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Setting the context

Leicester Children's Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA). Setting the context for the health and social care needs of Leicester's children and young people.

Population and Children and Young People in Leicester

The population of Leicester is currently 342,627, and the birth rate appears to be falling (further information is contained in Chapter 4 -pre-birth to early life). A boy born in the city today can expect to live to aged 77 years compared with 82 years for a girl born on the same day. Life expectancy at birth for boys and girls in Leicester is significantly worse than the England averages.

38.2% (n=130,726) of the city’s population are aged between 0 and 24 years. Of these, 50.5% are male (n=66,066) and 49.5% are female (n=64,660) with a significantly higher proportion aged between 20 and 24 years in comparison to the England average.

Population growth of CYP in Leicester

The proportion of 0-24 year olds living in Leicester increased by 12.5%between 2005 (n=116,231) and 2015 (n=130,726). This is a significant increase when compared against the East Midlands (5.8%) and England (5.7%). Leicester’s 0 to 4 population increased from 20,726 in 2005 to 25,884 in 2015, an increase of 5,158 or 25%. The 10-14 and 15-19 age groups have experienced a slower rate of percentage growth over the same period, 10-14 population was 19,725 in 2005 and in 2015 reached 20,217.

Projected population of CYP in Leicester

For Leicester, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) 2014 based population projections suggest that:

  • The total population of Leicester is projected to grow to 371,100 by 2025 (an increase of 9.9% from 2014)
  • The number of CYP (aged 0 to 24 years) is projected to grow to 138,100 by 2025 (an increase of 7.4% from 2014)

Ethnicity of CYP in Leicester

The proportion of BME population (n=74,300) is significantly greater when compared against the England average.

Deprivation

The Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2015 provides a relative measure of deprivation at lower super output areas (LSOA) across England. Areas are ranked from least deprived to most deprived on seven different dimensions of deprivation and an overall composite measure of multiple deprivation. The higher the IMD score, the more deprived an area. All the scores for each LSOA have been ranked both in England and in Leicester. Ranking works in an opposite direction to the score, as the lower the rank, the more deprived an area.

The IMD 2015 indicates that Leicester has an average score of 33.1; this means that Leicester is ranked 21st out of 326 local authorities in England, with 1 indicating the most deprived.