LATEST NEWS
Our latest news and statements
Unanimous approval of the anti-racism and inclusion strategy on 20 July 2023
On 13th July 2023, the city of York council’s executive approved IERUK’s developed anti-racism and inclusion strategy. In addition, the executive adopted IERUK’s anti-racist pledge. On 20th July, the 47 city of York councillors unanimously passed the action-plan, making it a city-wide strategy.
IERUK will continue to work with its stakeholders and partners for the next stage of the journey which is the full implementation of the action-plan. If you would like to work with us, please write to hello@ieruk.org.uk
STATEMENT: 10 July 2023
IERUK anti-racism strategy launch
Response to inaccurate reports in the press
The five-year anti-racist strategy for the city of York aims to promote understanding and actions that foster equality and respect for all individuals.
On launching it on 6th July 2023, we had a wave of support.
But distressingly, there has been disturbing, threatening, and racist responses on social media, and in the comment threads of news articles.
This should not be tolerated. These racist and hateful comments directed at our team demonstrates why an anti-racism strategy is needed.
We understand that there may be differing opinions and concerns.
Constructive dialogue and engagement can help address concerns and ensure a more inclusive future for everyone in York.
We would like to address inaccuracies reported in the tabloid press.
We are not stating that all of the people of York are racist or that York is a racist city but our evidence-based research has demonstrated that York has some serious issues of casual and systemic racism.
One tabloid has politicised the strategy as a ‘Labour council funded’ one, yet the original motion was agreed unanimously by all political parties represented on the council in 2021.
We are writing to the Editor of the tabloids to encourage them to fact check their articles.
Key factual corrections include:
1. An all-party York Council coalition approved the motion for York to become an anti-racist city.
2. The police provided the hate crime data, which showed an increase of 239% from 2010-2021. This data contributed to the motion being put to the council in October 2021.
We had a total of three Freedom of Information requests with the police up to February 2023, a meeting with their Positive Action Team provided the team with further useful data, and a discussion with the Commissioner of Fire and Police, where she assured us of her support.
3. All the data in the final report was drawn from a combination of sources including: the council, Ward data, the 2021 census and Freedom of Information requests from organisations. Reference data can be found in the report.
Our statistics have been divided into White British and White people.
White people are defined as people who are for example, Eastern European, Irish, Gypsy,Roma and Traveller and individuals who may have one White British parent. This category falls within the definition of a minority ethnic group and as part of the Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnicity (BAME). According to the 2021 census, there is a population of White Irish of 0.6%, White Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (and other Travellers) (0.5%) and White other at 4.3% and other ethnic groups (1.0%). These added with 7.2% agrees with IERUK’s approximation of 14% of BAME population (non-white British).
We made this definition of White British and White minority clear and not just referring to skin colour, both in our preliminary report in February 2023, and in the strategy published last week.
We believe that everyone deserves respect and dignity, regardless of their race or ethnicity. We encourage individuals to stand against racism, promote inclusivity, and engage in constructive dialogue to foster understanding and unity.
06 July 2023
Anti-Racism and Inclusion Strategy for York
A five-year anti-racism and inclusion strategy has been developed to help York achieve the status of the first city in the North of England to be anti-racist and inclusive.
The campaign group Inclusive Equal Rights UK (IERUK) has developed the five-year strategy in partnership with academics from the Institute for Social Justice at York St John University.
IERUK works to create and maintain safe and inclusive spaces for all members of the community, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or ability.
The five-year strategy is a response to quantitative data collected by IERUK from council, schools, higher education, policing, healthcare, social care, housing, government agencies and the private sector.
Dr Steven Hirschler and Dr Cíntia Silva Huxter from York St John University then conducted a qualitative study of people’s interactions with health, education, and policing services. These preliminary findings shared with IERUK have been incorporated into the strategy.
Haddy Nije, Chair of IERUK, said: “This work matters because the data widely documents that racism in York is casual, systemic, and structural. It is manifested in many forms that disproportionately and negatively impacts the lives and livelihood of people of colour.”
IERUK’s initial data research show that elected York City Councillors are entirely white and the York contingent of North Yorkshire Police has less than 10 minority ethnic police officers.
Police stop and search data shows that black residents have approximately 90 times more stop and search rates as white residents. Those of Asian or Asian British background are 18 times more likely to be stopped than white people.
In the health sector, just 5% of the 734 staff at the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys Mental Health Trust, the second largest health organisation serving York, are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities. None of its senior managers in the York area are BAME, even though evidence shows that people of colour overwhelmingly use the mental health services more than any other racial groups.
In 2022, hate crime incidents in the North Yorkshire Police force area exceeded 1000 for the first time. Approximately, two-thirds were race-related hate crimes.
Matthew Reason, Director of the Institute for Social Justice at York St John University, said: "York St John University is committed to addressing inequalities, injustices and challenges facing society today and we are proud to have provided research that has helped IERUK to develop this important strategy. Tackling systemic racism requires a sustained, collaborative approach. We hope this five-year plan provides a solid foundation for our city to become more inclusive and equitable for everyone.”
The working group of IERUK, made up of members of York’s different communities, identified key areas of concern to develop a plan of action to address institutional racism and unconscious bias, promote cultural diversity and inclusion, and improve access to education and employment opportunities for marginalized groups.
Key initiatives of the strategy include asking public and private sector employers to sign an Anti-Racist Pledge, targeted outreach programs for underrepresented communities, the establishment of a racial equity commission to review city policies, and the implementation of unconscious bias training for all city employees.
The City of York Council who funded the work has welcomed the strategy and pledged to work closely with YSJU and IERUK to implement its recommendations.
Councillor Katie Lomas, City of York Council's Executive Member for Finance, Performance, Major Projects and Equalities, said: "We very much value the work done by IERUK, and the independence that they bring to this work. We recognise the challenges for organisations across the city of ensuring a genuinely anti-racist environment, and we are happy to restate our commitment to becoming the North's first Anti-Racist city.
"We would encourage people and businesses across the city to consider how they can support that ambition."
The motion to be the North’s first anti-racist city, emulating Brighton, and Oxford, was approved by all City of York councillors in October 2021; it was put forward by the chair of IERUK, Haddy Nije.
New report highlights the structural inequalities and disparities facing ethnic minorities in York
Data collected from York organisations shows the challenges facing York in its ambition to become the north’s first Anti-Racist and Inclusive City
FEB 27 2023
A new report which brings together data from a wide range of York organisations has been produced to highlight the structural inequalities and disparities faced by ethnic minorities in the city.
The report “A Snapshot View of Racial Disparity in the City of York” combines census data with data collected from key services such as health, education, housing and policing.
It has been compiled by Inclusive Equal Rights 3.0 (IERUK), the working group tasked to develop a long-term anti-racist and inclusive strategy for the city.
Key findings include:
· Census data shows approximately 14% of York’s population, that is, one in seven people, are from ethnic minorities. This is an increase from 12% in 2011
· 6.3% of City of York Council staff are from ethnic minorities, less than half the % of ethnic minorities in York’s population.
· Of the 400 managers in adult social care in York, only 1.5% are from ethnic minorities compared to the national figure of 15.7%.
· In 2022, hate crime incidents in the North Yorkshire Police area exceeded 1,000 for the first time, of which around two thirds were race related hate crimes.
· From 2018-2020, individuals of the Black and Black British population were 18 times more likely to be stopped and searched by North Yorkshire Police than White British individuals.
To read the full report, click here.
Haddy Njie, chair of IERUK, said: “The findings documented in this report give a clear indication of the structural inequalities in York that are disproportionately affecting people from ethnic minorities. The most disturbing evidence is that relating to stop and search data but the overall picture shows the urgency and seriousness we must take in tackling the issues of racism. It is extremely upsetting that ethnic minorities are not treated and valued as equal in so many aspects of their lives.”
She added: “We hope the report will help create a widespread acceptance of the need for us to work together to address these issues to make York truly inclusive anti-racist. We encourage everyone to read the report and engage with us in constructive and transparent discussions to move forward and begin to address these problems head on.”
The data was collected and analysed by an experienced social researcher and member of IERUK during the calendar year of 2022. Some of the information was already in the public domain, while other data was collected through Freedom of Information Requests.
Because of time and resources, ten key sectors were targeted including data from some of the city’s schools and further education establishments, health organisations, housing, social care and policing. The report also includes a summary of the data gathered so far through a public survey.
Jake Furby, co-chair of IERUK, said: “Overall, the picture is bleak in terms of the position of BAME people within the workforce. Some sectors do better (or appear to do better) but no one sector can claim to have addressed key issues around race equality.
“There now must be widespread acceptance of the need for a truly inclusive anti-racist strategy covering the whole of the city.”
More than 100 of the city’s largest private sector employers were also contacted as part of the date gathering process, but none replied.
Haddy said: “It is very disappointing that some of the city’s biggest employers did not have the opportunity to respond to our data collection requests. Their responses would have given us the chance to fairly assess their race relations initiatives.
“The reasons for the lack of responses could be as a result of internal challenges such as capacity, however, we urge organisations to work with us in a collaborative and transparent manner.”
Organisations who would like to get in touch about working with IER can contact us here.
Inclusive Equal Rights 3.0 - the launch
IERUK 3.0 officially launched on October 27 2022!
It was great to speak to such a diverse and passionate audience about our ambitions to make York the north’s first anti-racist city at our event at York St John University.
Here’s a few pictures from the event, taken by Frank Dwyer.
27/10/2022
IERUK LAUNCH
Launch of IERUK on 27th October 2022
10/08/2022
Our response to a racist banner being displayed in York
Press Release: March 22nd 2022
Funding pledge approved to help establish York as the north’s first anti-racist city
City of York Council has pledged £25k as the first independent Working Group meeting is held
York’s ambition to become the north’s first anti-racist city has taken further steps forward after the City of York Council (CYC) pledged £25k towards the project.
Councillors unanimously agreed in October last year to support the motion to become an anti-racist city after it was put forward by Haddy Njie and her organisation Speak Up Diversity.
CYC have now released an initial £5K for this financial year to help the recently established independent Working Group to begin to develop a long-term anti-racism and inclusion strategy for the city. A further £20K will be made available in the next financial year.
The Working Group, made up of members from York’s many different communities, held their first meeting on 9th February 2022.
Haddy said: "We are delighted that the City of York Council has made this financial commitment of £25k to enable us to continue with this very important work. The Working Group has already been established and met for the first time last month, with members from many different communities in the city coming together to discuss our priorities.
"We know that to be truly representative we first need to listen to the thoughts and opinions of as many communities and individuals in York as possible. Our next steps will be to gather these shared experiences to help us create a long-term inclusion strategy which will guide us as we head towards York becoming a truly anti racist city."
Councillor Darryl Smalley, Executive Member for Culture, Leisure and Communities at City of York Council said: "The Council's deep-seated commitment to anti-racism work in York is reflected in our funding of the independent working group which supports the ‘Making York an Anti-Racist and Inclusive City’ motion approved by Full Council in October 2021.
"In addition to making York the north’s first anti-racist city, it is also seen in our commitment to York as the UK's first Human Rights City, as a City of Sanctuary, and in our support for refugees, especially at this acutely difficult time in Ukraine. York is proud to be an inclusive, anti-racist city in which we all work hard to ensure everyone in enabled to play a full role."
More details about will be released soon about how to share your thoughts with the group.
As well as facilitating public consultations, the initial funding will also be used to create a website which will act as a hub of information about the ambitions, latest news and updates from the Working Group as well as opportunities to get involved.
The website will be launched shortly.
ENDS