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Cumberland Equality Objective: Evidence Base Disability and health

The Equality Act and the Census work with a broad definition of disability that covers anyone who considers themselves to have a long-term condition that affects their day-to-day activities. Typically, this might include around 20% of the population.

Within this there are broad categories of conditions, but there is no Census data collected on these. As a proxy, there is a section below that uses a snapshot of people using Adult Social Care services to provide some evidence of numbers of people with Learning Disabilities, Mental Health service users, people with Sensory Loss and Mobility conditions. 

Also included is modelling work on the potential trend increases for various kinds of disability in Cumberland (especially among people aged 65 and over).

NB. Many people legally classified as disabled would reject the term, especially including many in the Deaf community and many who are Neurodiverse.

Find the 2021 Census results (Cumbria Observatory website)

General health

80.1% of Cumbria’s population reported their health was ‘good or very good’; slightly lower than the national average (82%).

Compared to the national average, Cumbria had slightly higher proportions of residents who reported their health was ‘fair’ (14.2% vs. national 12.7%) and ‘bad or very bad’ (5.7% vs. national 5.2%).

Once age structure is accounted for, 82% of residents in Cumbria reported their health was ‘good or very good’; slightly higher than the national average (81.6%).

Compared to the national average, Cumbria had slightly lower proportions of residents who reported their health was ‘fair’ (12.9% vs. national 13.1%) and ‘bad or very bad’ (5.1% vs. national 5.4%).

The largest change by general health in Cumbria was a decrease in residents reporting their health was ‘bad or very bad’ (-4.9% vs. national -0.6%).

Copeland had the 4th largest decrease in residents reporting their health was ‘good or very good’.

Disability

19.3% of Cumbria’s population reported they were disabled (limited day-to-day activities) compared to 17.5% nationally, and 8.8% reported their day-to-day activities were limited ‘a lot’ compared to 7.5% nationally.

With age factored in 18% of Cumbria’s population reported limited day-to-day activities compared to the 17.8% nationally, and 7.6% reported their day-to-day activities were limited ‘a lot’ compared to 7.6% nationally.

The largest change by disability in Cumbria was a decrease in residents reporting their day-today activities were limited ‘a lot’ (-14.8% vs. national -6.5%).

2020 to 2040 projections for various conditions in Cumberland

The Institute of Public Care have set out 2020 to 2040 projections for various conditions in Cumberland linked to an ageing society.

Disability Age range 2020 2040 Change % change

Mobility problems

18 to 64

9,661

8,195

-1,466

-15.2%

65 and over

11,593

16,203

4,610

39.8%

Autistic Spectrum Disorders

18 to 64

1,568

1,398

-170

-10.8%

65 and over

614

785

171

27.9%

Learning Disabilities

18 to 64

3,826

3,452

-374

-9.8%

65 and over

1,338

1,729

391

29.2%

Diabetes

18 to 64

5,845

4,996

-849

-14.5%

65 and over

8,040

10,201

2,161

26.9%

Visual impairment

18 to 64

103

92

-11

-10.7%

65 and over

7,478

10,447

2,969

39.7%

Hearing impairment

18 to 64

18,729

15,792

-2,937

-15.7%

65 and over

43,666

59,792

15,881

36.4%

Mental health problem

18 to 64

51,485

46,167

-5,318

-10.3

Alcohol related health problem

18 to 64

7,142

6,281

-861

-12.1%

Drug dependence

18-64

5,061

4,740

-321

-6.3%

Suicide

18 to 64

15

13

-2

-13.3%

Survivor of sexual abuse

18 to 64

18,242

16,383

-1,859

-10.2%

Early onset dementia

18 to 64

83

68

-15

-18.1%

Challenging behaviours

18 to 64

71

64

-7

-9.9%

Personal care

18 to 64

8,400

7,172

-1,228

-14.6%

Stroke

18 to 64

552

469

-83

-15.0%

Limited long term illness

65 and over

32,037

42,659

10,622

33.2%

Depression

65 and over

5,485

7,025

1,540

28.1%

Severe depression

65 and over

1,727

2,309

582

33.7%

Cardiovascular disease

65 and over

20,437

26,769

6,332

31.0%

Bronchitis/emphysema

65 and over

1,093

1,398

305

27.9%

Falls

65 and over

16,951

22,566

5,615

33.1%

Falls – hospital admissions

65 and over

2,019

2,929

910

45.1%

Continence

65 and over

12,527

16,591

4,064

32.4%

Obesity

65 and over

19,471

24,646

5,175

26.6%

Dementia

65 and over

4,470

6,603

2,133

47.7%

Projecting Adult Needs and Service Information) and POPPI (Projecting Older People Population Information) websites.

Projecting Adult Needs and Service Information

Cumbria Adult Social Care Data 31 March 2023

Disability

The figures below use compare the % of people using physical disability, mental health and learning disability services against the overall district census profiles to check for under- and overrepresentation.

Overall:

  • physical Disabilities: People from Copeland have the highest proportionate numbers of users with physical disabilities
  • carers: Carers are more closely distributed by % of population across districts 
  • other Vulnerable: Allerdale is significantly under-represented in this group, with Carlisle, Copeland and Eden roughly similar to the underlying population %.
  • mental Health: Carlisle has a significantly higher % of people in mental health services than the % of the population.

Disability trends for younger people

Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and Education and Health Care Plans (EHCP) provide proxy information on the numbers of disabled children in the population. While Cumberland follows the national trend towards a decline in physical mobility and complex medical forms of disability, the overall rise in conditions related to neurodivergence, mental health, and speech language and communications has risen significantly. 

The numbers of young people with an EHCP has doubled since 2019 and is set to increase over the next decade before levelling off in the 2030s. 

  • Autism (ASD) projected to continue to contribute to the largest proportion of the population.
  • Speech Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) are also a growing area of need.
  • Social Emotional and Mental Health Needs are now the 3rd largest cohort. 

The ONS Outcomes for Disabled People in the UK 2021 report 

This report provides the most recent national overview of inequalities in outcomes for disabled people. These include:

  • disabled people less likely to have a degree than non-disabled people (18% gap)
  • 13 % of disabled people have no qualification compared to 5% for non-disabled adults
  • lower employment rate for working age disabled adults than non-disabled working age adults (30% gap for males, 26% gap for women)
  • disabled people are less likely to own their own homed (14% gap)
  • more likely to report feeling lonely (10% gap males, 9% gap females)
  • more likely to report being a victim of crime if they are a disabled child (13%)
  • 13 % of disabled people have no qualification compared to 5% for non-disabled adults
  • Lower employment rate for working age disabled adults than non-disabled working age adults (30% gap for males, 26% gap for women)
  • Disabled people are less likely to own their own homed (14% gap)
  • More likely to report feeling lonely (10% gap males, 9% gap females)
  • More likely to report being a victim of crime if they are a disabled child (13%)

Outcomes for disabled people in the UK: 2021 (ons.gov.uk)

Implications for Public Services

A transformation in the way public services think about neurodivergence with greater emphasis on pre-diagnostic support, especially in relation to children and young people and addressing the growing demand for SEND support, and also for working age adults to benefit from neurodivergent supportive workplaces.

Increasing pressure to provide preventative mental health support and a wider range and sufficiency of different forms of therapeutic support, as well as further work on the intersectionality of mental health (i.e., intersectionality with LGBT+, ethnicity, sex, age, and poverty).

Increased demand for Adult Social Care and acute health services.

Pressures on housing stock, including cost of disability and climate adaptation, demand for extra-care housing.

Increasing need for disability accessible transport and built environment.

Accessibility opportunities and challenges in terms of digital services and assistive technology.

Increasing demand for more age friendly and disability friendly approaches to support in employment, with a shift from ‘reasonable adjustments’ to inclusion by design.