Future face of Birmingham revealed as major consultation starts

BRITISH white people make up less than 10 per cent of the population in some parts of Birmingham while Christianity has now been overtaken by Islam as the most prominent religion among young children, figures show.

The city council is currently consulting with the public on its draft ‘community cohesion’ strategy which describes Birmingham as “super diverse”.

It forecasts that British white people are soon to become a minority in the city.

On the back of the report the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has used a range of statistics to further explore the changing face of the city, which boasts people from around 200 nationalities. The council draws a basic but logical conclusion that by the time of the next census in 2021, British white people will officially become a minority, accounting for less than 50 per cent of the city’s population.

This is based on the proportion of people declaring themselves as non British white increasing from 30 per cent in 2001 to 42 per cent in 2011 and an assumption that this trend has continued along the same curve.

If this is the case then British white people will account for around 45 per cent of Birmingham’s 1.1 million residents in three years time.

However, they will still be overwhelmingly the largest single ethnic group.

More recent figures from the Annual Population Survey, provide estimates for the ethnic make-up of local authorities based on country of birth.

They state that Pakistani people account for the second largest group in Birmingham (66,000), followed by residents who hail from India (28,000) and Bangladesh (19,000).

Romanians are the largest eastern European group (12,000) while Afghanistan, China, Poland and the Republic of Ireland account for similar proportions of the city (8,000).

A further breakdown of Birmingham’s population based on country of birth is as follows:

6,000 to 7,000 residents – Jamaica, Netherlands, Somalia and Zimbabwe;

4,000 to 5,000 residents – Eritrea, Germany and Italy;

2,000 to 3,000 residents – Belgium, Columbia, Congo (Democratic Republic), Czech Republic, The Gambia, Greece, Hungary, Iraq, Kenya, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, St Kitts and Nevis, St Maarten (Dutch part), Sudan, Sweden, Syria, Tanzania, Taiwan, Uganda and Yemen;

1,000 residents – Ghana, Iran, Kosovo, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Undoubtedly Birmingham is a vastly multi-cultural city but one of the main problems is that people from different ethnic minorities are far from evenly spread out. Instead some areas are populated by particular racial groups leading to ‘territoriality’, certain communities becoming disadvantaged with higher unemployment rates according to the council.

The last census in 2011 lays this bare, albeit using the city council’s old 40 wards which have since been restructured into 69 wards.

It showed that white Brits are still overwhelmingly the largest group in parts of the city, particularly the north and south west.

They accounted for 75 per cent or more of the population in Kingstanding, Weoley, Bartley Green, Oscott, Bournville, Shard End, Sheldon, Kings Norton, Sutton Vesey, Sutton New Hall, Northfield, Sutton Trinity, Longbridge and Sutton Four Oaks.

In nearby areas British whites made up at least 50 per cent of residents.

Those wards included Edgbaston, Stockland Green, Moseley and Kings Heath, Acocks Green, Harborne, Stechford and Yardley North, Selly Oak, Quinton, Erdington, Tyburn, Brandwood and Billesley.

Whilst inner city areas in particular represented the most diverse parts of Birmingham with some of the former wards containing around 10 per cent or less of British whites including Lozells and East Handsworth, Sparkbrook, Aston, Washwood Heath and Bordesley Green.

Other areas had less than 25 per cent such as Nechells, Springfield, Handsworth Wood and Soho.

Washwood Heath featured the largest number of Pakistani people (18,771), more than five times that of British white people (3,425), while there were also similarly high concentrations in Bordesley Green (17,280), Springfield (15,081) and Sparkbrook (13,812).

The highest number of Indian people is in Handsworth Wood (9,048), which made them the most prominent group in that area.

Black people, including those from African, Caribbean and other backgrounds, were the largest group in Aston (8,255), Nechells (8,094) and Soho (7,335), although the latter was evenly mixed featuring similar numbers of Indian, Pakistani and British white people.

East Lozells and East Handsworth had the smallest proportion of British white people (2,161).

The figures showed the highest concentration of Bangladeshi people came in Aston along with Lozells and East Handsworth while Ladywood was home to the largest group of Chinese residents.

Mixed race people were present in relatively small numbers across all wards. Perhaps the most telling indicator of Birmingham’s cultural shift over generations is people’s stated religion, according to the last census.

Christianity is the most prominent among those aged 40 and above, followed by Islam and then, in comparatively smaller numbers, Hinduism.

But the gap between the two most dominant religions closes considerably group.

It reduces further still in the 10 to 19 category: 38 per cent Christianity to 30 per cent Muslim.

But for children up to nine-yearsold, Islam is the most prominent religion: 36 per cent compared to 31 per cent Christianity. in the 20 to 39 age A major barrier in the way different ethnic groups get along is the language they speak, it has been revealed. The council’s report said nearly 47,000 citizens are unable to speak English.

While Government statistics as of January revealed that 44 per cent of school pupils in Birmingham only spoke English as a second language or lower. The council’s social cohesion and equalities chief, Cllr Tristan Chatfield (Lab, Weoley and Selly Oak), stated that Birmingham is more “progressive” than the city is given credit for and people “broadly” mix well together.

Nevertheless he recognised that a “super diverse” city presented challenges.

The community cohesion strategy also takes into account other factors which cause segregation including economic growth, gender inequality, education, deprivation, income and an ageing population.

The consultation runs until August 31. To submit opinions visit : www.birminghambeheard.org.uk/ economy/community-cohesionstrategy/