In this year’s report, we have tried to capture these different issues. As with previous years, we have referred to a set of social and economic indicators, which provide a sense of how the city is performing in terms of the protection of five human rights: the right to equality and non-discrimination, the right to education, the right to health and social care, the right to housing, and the right to a decent standard of living. We also provide comparative data so that we can get a sense of how York is performing compared to the rest of the UK.
Unfortunately, for some of our indicators, the latest available data are for the 2021/22 financial year or earlier. They therefore do not capture the full impact of the cost-of-living crisis. In order to address this issue, we have tried to supplement the information provided by the indicators with more recent data, in order to give a greater sense of how the dramatic rise in inflation has been impacting York’s residents.
We know that York is an unequal city, with some residents struggling to meet their needs. The cost-of-living crisis has pushed many further towards poverty. This is most starkly captured in our indicator which measures foodbank use. In the first ten months of 2022, an estimated 6,672 people had been provided food through the Trussell Trust foodbank in York. This was an 82% increase on the same period in 2021. This statistic of course fails to capture the number of people who are being fed through informal food networks, which have proliferated in the city in recent years.
Other indicators also highlight the issues of poverty and inequality in York. 2022 saw a significant rise in the number of children living in temporary accommodation. The statistics regarding the private rental sector show the ongoing problems regarding housing affordability in the city, with rental prices in York above regional and national averages. The gender pay gap has continued to grow and is now more than double the national average.
Despite these grim statistics, there has been progress in other areas. There was an improvement in the number of service users stating that they had sufficient social contact, and the number of 16–17-year-olds who were not in education, employment or training continued to fall in 2022. Despite the city’s housing issues, the number of people sleeping rough remains relatively low. There was also good news in relation to the earnings gap, with evidence that the disparity between low and median wages in the city is narrowing.
As with previous years, our report also focuses on other areas in which work is being carried out to protect human rights in York. We highlight the efforts made to widen access to digital information in the city, and discuss the impressive efforts made by the Council, civil society organisations, and York residents, to welcome refugees into York. We also note the important work of the city’s Poverty Truth Commission and look forward to hearing more from the group in 2023.
Finally, we would like to highlight the ongoing efforts to rebuild the Network’s relationship with the City Council, after the decision to prevent Blue Badge holders from using their badges to enter central areas of the city. The Network is fully supportive of those individuals and organisations who have worked tirelessly to ensure that the issue maintains a high profile, and to raise awareness about the human rights issues involved. We hope that the ban will be reversed in 2023. Despite our frustration with the Council’s position regarding the Blue Badge ban, we have sought to reset our relationship with the authority in recent months. After a number of meetings, the Council has agreed an action plan which was presented to a meeting of the Council Executive in January 2023. In the plan, the Council recommits to its 2017 declaration that it will work towards becoming a Human Rights City. Further, it has committed to work with the Network to create a new structure to replace the Human Rights and Equalities Board, and to review the ‘Community Voices’ project, to ensure that it is meeting its objective of working with the marginalised residents of York. We hope that the plan provides a path forward for the Council and the Network to work together to protect human rights in York.
