THE inequalities in York that are disproportionately affecting people from ethnic minorities have been laid bare in a new report.

Data collected from York organisations by Inclusive Equal Rights 3.0 (IERUK), a council-funded body that aims to make York the North's first 'anti-racism city' shows the city has work to do before achieving that ambition.

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The report 'A Snapshot View of Racial Disparity in the City of York' combines census data with figures collected from key services such as health, education, housing and policing.

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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.”

Key report findings include:

•     Census data shows approximately 14 per cent of York’s population, that is, one in seven people, are from ethnic minorities. This is an increase from 12 per cent in 2011 •     6.3 per cent of City of York Council staff are from ethnic minorities, less than half the per centage of ethnic minorities in York’s population.

•     Of the 400 managers in adult social care in York, only 1.5 per cent are from ethnic minorities compared to the national figure of 15.7 per cent.

•     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.

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.

“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.”

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.

They said that 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.”

To read the full report, click here.