This audit, only addresses ‘Black’ people of Caribbean origin and not ‘Black’ people of African or other origin.

The series of stark figures, with no explanation of what accounts for them, is also noted.

The Audit only covers England and Wales, so therefore does not include Black people resident in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

It is notable that we are referred in the Audit as Black Caribbean rather than British people of Caribbean origin, further ‘othering’ us and reinforcing the message that we are outsiders.

HEADLINE POINTS:

Black CARIBBEAN people:

Make up 1.1% of the population of ENGLAND & WALES (and not the UK)

Have a younger age profile than white people in England and Wales (E&W)

Are 9.6 times as likely to stopped and searched as white people in E&W

A higher percentage of stop and search incidents among the Black Caribbean group resulted in an arrest (22.8%), compared with all other ethnic groups except the Mixed White/Black Caribbean group (22.9%)

Black Caribbean people had the highest rate of detention under the Mental Health Act out of all ethnic groups, at 254 detentions per 100,000 people. This was 3.7 times as high as the rate for White British people (69 per 100,000 people)

1. Population

In 2011, there were 594,825 Black Caribbean people in England and Wales, making up 1.1% of the total population.

2.1 Where Black Caribbean people live

There were 348 local authorities in England and Wales at the time of the 2011 Census. Half of the Black Caribbean population (49.5%) lived in 13 of them.

Birmingham was home to the largest Black Caribbean population, with 8% of all Black Caribbean people living there, followed by Croydon (5.3%) and Lewisham (5.2%), both in London.

Map: Percentage of the Black Caribbean population of England and Wales living in each local authority area (top 13 areas labelled)

Source: Census of England and Wales, 2011

Table: Percentage of the Black Caribbean population of England and Wales living in each local authority area (top 13)

Local authority	Number of Black Caribbean residents	Percentage of Black Caribbean people living there
Birmingham	47,641	8.0%
Croydon	31,320	5.3%
Lewisham	30,854	5.2%
Lambeth	28,886	4.9%
Brent	23,723	4.0%
Hackney	19,168	3.2%
Waltham Forest	18,841	3.2%
Haringey	18,087	3.0%
Southwark	17,974	3.0%
Enfield	17,334	2.9%
Newham	15,050	2.5%
Ealing	13,192	2.2%
Wandsworth	12,297	2.1%

In 2011, 164 local authorities had fewer than 200 Black Caribbean residents. This is almost half (47%) of all local authorities in England and Wales.

18.1% of Black Caribbean people lived in the most deprived 10% of neighbourhoods in England compared with 8.6% of White British people. (England, 2012/13)

2.2 Age profile

The Black Caribbean ethnic group had a younger age profile than the White British group at the time of the 2011 Census of England and Wales.

The age profile of the Black Caribbean group partly reflects the first large wave of immigrants from the Caribbean in the 1950s and 1960s, and their children. The population who were aged 40 to 55 years at the 2011 Census made up nearly 30% of people in this ethnic group.

In 2011, 26% of White British people were aged 60 and above, compared with 17% of Black Caribbean people.

Chart: Age profile of Black Caribbean and White British people

Source: Census of England and Wales, 2011

2.3 Families and households

16.6% of Black Caribbean households in England and Wales were made up of lone parents with dependent children, compared with 6.7% of White British households.

13.6% of Black Caribbean households were made up of married or cohabiting couples with dependent children, compared with 18.4% of White British households.

13.5% of Black Caribbean households were made up of pensioners (either couples or single pensioners), compared with 23% of White British households.

3. Education

In all subjects and at all key stages, Black Caribbean pupils’ attainment was below the average for England. (2017/18)

Chart: Educational attainment among Black Caribbean and White British pupils

Source: England, Key Stage 1 Statistics, 2017/18; Key Stage 4 Statistics, 2016/17; and A Level and other 16 to 18 results, 2016/17. Ethnicity facts and figures and Department for Education (DfE). Figures for Key Stage 2 are rounded to whole numbers by DfE.

3.1 Primary education

In year 6, 55% of Black Caribbean pupils met the expected standard in key stage 2 reading, writing and maths, compared with 65% of White British pupils. This was the lowest percentage out of all ethnic groups after White Irish Traveller and Gypsy Roma pupils. (England, 2017/18)

3.2 Secondary education

26.9% of Black Caribbean pupils achieved Grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSE, 15.8 percentage points less than White British pupils at 42.7%. (England, 2017/18)

3.5% of Black Caribbean pupils achieved at least 3 A grades at A level, compared with 10.9% of White British pupils. This was the lowest percentage of all ethnic groups. (England, 2017/18)

3.3 School exclusions

Black Caribbean pupils were twice as likely to be temporarily excluded from school as White British pupils. 10.2% were temporarily excluded, compared with 5.2% of White British pupils. (England, 2016/17)

Black Caribbean pupils are almost three times as likely to be permanently excluded as White British pupils. 0.28% were permanently excluded, compared with 0.10% of White British pupils. (England, 2016/17)

4. Stop and search

Black Caribbean people were 9.6 times as likely to stopped and searched as White British people. There were 26 stop and searches per 1,000 Black Caribbean people, compared with 3 stop and searches per 1,000 White British people. This was the highest rate out of all ethnic groups except those recorded as ‘Other Black’. (England and Wales, 2017/18)

Rates for stop and search decreased for all ethnic groups between 2009/10 and 2017/18. The rate fell from 153 to 26 per 1,000 Black Caribbean people during this period.

In recent years, stop and search rates have fallen faster for White British people than for Black Caribbean people. As a result, the disparity has widened since 2013/14 when Black Caribbean people were 4.7 times as likely to be stopped and searched as White British people.

Chart: Stop and Search rate (per 1,000 people) over time among Black Caribbean and White British people

Source: England and Wales, Police Powers and Procedures, 2017/18

A higher percentage of stop and search incidents among the Black Caribbean group resulted in an arrest (22.8%), compared with all other ethnic groups except the Mixed White/Black Caribbean group (22.9%). The percentage for the White British group was 15.7%. (England and Wales, 2017/18)

Between 2009/10 and 2017/18, the percentage of stop and searches leading to an arrest increased for all ethnic groups. For the Black Caribbean group it increased from 7.4% to 22.8% of all stop and search incidents. This increase was larger than among the White British group, which rose from 8.9% to 15.7%. (England and Wales, 2009/10 to 2017/18)

5. Arrests

Black Caribbean people were 3.8 times as likely to be arrested as White British people. There were 38 arrests for every 1,000 Black Caribbean people (the highest out of all ethnic groups), compared with 10 arrests for every 1,000 White British people. (England and Wales, 2017/18)

The arrest rate for Black Caribbean people decreased from 81 per 1,000 people in 2006/7 to 38 per 1,000 people in 2017/18. This is a larger decrease than that seen for White British people (from 24 per 1,000 people in 2006/7 to 10 in 2017/18). (England and Wales, 2017/18)

6. Fear of crime

28% of Black Caribbean people said they thought they were likely to be a victim of crime in the next year, compared with 18% of White British people. (England and Wales, 2015/16)

7. Home ownership and renting

Chart: Home ownership and renting among Black Caribbean and White British households

Source: England, English Housing Survey, 2015/16 and 2016/17 combined

37% of Black Caribbean people were homeowners, compared with 68% of people from both the White British and Indian ethnic groups. (England, 2015/16 and 2016/17 combined)

45% of Black Caribbean households rented social housing, compared with 16% of White British households. (England, 2015/16 and 2016/17 combined)

8. Mental health

Black Caribbean people had the highest rate of detention under the Mental Health Act out of all ethnic groups, at 254 detentions per 100,000 people. This was 3.7 times as high as the rate for White British people (69 per 100,000 people). (England, 2017/18)

Black Caribbean adults were the most likely to use mental health and learning disability services out of all ethnic groups where the data was reliable. Nearly 4,800 adults per 100,000 of the Black Caribbean population did so, compared with just over 3,600 per 100,000 White British people. (England, 2014/15)