Child Health Profile
March 2023
Bedford
This profile provides a snapshot of child health in this area. It is designed to help local government and health services improve the health and wellbeing of children and tackle health inequalities.
2021 mid-year population estimates
In December 2022, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released mid-year estimates (MYE) of the population for 2021. These were based on the 2021 census and do not align with older MYE for earlier years, which were based on the 2011 census. This means that it is not possible to compare metrics produced using the 2021 MYE with earlier versions of the same metric. For this reason, analysis of some trends has been removed from the 2023 version of Child Health Profiles. It has also not been possible to calculate any metrics which use pooled years of data that would include 2021 MYE in the process; for example, hospital admissions of children and young people for conditions wholly related to alcohol. Within the report, these indicators have been updated to cover three years ending financial year 2021 which is an update on the 2021 version of this report. However, this data has been available in the Fingertips tool for some time. Currently ONS plan to release updated mid year estimates for years 2012 to 2020, which will align with the 2021 census and 2021 MYE, in November 2023. It will then be possible for us to re-calculate metrics for years prior to 2021 and re-instate the analysis of trends. We will also be able to calculate metrics for pooled years using aligned population estimates.
The child population in this area
| Local | Region | England | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live births (2021) | 2,223 | 67,054 | 595,948 | |
| Children aged 0 to 4 years (2021) |
11,100 6.0% |
347,500 5.5% |
3,058,200 5.4% |
|
| Children aged 0 to 19 years (2021) |
45,300 24.4% |
1,461,000 23.0% |
13,040,500 23.1% |
|
| Children aged 0 to 19 years in 2031 (projected from 2018) |
46,800 25.0% |
1,484,600 22.6% |
13,357,000 22.5% |
|
| School children from minority ethnic groups (2022) |
14,111 47.4% |
267,764 29.3% |
2,835,124 35.0% |
|
| School pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs (2022) |
733 2.4% |
28,959 3.1% |
250,272 3.0% |
|
| Children living in poverty (financial year ending 2021) | 14.9% | 13.8% | 18.5% | |
| Life expectancy at birth (2018 to 2020) | Boys | 79.2 | 80.2 | 79.4 |
| Life expectancy at birth (2018 to 2020) F | Girls | 83.2 | 83.8 | 83.1 |
| Local | Region | England | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live births (2021) | 2,223 | 67,054 | 595,948 | |
| Children aged 0 to 4 years (2021) |
11,100 6.0% |
347,500 5.5% |
3,058,200 5.4% |
|
| Children aged 0 to 19 years (2021) |
45,300 24.4% |
1,461,000 23.0% |
13,040,500 23.1% |
|
| Children aged 0 to 19 years in 2031 (projected from 2018) |
46,800 25.0% |
1,484,600 22.6% |
13,357,000 22.5% |
|
| School children from minority ethnic groups (2022) |
14,111 47.4% |
267,764 29.3% |
2,835,124 35.0% |
|
| School pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs (academic year ending 2022) |
733 2.4% |
28,959 3.1% |
250,272 3.0% |
|
| Children living in poverty (financial year ending 2021) | 14.9% | 13.8% | 18.5% | |
| Life expectancy at birth (2018 to 2020) | Boys | 79.2 | 80.2 | 79.4 |
| Life expectancy at birth (2018 to 2020) F | Girls | 83.2 | 83.8 | 83.1 |
Children aged under 16 years living in poverty
Map of the East of England region with Bedford outlined, showing the relative levels of children living in poverty in the financial year ending 2021, divided into national quartiles.