DIVERSITY
SDG REDUCED INEQUALITIES
Theme definition
The goal of diversity is integral to the vision of MK when it was founded.
Among the aspirations for Milton Keynes was that all should have freedom of choice, everyone should be welcomed and there should be jobs for all.
Overview
MK population is 287,060 (ONS, 2021 Census), an 11.9% growth from 2013, and by 2050 the population is estimated to be at least 400,000. (MK City Council)
The city still has a young age profile compared with the average in England, but the proportion in older age groups is growing more rapidly than younger.
As the city has grown, the make-up of the population has changed. In 2013 26% of the population were from Ethnically Diverse backgrounds and in 2021 it was 34%.
The diverse nature of the Milton Keynes’ population is also being reflected in its schools, where in 2021 52% of children are from Ethnically Diverse backgrounds, up from 42% in 2015/16.
Their families have links to an increasing number of cultural, linguistic, and national heritages and 160 different languages are spoken in schools. (MK City Council, 2019).
A 2017 survey of those who identify as LGBTQ+, found that younger people and those living in London and the Southeast (which includes Milton Keynes) are more likely to identify as LGBTQ+. [1]
National data shows that people with disabilities are over a third less likely to be employed than people without disabilities (aged 16 to 64 years).
Nationally, worklessness due to long-term ill-health is at its highest since records were first collated in 1992. It had started growing pre-pandemic. (IES/ONS Sept 2022).
Vital Thinking
As a Foundation how do we prioritise our grant funding to ensure that we reach those groups who are rarely heard?
Vital Voices
"We have got all the pieces of a jigsaw to make MK the most inclusive city in the UK. But we haven’t yet put all the pieces together so that all communities, services, agencies etc are sufficiently working together to make this a reality.”
GAMIEL YAFAI - FOUNDER AND CEO OF CONSULTANCY DIVERSITY MARKETPLACE, TRUSTEE OF MK PARKS TRUST
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