InstantAtlas™ Server 6 Wakefield Ward Profile Selection: Altofts and Whitwood Ward Introduction The Wakefield district is divided into 21 wards, with each ward being represented by three councillors. Councillors are elected by residents of the district and are responsible for making decisions about local services and budgets, such as Council Tax, on behalf of the local community. Each councillor serves for a period of four years. The ward boundaries are reviewed periodically, and the current boundaries were last altered in 2004. Altofts and Whitwood Ward is situated in the north of the District and contains the settlements of Altofts, Whitwood and Whitwood Mere, and a number of industrial parks that occupy much of the land between Normanton and Castleford. The ward also includes the Cutsyke, Roundhill and Half Acres areas of Castleford. To the north the ward is bounded by the River Calder. The ward is bisected by the M62. Selected landmarks: Trans Pennine Trail Wakefield Europort Profile created: 9/1/2017 Population Profile Population Size The most accurate population estimates are produced every ten years from the Census. These are updated annually using administrative data to produce mid- year population estimates. The mid-2014 estimates show that the size of the resident population in Altofts and Whitwood Ward is 15,972 people. The tables below shows the percentage breakdown by age groups and gender. The actual number of people in each age group is shown in brackets. Population Size Altofts and Whitwood Ward Total population (2014) 15,972 people Total male population (2014) 7,891 people Total female population (2014) 8,081 people Source: Office for National Statistics Population Groups (% of total population) Altofts and Whitwood Ward Wakefield England People aged 0-15 (2014) 17.7% (2819 people) 18.5% 19.0% People aged 16-29 (2014) 17.7% (2972 people) 16.9% 18.3% People aged 30-44 (2014) 20.4% (3429 people) 18.9% 19.9% People aged 45-64 (2014) 26.2% (4408 people) 27.3% 25.3% People aged 65 and over (2014) 18.7% (2988 people) 18.4% 17.6% Source: Office for National Statistics Ethnicity and Language Wakefield district has become more ethnically diverse over the past 10 years. In 2001, the district's ethnic population represented just 3.3% of the total population, but the 2011 Census shows this has risen to 7.2%. This proportion, though, is much lower than the England average of 20.2%. A large part of the district increase in the ethnic minority population has been due to immigration from Eastern Europe, particularly from Poland. There has also been continued immigration from South Asia, and a small but growing number of people immigrating from Africa. The ethnic mix for this area is shown in the table below. Population by Ethnicity (% of total population) Altofts and Whitwood Ward Wakefield England White: English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British 96.1% (15627 people) 92.8% 79.8% White: Irish 0.2% (26 people) 0.3% 1.0% White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller 0.1% (11 people) 0.1% 0.1% White: Other White 1.3% (207 people) 2.3% 4.6% Mixed/multiple ethnic group: White and Black Caribbean 0.3% (43 people) 0.3% 0.8% Mixed/multiple ethnic group: White and Black African 0.1% (12 people) 0.1% 0.3% Mixed/multiple ethnic group: White and Asian 0.2% (37 people) 0.3% 0.6% Mixed/multiple ethnic group: Other Mixed 0.2% (29 people) 0.2% 0.5% Asian/Asian British: Indian 0.4% (57 people) 0.5% 2.6% Asian/Asian British: Pakistani 0.1% (22 people) 1.5% 2.1% Asian/Asian British: Bangladeshi 0.0% ( people) 0.0% 0.8% Asian/Asian British: Chinese 0.4% (65 people) 0.3% 0.7% Asian/Asian British: Other Asian 0.2% (26 people) 0.4% 1.6% Black/African/Caribbean/Black British: African 0.4% (69 people) 0.6% 1.8% Black/African/Caribbean/Black British: Caribbean (% of total population) 0.1% (9 people) 0.1% 1.1% Black/African/Caribbean/Black British: Other Black (% of total population) 0.0% ( people) 0.1% 0.5% Other ethnic group: Arab (% of total population) 0.1% (20 people) 0.1% 0.4% Other ethnic group: Any other ethnic group 0.0% (7 people) 0.2% 0.6% Source: 2011 Census, Office for National Statistics The 2011 Census also provides information about people's country of birth. This presents us with a better understanding of the size of newly arrived immigrant communities within the district. District-wide, the 2011 Census showed that people from the ten European Union Accession States (A10) made up the largest group of people born outside Britain. The numbers of people in Altofts and Whitwood Ward born outside Britain are shown below, although only a selected group of countries/continents are included. Country of Birth (% of total population) Altofts and Whitwood Ward Wakefield England A10: Lithuania (2011) 0.0% (7 people) 0.1% 0.2% A10: Poland (2011) 0.8% (123 people) 1.3% 1.1% A10: Romania (2011) 0.0% (1 people) 0.0% 0.2% A10: Other EU accession countries (2011) 0.2% (34 people) 0.4% 0.7% Africa (2011) 0.6% (98 people) 0.8% 2.4% India (2011) 0.2% (28 people) 0.3% 1.3% Pakistan (2011) 0.0% (7 people) 0.6% 0.9% Source: 2011 Census, Office for National Statistics In Altofts and Whitwood Ward, 1.7% of the population have a main language that is not English, and of this group, 5.3% cannot speak English at all. Proficiency in English Altofts and Whitwood Ward Wakefield England % of people for whom English is not their main language 1.7% (263 people) 3.5% 8.0% % English not main language: can speak English very well 29.3% (77 people) 29.0% 41.5% % English not main language: can speak English well 41.4% (109 people) 41.4% 37.7% % English not main language: cannot speak English well 24.0% (63 people) 24.5% 17.4% % English not main language: cannot speak English 5.3% (14 people) 5.1% 3.3% Source: 2011 Census, Office for National Statistics Religion The 2011 Census questions on religion were not compulsory to answer, and in Altofts and Whitwood Ward 7.0% of people didn't answer the question and 24.3% of people stated that they didn't follow a religion. The religions that people do follow are shown in the table below. Religion (% of total population) Altofts and Whitwood Ward Wakefield England Christian (2011) 67.5% (10976 people) 66.4% 59.4% Muslim (2011) 0.4% (68 people) 2.0% 5.0% Hindu (2011) 0.2% (29 people) 0.3% 1.5% Sikh (2011) 0.1% (23 people) 0.1% 0.8% Jewish (2011) 0.0% (2 people) 0.0% 0.5% Buddhist (2011) 0.1% (23 people) 0.2% 0.5% Other religion (2011) 0.3% (54 people) 0.3% 0.4% No religion (2011) 24.3% (3959 people) 24.4% 24.7% Religion not stated (2011) 7.0% (1133 people) 6.4% 7.2% Source: 2011 Census, Office for National Statistics Household Structure The 2011 Census shows that there are a total of 7,007 households in Altofts and Whitwood Ward. Household composition classifies households according to the relationships between the household members. A cohabiting couple family consists of two people of any sex who are living together as a couple, with or without their child(ren), but who are not married or in a same­sex civil partnership. A dependent child is a person aged 0 – 15 in a household (whether or not in a family) or aged 16 – 18 in full­time education and living in a family with his or her parent(s). Household Composition (% of all households) Altofts and Whitwood Ward Wakefield England One person household: Aged 65 and over (2011) 12.1% (847 households) 13.0% 12.4% One person household: Other (2011) 16.8% (1177 households) 16.7% 17.9% One family only: All aged 65 and over (2011) 8.4% (591 households) 8.5% 8.1% One family only: Married or same-sex civil partnership couple: No children (2011) 14.0% (983 households) 14.1% 12.3% One family only: Married or same-sex civil partnership couple: Dependent children (2011) 15.0% (1050 households) 14.1% 15.3% One family only: Married or same-sex civil partnership couple: All children non-dependent 5.9% (412 households) 6.4% 5.6% (% of all households) (2011) One family only: Cohabiting couple: No children (2011) 7.8% (548 households) 5.7% 5.3% One family only: Cohabiting couple: Dependent children (2011) 5.5% (387 households) 5.2% 4.0% One family only: Cohabiting couple: All children non-dependent (2011) 0.9% (62 households) 0.6% 0.5% One family only: Lone parent: Dependent children (2011) 6.2% (436 households) 7.6% 7.1% One family only: Lone parent: All children non-dependent (2011) 3.1% (219 households) 3.4% 3.5% Other household types: With dependent children (2011) 1.9% (136 households) 2.0% 2.7% Other household types: All full-time students (2011) 0.0% ( households) 0.0% 0.6% Other household types: All aged 65 and over (2011) 0.1% (9 households) 0.2% 0.3% Other household types: Other (2011) 2.1% (150 households) 2.6% 4.5% Source: 2011 Census, Office for National Statistics Levels of Deprivation As is the case across the country, there are parts of the Wakefield district where more people tend to be poorer, or less healthy, or more likely to be out of work.