straight respondents had a limiting long-term illness or disability, similar to the 21.3 per cent of respondents who were lesbian, gay or bisexual.

Data from NISALD^[10] in 2007 2007 indicates the risk of being disabled differs between boys and girls. Around 7.8 per cent of boys aged 15 and under were found to have a disability, compared with 4 per cent of girls. Initial analysis shows that intellectual and social or behavioral difficulties are more prevalent amongst boys than girls.

For young adults this trend continues with a prevalence rate of 5.6 per cent males aged 16 to 24 and 4.3 per cent females. However in older adults the prevalence rates are higher in females. For people aged 60 to 74, it's 37.7 per cent for males and for females the rate is 44.1 per cent. For males aged over 75 years, it's 56.8 per cent and for females the rate is 61.8 per cent. Data from the 2001 Census indicates that having a limiting long-term illness (LLTI) is associated with a significantly elevated mortality rate for both sexes (1,451 and 963 deaths per 100,000 population for males and females respectively). This represents around 130 per cent higher mortality rate for those with LLTI compared with those with no LLTI across both genders. (LLTI can serve as a proxy measure for disability). 

Derived from the 2014 Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Inequalities Monitoring System^[11], the Disability Free Life Expectancy (DFLE) is a measure of the average number of years a person can expect to live disability free.The DFLE provides an estimate of lifetime spent free from a limiting persistent (twelve months or more) illness or disability, based upon a self-rated functional assessment of health recorded in the Health Survey Northern Ireland. Based on the definition, the DFLE for females in Northern Ireland was 60.8 years and 60.2 years for males.

According to the 2012-2013 Family Resources Survey^[12], there are almost 6.6 million disabled women in the UK and 5.5 million men.

Data from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (formally General Lifestyle Survey and General Household Survey)^[ would indicate that there is minimal difference between those with a limiting long-standing illness or disability by gender. Based on the 2013 figures, almost 51.0 per cent were women and 49 per cent were men.

Based on fieldwork data^[13] from 2006, almost one quarter (23.3 per cent) of adult females in Northern Ireland households indicated that they had some degree of disability, compared with around one fifth (19.8 per cent) of adult males. Derived from NISRA’s analysis, the somewhat higher prevalence of disability adult females, in part, reflects the higher life expectancy of women and the higher incidence of disability that is associated with increased age.

According to the NI Census 2011:

• approximately 20.7 per cent (374,848) of the Northern Ireland population had a long-term health problem or disability whose day-to-day activities were limited ‘a little’ or ‘a lot’;
• among peopel of working age (between 16 to 64 years old) this figure is 16.9 per cent (306,035);
• in terms of the type of long-term condition, ‘mobility or dexterity difficulty’ (20,716; 11.4 per cent) was the most prevalent within the Northern Ireland population. Nnearly a third (56,915; 31.4 per cent) did not have a long-term condition; 

From other sources:

• there are an estimated 340,000 people with a disability;
• of the estimated 340,000, 46.4 per cent are aged 65 years and over;
• of the estimated 340,000, 3.2 per cent are born with a disability

With respect to the Belfast (2014) population:

• 23.5 per cent (78,460) had a long-term health problem or disability whose day-to-day activities were limited ‘a little’ or ‘a lot’;

The development of the plan has been informed by engagement activity with disabled people, and various disability representative organisations. No adverse differential impact was identified relating to this particular group during this engagement.

The development of the plan has been informed by engagement activity with disabled people, and various disability representative organisations. No adverse differential impact was identified relating to this particular group during this engagement.

The plan is likely to have a positive equality impact on Irish Traveller households as the actions in the plan are aimed at improving the lives of all disabled persons regardless of ethnicity.

During the development of the plan, we sought the views of disabled people and their representative organisations. No adverse differential impact was raised in relation to ethnicity.

This is not applicable

This plan will provide a positive impact on disabled people. 

The development of the plan was further informed by engagement with disabled people, and various disability representative organisations. No adverse differential impact was identified relating to people with children and those without; and those with caring responsibilities for people with a long term condition or disability of any age. 

The plan by emphasising the social model of disability will strengthen the recognition of social and environmental barriers that disabled persons face leading to actions in participation and active citizenship, and positive attitudes to disability.

This is not applicable

Ongoing monitoring of action through the Disability Action Plan reporting system

Screened out
It is not necessary to conduct an equality impact assessment (no impacts)

The Disability Action Plan has a positive impact on the groups identified.

Screened out
Mitigating actions (minor impacts)

• Provide a brief note to explain how this decision was reached
• Explain what mitigating actions or policy changes will now be introduced