CITY of York Council will be urged at a meeting next week to become more 'transgender inclusive.'

York LGBT Forum, Yorkshire MESMAC, YUSU LGBTQ officers and the Portal Bookshop, along with some local councillors, are all behind the call.

A spokesperson said a motion being put to the council on Monday highlighted data which showed the ways in which transgender people were marginalised and proposed ways to improve access to council services.

An York LGBT Forum spokesperson said its survey of 2018, funded by Comic Relief, found that a higher proportion (12%) of trans people were unemployed.

"As a council which wants to become a zero suicide city (under the mental health strategy), is a Human Rights City and a city of sanctuary, by adopting this policy it will show support for a group who is highly marginalised in society and proactively help to reduce some of the statistics that have been laid out.”

The sexual health charity Yorkshire MESMAC said it believed more initiatives and support across the city would enable trans people to 'live their lives as their authentic selves.'

Labour councillor Rachel Melly, who is proposing the motion, said the past year had been a particularly rough time for transgender rights and freedoms.

"As a city we need to do our bit to show support for the transgender community," she said.

"This motion commits the council to make changes to improve inclusivity for transgender and other LGBTQ+ people across a range of services, including education, sexual health, and older people’s accommodation. Trans men are men, trans women are women, and non-binary genders are just as valid.