Background
Plymouth is slowly becoming more diverse, though the rate of change is slower than nationally. Plymouth has been a dispersal area for asylum seekers for many years and around 380 people will be accommodated in the city at any given time. The Council participated in the Home Office Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement Programme (VPR) and the Vulnerable Children's Resettlement Scheme (VCRS), resettling 49 families (200 people) via these schemes. As of January 2024, 14 families were resettled in Plymouth through the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). The Council also co-ordinates guests arriving through the Homes For Ukraine scheme. Since 2022 over 200 people have arrived via the Homes for Ukraine scheme with over 90 Plymouth residents volunteering as hosts to sponsor a Ukrainian household to share their homes for a period of time.
Local data
In 2021, 94.9 per cent of residents in Plymouth identified their ethnic group as White, a decrease from 96.1 per cent in the 2011 Census. Across the country, in 2021, 81.7 per cent of usual residents in England and Wales identified their ethnicity as White, a decrease from 86.0 per cent in the 2011 Census.
2.3 per cent of Plymouth residents identified their ethnicity as Asian. This is the second largest ethnic community within Plymouth and has increased from 1.5 per cent of the population in 2011. 1.8 per cent of residents are from a mixed/multiple ethnic background. The proportion of people who identified themselves in both the Black (1.1 per cent) and from an ethnic group not listed on the Census form also increased.
Cohesion
To help us to measure cohesion and feelings of belonging across the city the 2022 Plymouth City Survey asked residents to what extent they felt they belonged to their local area. The results show that 42 per cent of respondents agreed that Plymouth is a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together, while 14 per cent disagreed. The proportion of residents agreeing with this statement has increased compared with 39 per cent who agreed in 2020 and 38 per cent in 2018.
The percentage of residents that agreed their local area is a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together in Plympton St Mary (53 per cent) and Drake (51 per cent) was significantly higher than in Budshead (36 per cent), Efford & Lipson (27 per cent), Eggbuckland (34 per cent), Honicknowle (35 per cent), St Budeaux (34 per cent) and Stoke (31per cent).
Plymouth’s cohesion rate, which is calculated by excluding the neutral options, is currently 77 per cent which is a significant increase from 74 per cent in 2020.
However, it remains well behind the most recent national score recorded in the Community Life Survey 2022 which was 84 per cent in 2021/22 and 83 per cent in 2021/2020.
Employment
Across the UK, the overall employment rate was 76 per cent (of working age population) were employed in 2023. However, there remains a significant difference between the employment rates of different ethnic groups. Nationally, 77 per cent of white people were employed, compared with 69 per cent of people from all other ethnic groups combined. Whilst the highest employment rate was in the Indian ethnic group (79 per cent). The employment rate for Plymouth during the period October 2022 to September 2023 was 74 per cent. Employment for all minority ethnic groups in the city was 66 per cent and 75 per cent of the White working age population were in employment over the same period.
Health
The 2021 Census found that nationally the ethnic groups reporting the poorest health were people who identified as White Irish and White Gypsy or Irish Traveller. People who identified as Bangladeshi also reported poorer health than might be expected since this group is relatively young, with an average age of 27 years.
Justice and Personal Security
Nationally, 74 per cent of all adults had confidence in their local police in the year ending March 2020. Asian, White and ‘Other’ ethnic groups were more likely to have confidence in their local police, while there were lower levels of confidence among Black people.
In the 12 months to October 2022, there were 698 hate crimes recorded in Plymouth, an increase on the 581 hate crimes recorded in the 12 months to October 2021. Of these, 392 were attributed to race compared to 321 in the previous year. More recent data is not yet available but this profile will be updated when this is published.