North Yorkshire County Council gives backing to anti-racism movement

This follows a fresh countywide commitment to diversity, inclusion and equality for all made by county councillors at their most recent meeting.

Cllr Carl Les, Leader of North Yorkshire County Council, said: “Across our county and as a country, we are richer for the diversity of all kinds that we find in all our communities.

"Any racial discrimination or intolerance of any minority is just not acceptable.”

The County Council backs nearly 500 organisations and community allies that have pledged support to the anti-racism movement begun by West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership (WY&H HCP) and the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit.

The movement, which comes out of a review by the health care partnership into the impact of Covid-19 on health inequalities, spotlights the experiences of ethnic minority staff and allies and illustrates their views and experiences of racism.

Evidence shows that people from ethnic minority backgrounds continue to face health inequalities and discrimination in their communities and workplace.

Cllr Les said: “We’re inspired by this campaign to share its messages across our county. It sits squarely with our own equality, diversity and inclusion policy.

"We all have our part to play to tackle racial discrimination of any kind and to let people know that racist attitudes and behaviour will not be tolerated.

"At our last quarterly council meeting we reaffirmed our commitment as one of the largest employers in the county and one of the main providers of local services, to providing equality of opportunity and tackling discrimination, harassment, intimidation and disadvantage.

"We are also committed to achieving the highest standards in service delivery, decision-making and employment practice.

“We will treat people fairly wherever they live and make sure they get the services they need.

"There are other factors that affect people’s lives.

"Examples include income, education, unpaid care responsibilities and occupation.

"We will work to deliver the best possible outcomes for all our communities and citizens.

“Our aim is to create an inclusive culture with a sense of belonging for everyone and to support the development of places and situations where everyone is treated fairly no matter what their background and where people are empowered and have the confidence to play active roles in their communities.”

Other movement supporters include NHS organisations, councils, West Yorkshire Police, Healthwatch, hospices, universities, housing associations, unions, and the voluntary community social enterprise sector.

The movement is part of an ongoing commitment to tackle structural and institutionalised racism, as well as addressing health and social inequalities across the area.

You can register at http://ow.ly/lWB250FBmYt to join the movement.

Visit https://www.wyhpartnership.co.uk/rootoutracism or follow twitter at WYHRootOutRacism to find out more