Snapshot of progress on the Council Plan

Our Equalities and Human Rights 'snapshot of progress' will be updated every 6 months to provide details of our activity, as we work to deliver the Council Plan; One City, for all.

For our core commitment to Equalities and Human Rights we will create opportunities for all, providing equal opportunity and balancing the human rights of everyone to ensure residents and visitors alike can benefit from the city and its strengths. We will stand up to hate and work hard to champion our communities.

Priority actions

Find out more about progress on each priority action related to Equalities and Human Rights:

• Listen and learn from those who have direct experience of poverty and caring responsibilities
• Celebrate being a Human Rights City with an Anti-Racism Action Plan
• Promote the Good Business Charter and Living Wage Foundation for public good
• Review Blue Badge accessibility by rolling back restrictions to those in place before November 2021
• Introduce family friendly foot streets and place-making that give young people confidence in their future
• Describe how we will help people live in the right home for their circumstance
• Be recognised by Local Government Association (LGA) as 'excellent' in Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion, including implementing the Social Model of Disability across the Council
• Deliver good and outstanding children's services with the voice of the child heard throughout

Priority action: Listen and learn from those who have direct experience of poverty and caring responsibilities.

Progress from August 2025 to present:

• In November 2025, we approved a new 10-year Anti-Poverty Strategy. The strategy sets out a comprehensive action plan to reduce poverty using a three-horizons approach. This includes immediate actions to alleviate hardship, measures to reduce the risk of people falling into poverty, and long-term investment to create opportunities that improve life chances for everyone in the city. The aim is to put in place the foundations today that will enable the children of York to thrive in the future.
• We formally adopted the Poverty Truth Commission's Charter for Organisational Standards - Together promoting dignity and respect for those facing poverty on 11 March 2025 and approved a proposal to publish six-monthly monitoring reports at Decision Sessions of the Executive Member for Finance, Performance, Major Projects, Human Rights, Equality and Inclusion.
• A Poverty Proofing pilot is underway in seven York schools (All Saints School, Clifton with Rawcliffe Primary School, Fulford School, Joseph Rowntree School, Poppleton Road Primary School, Yearsley Grove Primary School and York High School) to identify and remove barriers faced by pupils from low-income families. Led by Huntington Research School with support from Children North East and funded through the York Schools and Academies Board, the pilot is testing practical changes to reduce hidden costs, improve access to resources and ensure all pupils can fully participate in school life. Findings will be independently evaluated by York St John University and used to inform approaches across the wider school system.
• We now have 13 primary schools taking part in the York Hungry Minds initiative, which provides free school meals in primary schools in York. Three schools joined in 2025 and, more recently, funding has been secured for 10 new schools, with work underway to onboard them into the programme. All participating schools were preparing to launch in April 2026.
• Our new Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy now includes 'care experienced' as a locally recognised protected characteristic. This ensures that our operational decision-making considers care-experienced individuals.
• This has been extended to include veterans and anyone with experience in the care system. As part of this commitment, we operate a guaranteed job interview scheme for care leavers who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised position.
• Our Adult Social Care training programme continues to place a strong emphasis on anti-racism, helping staff to understand the barriers faced by people with different protected characteristics, including those with caring responsibilities. This supports our commitment to improving the experiences of carers across all communities.
• We have also commissioned external training on the social model of disability and disability awareness, with a focus on disability, poverty and caring. This training has now been shared with more than 400 managers. The training offer has also been made available to all councillors and over half have already taken this up.
• The York Carers Strategy 2026-2032 sets out how we and our partners will improve the identification, support and involvement of unpaid carers across the city, following extensive engagement with carers and organisations. Developed in response to both the vital role carers play and the areas for improvement highlighted by the recent Care Quality Commission inspection, the strategy provides a coordinated framework for strengthening assessment processes, support pathways and oversight of carers' experiences. Carers, including young carers, were closely involved throughout its development through citywide consultation, the Carers Action Group, the Carers Strategy Group and partner organisations. Their feedback shaped the strategy's priorities, including the need for earlier identification, better access to support, reduced loneliness and isolation, and more joined-up services.

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Priority action: Celebrate being a Human Rights City with an Anti-Racism Action Plan.

Progress from August 2025 to present:

• The 2026 Holocaust Memorial Day events were well attended and provided powerful opportunities for reflection across the city. At York Minster, 600 candles were lit in the Chapter House to remember the millions of people murdered in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides. Following choral evensong, attendees gathered for music, readings, silence and candle-lighting, creating a moving space for collective remembrance.
• The programme also included Hiding the Holocaust: Examining the Architecture and Topography of Terror, a public lecture delivered at the University of York. The talk explored how the design and landscape of Nazi concentration camps contributed to the denial of their existence and examined how we memorialise the Holocaust in the 21st century. It concluded with reflections on how education and awareness can help challenge antisemitism, resist tyranny and empower future generations to speak out against inequality.
• We welcomed our new Head of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in 2025.
• We now have a cross-organisational network of 36 Human Rights and Equity Champions who help ensure that everyone in the organisation feels valued, supported and included. They have received training on the Human Rights and Equality Impact Assessment tool to strengthen our approach to embedding equity and human rights in everyday practice.
• We now have a group of 10 Easy Read translators who support the production of accessible information. Their work helps ensure that residents with learning disabilities or lower literacy can understand key policies, consultations and service updates, improving access to information for carers and communities across the city.
• We continue to actively support and promote key events and dates in the city, such as York Pride and Armed Forces Day. We have recently developed an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion calendar to help us mark these important annual recognition events.
• We are continuing to strengthen our organisational approach to anti-racism through staff training and development. This includes implementing the recommendations from the Inclusive Equal Rights UK anti-racism strategy.
• We have also undertaken hate crime awareness training delivered by North Yorkshire Police. Those who completed the training now act as our Hate Crime Champions, helping to signpost colleagues and residents to appropriate support and raising awareness of how to report incidents. This work supports our wider commitment to creating a safer, more inclusive city for all communities.
• We have convened a network of people from York who raise funds for and deliver humanitarian aid to Ukraine, called the 'York Ukraine Bridge'. The network meets three times a year to share learning, useful contacts and priorities.

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Priority action: Promote the Good Business Charter and Living Wage Foundation for public good.

Progress from August 2025 to present:

• We gained re-accreditation of the Good Business Charter earlier this year. The Good Business Charter recognises organisations that share values around things like paying the real living wage, fairer hours and contracts, environmental responsibility and paying fair tax. The York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority have funded us to promote the charter.

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Priority action: Review Blue Badge accessibility by rolling back restrictions to those in place before November 2021.

Progress from August 2025 to present:

• Work to improve Blue Badge accessibility in the city centre continues as part of the wider Castle Gateway project. Following the Executive's decision to close Castle Car Park to non-Blue Badge parking from 2026, the scheme has now moved into the technical design stage. This work is being shaped by extensive engagement with residents and stakeholders. The plans include new dedicated Blue Badge parking within the redeveloped Castle Car Park and Eye of York area, alongside high-quality public spaces and a new family-friendly play area.
• In 2025, we completed improvements to Acomb Front Street, including new benches designed with local artists, a community mural, new planters, improved Blue Badge parking, wide and level pedestrian crossings, wayfinding signs and upgraded public toilets.
• We continue to trial wheelchair-friendly paving in the area to ensure it meets accessibility needs before wider rollout. Replacement cycle racks have also been installed. These include a new style of rack suitable for inclusive cycles and cargo bikes, with features such as contrasting markings, tapping rails to support cane users, clear signage and dropped kerbs to improve accessibility for all.
• We have set up a Learning Disabilities Partnership Board, which will meet three to four times a year and has recently held its third meeting. The Board will inform our service and development planning, providing valuable insights and expertise.
• We continue to work closely with the York Access Forum to identify and address barriers to bus travel for disabled residents. A tracker of reported issues has been developed, and officers are working with local bus operators to resolve as many of these as possible. One of the key challenges raised has been the limited availability of wheelchair space on some services. In response, we are currently exploring an arrangement with a local taxi company to provide a wheelchair-accessible taxi for any wheelchair user who is unable to board a bus due to a lack of space. This work is ongoing, and further details will be shared once the scheme is finalised.
• Following the resurfacing of Blake Street, new cycle racks, including adapted and accessible cycle parking spaces, have been installed. The new dedicated parking bays have been designed specifically to accommodate inclusive cycles and cargo bikes.
• A programme of 'barrier removal' has been taking place across the city. The first phase of improvements took place in spring 2025, with barriers adjusted or removed across 20 pathways and cycle routes.

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Priority action: Introduce family friendly foot streets and place-making that give young people confidence in their future.

Progress from August 2025 to present:

• We are continuing to deliver improvements that make York's city centre and neighbourhoods more welcoming, accessible and family-friendly. An updated Our City Centre vision sets out this ambition, supported by new investment to develop a public realm improvement strategy shaped through citywide engagement.
• Nearly £1 million is being invested in parks and green spaces over the next two years, enhancing facilities across the city and building on the success of York's 4 Green Flag Award-winning parks.
• Work to improve Blue Badge accessibility in the city centre continues as part of the wider Castle Gateway project. Following the Executive's decision to close Castle Car Park to non-Blue Badge parking from 2026, the scheme has now moved into the technical design stage. This work is being shaped by extensive engagement with residents and stakeholders. The plans include new dedicated Blue Badge parking within the redeveloped Castle Car Park and Eye of York area, alongside high-quality public spaces and a new family-friendly play area.
• The Local Transport Implementation Plan and the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan, both approved in late 2024, strengthen our long-term approach to improving movement and accessibility. The Movement and Place Framework is now moving into its delivery phase. The specification for commissioning has been agreed, and we expect to appoint a consulting partner in summer 2026, with phase 1 of the programme scheduled for completion by the end of 2026.
• Our new team of Neighbourhood Caretakers is now working across communities to improve local public spaces and support resident-led action.

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Priority action: Describe how we will help people live in the right home for their circumstance.

Progress from August 2025 to present:

• Work to support residents in accessing warm, safe and suitable homes continues across a number of programmes. Phase 3 of the Retrofit One Stop Shop York (ROSSY) funding comes to an end in March, and work is underway to develop a future model for our relationship with YorEnergy once this funding concludes. A workshop held in February, led by Ashfords, provided valuable feedback that is now being used to shape this model within the required legal framework. Our partnership with YorEnergy has been a key success of the project and is now being highlighted nationally as an example of best practice for other local authorities.
• The Home Upgrade Grant Phase 2 (HUG2) programme has now been completed, and delivery of the Warm Homes Local Grant (WHLG) is underway following the appointment of a delivery partner. Ten properties already have work lined up, with a further 43 referrals being assessed for potential support.
• We have completed a Passivhaus-certified new-build housing development at Duncombe Square, and a second Passivhaus-certified new-build housing development at Burnholme Green is due to be completed soon.
• The 34-home Duncombe Square development, which is complete, and the 78-home Burnholme Green development, which is due to be completed soon, will be net zero carbon 'in use', contributing to addressing climate change locally. Net zero carbon 'in use' is achieved by reducing energy demand through the Passivhaus method of construction. For heating and hot water production, we use air source heat pumps and electric systems, with energy produced by solar photovoltaic panels on the roof of every home. The solar energy generated offsets the CO2 produced by grid electricity. The new homes will have significantly lower energy bills, helping to tackle affordability.
• The advanced mechanical ventilation with heat recovery systems fitted in all homes ensure excellent indoor air quality, while the comfortable temperatures improve health and wellbeing. Both Duncombe Square and Burnholme Green include M4(3) homes. These homes are designed to meet the needs of disabled people, making life at home easier and helping us meet our equality objectives.
• The Executive agreed the sale of part of the Lowfield site for the development of 100% affordable housing for people aged 55 and over. Further information is available in the Update on the Housing Delivery Programme and the Disposal of Surplus Sites.
• The Executive approved specialist housing for adults with learning disabilities or autism at Lowfield Green, with 14 self-contained apartments and communal space planned. Further information is available in the Delivering Supported Housing for Adults with Learning Disabilities and/or Autism at Lowfield Green report.
• Our Homelessness and Rough Sleepers' Strategy supports a system-wide approach that works with partners, stakeholders and residents to make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring.
• We work closely with health colleagues on the development of the York Frailty Hub, which was highlighted as an area of good practice in the government's 10-year plan for the NHS. The hub brings together GPs, social workers, Age UK, therapists and other services to support vulnerable people and prevent avoidable hospital admissions.

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Priority action: Be recognised by Local Government Association (LGA) as 'excellent' in Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion, including implementing the Social Model of Disability across the Council.

Progress from August 2025 to present:

• We worked with community groups to co-design a clear policy statement about what the Social Model of Disability means and how the community will implement it. The statement was approved at an Executive Decision-Making Session. See Agenda for Decision Session - Executive Member for Finance, Performance, Major Projects and Equalities, 24 January 2024 (Item 13).
• We have since commissioned external training on the social model of disability and disability awareness, with a focus on disability, poverty and caring. This training has now been shared with more than 400 managers. The training has also been made available to all councillors, and over half have already taken it up.

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Priority action: Deliver good and outstanding children's services with the voice of the child heard throughout.

Progress from August 2025 to present:

• York's children's services continue to build on the 'outstanding' Ofsted judgement received last year, which placed the city among the top 7% of local authorities nationally. The inspection highlighted the strength of York's relationship-based practice and its commitment to ensuring that children's voices shape the support they receive.
• This approach has continued to develop over the past year. We and our partners are working closely with children, young people and their families to maintain high-quality practice and ensure their experiences remain central to decision-making. We continue to meet with government representatives to discuss York's progress, including the shift from a culture of rescue to one of long-term support, and the importance of trusted relationships in achieving positive outcomes. The work taking place in York continues to attract national interest as an example of how children's services can deliver consistently strong results.
• Work to ensure that children and young people's voices shape the services they receive continues to progress across the city. Over the past year, we have strengthened our focus on inclusion, belonging and early support, building on the strong foundations recognised in our 'outstanding' Ofsted judgement.
• We have recently approved the new Inclusion and Belonging Strategy 2025-2030, which was co-produced with young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families. The strategy sets out four priorities that reflect what matters most to children, young people and parents:
  • Voice and Influence, and Working Together with Families
  • Early Identification and Support
  • Providing the Right Support at the Right Time
  • Preparation for Adulthood
• As part of our 'Year of Belonging', best practice was shared at a citywide conference in November, attended by more than 100 representatives from schools and education settings. This work continues to strengthen the culture of inclusion across the city.
• We continue to meet with government representatives to discuss York's progress and the continued development of our relationship-based practice. The conversation highlighted the importance of listening to children and families, building trusted relationships and ensuring that their experiences remain central to decision-making.
• York's approach has also attracted further national attention. The Joint Committee on Human Rights visited the city as part of its inquiry into children's services, meeting with practitioners, partners and young people to learn from York's best practice. During the visit, we showcased SEND Central, our flagship Family Hub for children and young people with SEND and their families, to support the Committee's understanding and inform its inquiry report.
• We have now implemented a new approach to Human Rights and Equalities Impact Analysis, the first of its kind in the UK, co-produced with the Applied Centre for Human Rights at the University of York.
• In York, we consider additional protected characteristics in all our decisions, including carers, care leavers and veterans.
• Our Executive has now endorsed the strategic Best Start in Life approach, which focuses on reducing inequalities and improving early childhood outcomes. This work aims to increase the proportion of children achieving a Good Level of Development by age 5, in line with the government's statutory targets for 2028. The Executive has also delegated authority to the Executive Member for Children and Education to approve the final local plan.
• Alongside this, partners in the city, including Ebor Multi Academy Trust, the University of York, York St John University, the voluntary and community sector and, where appropriate, private sector investors, are coming together to support a Centre of Excellence approach for early childhood development. This ambition includes a particular focus on the first 1,001 days of a child's life, and work continues with partners to develop the vision and implementation plan.

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Also see

• Council Plan Annual Progress Report
• Key council strategies
• Council performance and Annual Report