Knowing our community

01 Sep 2010

HORSHAM District Council is keen to know who lives in the Horsham District so that it can offer services that meet the needs of an ever changing population.

The Council is currently working on a new business plan, its corporate plan, and it is keen to make sure that the most vulnerable members of the community or those with very specific needs are receiving the appropriate access and support.

There are around 130,000 people who live in the 205 square miles of the Horsham District.

The Council also has an action plan called the ‘Single Equality Scheme’, which looks specifically at equality and diversity within the Horsham District.

There is already a well established Horsham and District Access Forum which meets up to five times a year to look at disability related issues.

There is also a newly formed Horsham District Equalities Forum, which looks at wider equality issues across all the equality strands (age, disability, gender/gender identity, race, religion and belief and sexual orientation).

Issues around poverty are often interlinked with these equality strands.

This Forum works with other strategic partners to ensure that all minority voices are heard.

The Horsham District – did you know?

Age

  • Horsham has been referred to as the ‘Japan of West Sussex’, with a significantly increasing ageing population.
  • The Council is looking closely at the impact of the District’s ageing population on our services and the future of the District.

Disability

  • There are around 18,700 people in the Horsham District with hearing loss
  • One in four people are likely to have a mental health issue sometime during the course of a year
  • Approximately 2% of the local population have a learning disability
  • One in 20 disabled people are wheelchair users

Gender/gender identity

There are slightly more women than men living in the Horsham District. As with sexual orientation, there seems to be little visibility of transgender people in the Horsham District.

Race

Recent research has shown that one in twenty people in the Horsham District come from a non-white British background. The Council has been reaching out to different Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) individuals and groups. The Council has also been working alongside the Horsham Filipino Society, local Gypsies and Travellers and other minority groups.

Religion and belief

Horsham District Council is working with different groups like Horsham Churches Together, Horsham Interfaith Forum, Horsham Mosque and West Sussex Humanists.

Sexual orientation

Using Government statistics, up to six per cent of the Horsham District population could be lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB). This could mean there are up to 8,000 people who are LGB living in the District. Where are they and where is their visibility?

Horsham District Council and other statutory partners would be interested to seek views of the local LGB population.

For more information on the Single Equality Scheme, please email equalities@horsham.gov.uk, look at the equalities pages, or contact the Equalities Officer at Horsham District Council on 01403 215574.

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CONTACT: Richard Morris, Communications Manager
Email: richard.morris@horsham.gov.uk