This report is for everybody in York. We want to inspire debate, action and advocacy for human rights in York. Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to everyone, based on the shared values of dignity, fairness, justice and equality. They are defined and protected by law.
We focus on five human rights that have been selected as local priorities by the people of York. These are: the right to equality and non-discrimination, education, a decent standard of living, housing, and health and social care.
Changes this year
Both education indicators have changed because of changes in national reporting policy. This means we cannot compare to previous years, but we compare York to national averages where possible.
Due to changes in measurement, the child poverty indicator from the Child Poverty Action Group cannot be compared to previous years.
We have added a new gender pay gap indicator to measure equality and non-discrimination, after receiving feedback that this was a pressing local issue.
We have created a new rating system to help judge how well York is doing using thumb signals.
Key findings from this report
Change takes time. We would not expect to see a lot of difference in the course of one year, when comparing last year’s report with this report.
We have made clear positive progress from last year under these indicators:
The proportion of adult care service users who have as much social contact as they would like
The number of homeless acceptances per 1000 households
When compared to the national picture:
- York pupils show impressive progress in GCSE attainment
- The number of homeless households per 1000 is low
For other indicators, progress has not been achieved:
- The gender pay gap has grown over the past three years
- The number of children using the Foodbank has increased
- The earnings gap between the bottom quarter of earnings and average earnings has increased
Looking at the national picture:
- The attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and the average pupil is larger in York than it is for the UK
- More young people aged 16 and 17 were Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) in York than the national average
Lastly, we see major inequalities across York:
- There are very large differences in child poverty rates and life expectancy between wards
A major challenge going forward is to prevent York’s human rights story becoming ‘a tale of two cities’. Many of these issues are shaped by a mix of local and national factors. For example, minimum wage rates are set by the UK government. York’s local government, the Council, is setting a plan for how the city grows and develops in the future, which includes housing and economic plans.
We all need to work together as a city to address the challenges in realising human rights for everyone.
