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Community Cohesion in Oldham

Community Cohesion in Oldham. Bruce Penhale Corporate Policy Manager Oldham MBC. A cohesive community is a community:. which is prosperous, and where everyone enjoys a good standard of living; to which people are proud to say they belong;

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Community Cohesion in Oldham

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  1. Community Cohesion in Oldham Bruce Penhale Corporate Policy Manager Oldham MBC

  2. A cohesive community is a community: • which is prosperous, and where everyone enjoys a good standard of living; • to which people are proud to say they belong; • where people from different ethnic, religious and social backgrounds and with different incomes live side-by-side in peace and safety; • which is not disfigured by racism or other forms of prejudice, and where people treat each other with courtesy and respect; • where people support each other when they are in need, and where conflicts can be resolved rather than festering or growing; • where people receive, and feel they receive, fair treatment from organisations providing services, facilities and employment opportunities; and • people are able to contribute to decisions which affect their lives, and to participate fully in the economic, social and cultural life of the community.

  3. Community cohesion: not just a race issue • Race • Ethnicity (including intra-community issues) • Nationality (including prejudice against asylum seekers) • Religion (including Islamophobia) • Different parts of Oldham • Identity • Perceived fairness in resource allocation • Tensions between younger and older people • Social class – links to patterns of tenure and affluence • Other forms of prejudice – homophobia, exclusion of disabled people

  4. Community Cohesion Policy development • Developing Community Cohesion Strategy • Central to this are: • Political and community leadership • “Mainstreaming” community cohesion by integrating it into all areas of activity • Building community involvement • New approach to regeneration • This needs a good evidence base. The 2001 Census provides part of the baseline

  5. Measuring community cohesion • Thoughts and feelings • Fairness • Trust in institutions • Relationships with other people in neighbourhoods • Openness to other people • Pride and identity • Safety and security • Experience of individuals, family and friends in: • Labour market • Schools • Neighbourhoods • Leisure • Media • etc • Behaviour • Where people live • Who they socialise with • How they treat other people • etc

  6. Ethnic group and religion

  7. How has the composition of Oldham changed? • Percentage of people from Black & Minority Ethnic groups – 1991: 9%, 2001: 14% • Growth mainly in the communities of Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic origin • Increase greatest in the areas with the largest BME populations in 1991 • Werneth ward 38% to 59% • Saddleworth West ward 1% to 1.7%

  8. 1991 2001 Bangladeshi 78.3 74.4 Pakistani 76.0 71.8 (All BME) (65.3) (63.3) Indian 53.5 48.8 Other 33.2 37.8 Black 37.0 30.7 Mixed - 22.0 Has Oldham become more or less segregated? And how and why? • Index of Dissimilarity – the percentage of the population who would have to move to be evenly distributed with respect to another group • Calculated at ward level • Range from 0 (= No segregation) to 100 (= fully segregated with respect to White people) • 50*sum(abs((bi/B)-(wi/Wi)))

  9. Measuring inequality using the 2001 Census • Employment – economic activity, type of job, earners in household • Learning – highest qualification • Health – long-term limiting illness, health in the last year • Housing – tenure, overcrowding

  10. Standardised ratios of poor health in the last year (England=100)

  11. Housing tenure by ethnic origin of household reference person

  12. Unemployment rates by ethnic group

  13. Ethnic origin and unmeasured variation • White population is a large and diverse group • Example of White people in Hollinwood ward (ranked in most deprived 5% on the Indices of Deprivation 2000) • Standardised poor health ratios • For men 187 (131 for all men in Oldham) • For women 142 (133 for all women in Oldham) • Ratios are comparable to those for Black & Minority Ethnic groups with poor health

  14. Conclusions • Value of the 2001 Census • Range of information – different issues, different spatial levels, comprehensive coverage, quality and comparability across areas and over time • But: • Classifications of ethnic origin and religion may not be the most relevant for you • Only indirect measures of community cohesion • Care is needed in determining cause and effect • Differences that aren’t easy to measure may be important

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