DPH Annual Report 2023 to 2024 - illustration competition
All Directors of Public Health in England have a statutory duty to produce an annual report on the health of local communities.
The chosen topic for the Birmingham DPH Annual Report 2023 to 2024 is ‘From numbers to narratives: Exploring the changes between the 2011 and 2021 Census in Birmingham and the implications for the future health of our city’.
This topic has been chosen because Birmingham’s population has rapidly changed since the last census. In some respects, it has mirrored national trends, such as a gradually ageing population and shifts to homeworking. In others, it is more unique, such as through its ethnic super-diversity or migration profile. Moreover, the 2021 Census data gives us a rich and comprehensive understanding of the population by allowing us to combine all variables and see a more complete and more holistic picture.
The target audience was:
- people who live, work, and study in Birmingham
- The Association of Directors of Public Health
- public health professionals and healthcare partners, for example, NHS
Three areas of focus
The report focussed on:
- What the data tells us about the changes to the population in Birmingham.
- What the health and wellbeing implications are from these changes.
- How the future population of Birmingham might look
Chapter titles and summaries
Chapter one: Age
This chapter looked at:
- how Birmingham’s birth rate has started to decline over the past decade.
- how the total population grew with the largest population increase seen in the pre-retirement age groups (55-59 and 60-64).
- how more 65-year-olds and above are reporting better health in 2021 than in 2011, but that this varies across different wards in the city.
Chapter two: Ethnicity
This chapter discussed:
- Birmingham as the only core city in England and Wales to have a ‘super-diverse’ population, where no one ethnic group makes up 50% or more of the population.
- how Birmingham’s super-diversity is even higher in younger age groups.
- how the greatest increase in proportion was for the ‘Pakistani’ population, and the second largest increase in proportion was for the ‘African’ population.
Chapter three: Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity
This chapter talked about:
- the new voluntary questions that were asked on sexual orientation and gender identity for respondents aged 16 years and over.
- how 1 in 3 of those who identify with an LGB+ sexual orientation in Birmingham are aged between 16 and 24 years old.
- how Birmingham has a higher proportion than England of residents who identify with gender identities different to their sex registered at birth.
Chapter four: International Immigration
This chapter looked at:
- how two-thirds of the people who arrived in the UK in the last decade and reside in Birmingham were under 30 years when they arrived.
- how the majority of those born outside the UK who live in Birmingham have lived here for 10 years or more.
- how GP registrations of migrated individuals increased to its highest levels in 2021.
Chapter five: Housing
This chapter discussed:
- overcrowding in Birmingham households and how it disproportionately affects ‘Asian/Asian British’, ‘Black/Black British’ and ‘Other ethnic group’ populations.
- How 1 in 3 households in Birmingham are single-person households
- How housing tenure has changed over the past decade in Birmingham.
Chapter six: Employment
This chapter looked at:
- The drivers of economic inactivity in Birmingham, including long-term sickness and disability.
- Residents in Birmingham who are economically active and providing at least one hour of unpaid care a week.
- How the method of travel to work has changed over the past decade.
Illustration competition
The report featured winning designs from the 2023 to 2024 DPH Annual Report illustration competition.
The winning designs were used on the front cover of the report, and to illustrate each of the chapters detailed above.
Download the full DPH Annual Report to see the winning designs
Director of Public Health Annual Report 2023 to 2024
Page last updated: 17 October 2024
