2024 has been another difficult year for many individuals and families in York. Whilst recent inflationary pressures may have eased, the impact of years of austerity continues to be felt across the city.
This impact is reflected in our human rights indicators. For example, the city continues to see high levels of foodbank use, and declining healthy life expectancy. The indicators highlight other areas of inequality that exist within York, including a large gender pay gap, which has been an issue for a number of years, and a worrying number of reported hate crimes.
The impact of austerity is being felt not just by individuals but by many organisations that are central to ensuring the rights of York’s residents are protected. York’s voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector provides various supports and services to the city’s most vulnerable residents. It is concerning therefore, to hear the results of a survey of these organisations, carried out by the York Centre for Voluntary Services (CVS). According to York CVS, one third of the organisations surveyed stated that they would be in budget deficit in the 2024/25 financial year. Almost one in five stated that they envisaged having to cut services in the next year, whilst over half would have to dip into their financial reserves in order to maintain current services. Organisations reported increased demand for their services at a time when government funding was drying up or failing to keep pace with inflation.
While the city faces many challenges, significant efforts continue to be made to protect the human rights of York’s residents, some of which we highlight in our report. For example, we discuss the various projects that have been taking place around the city designed to reduce loneliness and social isolation. Further, we consider the Council’s new homelessness and rough sleeping strategy. The strategy will utilise a Housing First approach, something that we advocated for in our 2018 Indicator Report.
We, at the York Human Rights City Network (YHRCN), have continued our efforts to ensure that human rights are a central point of focus in the city, including through our bi- monthly steering group meetings.
Our volunteers supported York Disability Week, York International Women’s Week, and York Disability Rights Forum, and we continued to keep our mailing list updated with information about events of interest through our weekly emails. YHRCN is represented on the Inclusive Equal Rights’ York Anti-Racism Strategic Taskforce, launched in January 2024 by the Archbishop of York at Bishopthorpe Palace. We also play an active role in the York Hate Crime Partnership.
During the year, we received presentations from University of York MA students on Disability Hate Crime in York, and on Children’s Rights in York – both informative reports which influenced our advocacy work.
We were pleased to take part in the event, organised by York CVS in April 2024, to mark the achievements of the York Poverty Truth Commission, which completed its work earlier in the year.
We also continued to work with the City Council, and other organisations, through the Human Rights and Equalities Board (HREB). HREB was re-launched in April 2024, with the YHRCN nominating Paul Gready to act as Co-Chair. The Board met regularly in 2024. Its activities included discussing and seeking feedback on Indicator Report recommendations; reviewing work being carried out on a new Human Rights and Equalities Impact Analysis tool; and assessing progress on issues relating to particular groups in the city (Gypsy and Traveller, Anti-Racism, Social Model of Disability, Equalities Strategy). In 2025, HREB aims to address one substantive human rights issue in the city, such as child rights and poverty, at each of its meetings.
In our 2024 Human Rights Indicator Report, our ninth annual report, we aim to shed light on the extent to which the city is protecting human rights in York. As always there are positive trends and areas of concern.
Watch the British Sign Language video for the Indicator Report 2024
