ONE in seven people in Bromsgrove are living with a disability, census data shows.

The Equality Act defines disability as a physical or mental impairment that has a "substantial and long-term adverse effect" on the ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Figures from the latest census of England and Wales show 16,437 people in Bromsgrove said they had such an impairment as of March 2021 – 15.6 per cent of the area's population.

Of these people, 9,850 (9.5 per cent) said their disability stopped them from carrying out regular activities 'a little', while 6,587 (6.1 per cent) said it did so 'a lot'.

The overall proportion of disabled people is down from 2011, when 16.7 per cent said they had a disability.

Across England and Wales, the proportion of people with a disability has fallen from 19.5 per cent in 2011 to 17.8 per cent at the last census – despite the number of disabled people increasing from 10 to 10.4 million.

But the ONS warned that the wording of the question was different in each census, with 2021 being the first to use the 2010 Equality Act definition of disability and to explicitly mention mental impairments.

The latest census data also shows a quarter of households in England and Wales have at least one disabled member.

In Bromsgrove, there were 9,808 such households – including 2,486 with two or more disabled people.

Commenting on the figures, disability equality charity Scope said it was "high time" that society was more inclusive of those with disabilities.

Craig Moss, research manager at the charity, said: “Disabled people are repeatedly forgotten by government, business and society. Workplaces, pubs and public transport aren’t accessible.”

“Life costs a lot more, and disabled people have to fight to get the support they need,” he added.