BLACK AND MINORITY ETHNIC
GROUPS
IN NORTH YORKSHIRE
Research carried out on behalf of the
North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity
Strategic Partnership
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
BLACK AND MINORITY ETHNIC GROUPS IN
NORTH YORKSHIRE...
…… the missing thirty-one thousand people.
A community:
 significantly larger than the population of Selby
(25,800), Northallerton (18,900) and Ripon (16,530)
 over twice the size of the population of
Knaresborough (15,360), Skipton (14,600), Whitby
(13,000) and Malton (12,900)
 just under half the population of Harrogate
(75,600) and Scarborough (65,900)
Research produced by
Ann Hindley on behalf of
North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership.
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
BLACK AND MINORITY ETHNIC GROUPS
IN NORTH YORKSHIRE...
…. the missing thirty one thousand people.
Executive Summary
1. The North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership identified issues of race and
ethnic origin as a first priority for action because of the absence of any local or county wide
infrastructure to support BME populations across the county. It also provided an opportunity
to build on the work of Racial Justice in North Yorkshire, which had produced a body of
evidence to the Commission for Equality and Human Rights supporting the need for a Black
led organisation to promote racial justice in North Yorkshire.
2. This findings echoed research carried out in other rural parts of England which have
observed that BME groups are often invisible to policy makers and service providers because
their numbers are small and people are often not concentrated together. This can lead to the
absence of culturally appropriate services and few specific support organisations either
locally or strategically across a wider area. This invisibility and absence of organised groups
was reflected in the final methodology adopted for the research. As a result of being unable
to trace many organised groups, other methods were used to find people to interview, which
included attending children's centre groups and English classes. This led to a diverse range
of individuals but to very few groups.
3. The results of the research in North Yorkshire, both in terms of the statistics and of the people
and groups interviewed, showed a level of super diversity – of nationalities, races, religions,
social class, age and reasons for living in North Yorkshire This reflects the diverse nature of
North Yorkshire generally as different districts of the county have attracted migrants and
settlers for different socio economic reasons across the generations, all with different
histories and needs.
4. As a result of this super diversity, there is little scope for generalising about the experiences
of people belonging to BME groups of receiving services and, in fact, it would be dangerous
to do so. There were differential expectations about public services and different people and
groups experienced different issues There were, however, some common themes including
the complexity of accessing both health services and socialhousing, the cost of paying for
ESOL classes for people very willing to learn English and, most importantly, the stressful
working conditions that some people faced without recourse to enforcement and advice
agencies.
5. The results of the research led to recommendations about a need for greater awareness of
the needs of a very diverse population and adopting a ‘needs not numbers’ approach to
service provision. The results are being used to inform a bid for funding for a county wide
learning programme that can provide not only learning about how our systems work but also
equip people and groups with a voice by developing their skills in advocacy, campaigning and
articulating needs. This voice could be further enhanced by the forming of a reference group
of people representing the groups visited and of individuals who took part in the research.
Consideration will need to be given to family and work constraints of those who want to be
involved and the costs of travelling across a county like North Yorkshire.
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
Contents
Page
Executive Summary
3
Introduction
5 The Context Of The Research
6 Methodology
10 The Demographic Picture
13 Findings From The Research
16 Conclusions
25 Recommendations
26 References:
28 Acknowledgements
28 Case Studies :
Broughton Road Women’s Centre
Eastern Europeans in North Yorkshire
Gypsies, Roma, Travellers and Show-people
The Gurkha and Nepalese Group in Richmond
The Harrogate Islamic Association
Page
15
17
18
19
20
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
Black and minority ethnic groups in North Yorkshire.....
…. the missing thirty thousand people
A report of research carried out on behalf of the
North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership
Introduction
North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership formed in 2014 in
acknowledgement of the much lower priority being given to equality issues across all
sectors largely as a result of pressures being applied by public sector spending cuts.
Membership of the Partnership includes:
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Citizens Advice
Clinical Commissioning Groups
Craven District Council
Hambleton District Council
Harrogate Borough Council
Healthwatch North Yorkshire
NHS
North Yorkshire and York Forum (NYYF)
North Yorkshire County Council
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue
North Yorkshire Police
North Yorkshire Voluntary Sector Alliance of CVSs
Richmondshire District Council
Ryedale District Council
Scarborough District Council
Selby District Council
Housing providers
Specialist equality and diversity support organisations
The administration is provided by North Yorkshire and York Forum (NYYF).
A decision was taken at a scoping meeting for the partnership in September 2014 to focus
on issues of 'race' with religion/faith as an immediate priority for development work. The
rationale for this was of the absence of any local or county wide infrastructure to support
Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) populations across the county. It also provided the
opportunity to build on the work carried out by Racial Justice in North Yorkshire on the
need for a county wide forum.
North Yorkshire and York Forum (NYYF) applied for funding from Big Lottery Awards for
All to pay for work that would:
 support the partnership in developing its capacity and a work plan to enable it to
achieve its aims
 start to build the capacity of BME groups to contribute towards that work and to
raise their profile with decision makers across the county.
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
Comments and observations in the report are not necessarily the views or opinions of any
individual or organisation member of the partnership.
For any enquiries about this report or the Partnership contact North Yorkshire and York
Forum: [email protected].
Use of the content of the report is not restricted by copyright and should be used
responsibly. NYYF would welcome communication from colleagues making use of the
report and sharing the report. In particular the Forum wishes to collect information about
actions taken forward in response to the Recommendations. Information should be sent
to: [email protected].
The Context Of The Research
This work needs to be set in the context of a range of research carried out both locally in
North Yorkshire and nationally by the Third Sector Research Centre and in the context of
the implementation of the 2010 Equality Act.
North Yorkshire Research
RAJINY (Racial Justice in North Yorkshire) was created from the North Yorkshire BME
Strategy Board (NYDSB) and produced a body of evidence to the Commission for Equality
and Human Rights in 2009, supporting the need for a Black led organisation to promote
racial justice in North Yorkshire. It was intended that this become an independent charity
which would invite key partner organisations to be represented on the management group
and would seek funding to employ development workers to carry out a targeted
programme of work across the county. This would combine individual case based work
with a continuing strategic role, ensuring that the needs of women and young people were
also considered.
Its predecessor, NYBSB, had produced a think piece in response to a Defra document of
2007 developing a Third Sector Strategy. It came up with three messages for Defra.
Firstly, there was a tendency to 'problematise' people of BME origin instead of recognising
them as an asset making a positive contribution to rural areas. Secondly, the limitations of
Census data need to be acknowledged. It needs to be supplemented by updating and
mapping in areas where BME populations are known to exist but may be small in relative
terms and therefore often invisible in policy terms, and by joining up data available to
different statutory and other agencies. Finally, economic migration and natural
demographic growth means that issues raised regarding BME communities in rural areas
will be exacerbated over the coming years. These issues include:
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the ‘colour blindness’ of most rural policy
documents,
the historical failure of Defra to invest in BME people and groups
community and voluntary groups,
Defra's 'hands off' approach in relation to minority communities,
the need for Defra to acknowledge the diversity of issues affecting
the BME sector,
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
– the need to ensure the engagement of BME groups in the agenda on
environmental sustainability and climate change,
– despite Defra's rural focus, a need for 'joined up
working' across
urban and rural boundaries.
The recommendations of RAJINY were based on an examination of the data available at
the time which showed a change in demographics between 2001 and 2009. Both the non
white population and the non British population of North Yorkshire have increased. Most
long standing British minorities are represented within the county but their distribution is
uneven between and within districts thus increasing and enriching the ethnic diversity of
North Yorkshire. .Some groups, particularly those of Chinese origin, are represented
across the whole county. Whilst small in number in any particular district, they make up a
significant number taken as a whole.
In 2014, RAJINY produced a report of their research with voluntary and community sector
organisations across the county which found that, of the nine protected1 characteristics
listed in the Equality Act, the greatest focus of work was on disability and age. One of the
results of the research was the indication of a need for a forum to take forward issues
about equality and diversity which should involve both voluntary and community sectors
and the statutory sector. Among other challenges discovered, there was an initial
tendency to regard 'race' as irrelevant because of the mono cultural demography of North
Yorkshire and a 'numbers not needs' approach to ethnic minority issues. Another
challenge has been the extent of North Yorkshire's economic dependence on migrant
labour and BME businesses which has brought significant numbers of people from
European countries into an area that has not previously experienced high levels of inward
migration from people of other nationalities and culture.
These issues are all exacerbated by a national context of public sector cuts and a weak
equalities legislative framework with no provision for scrutiny. Locally, the geographical
diversity of North Yorkshire makes a 'simplistic' response to Equalities difficult. The report
concluded by recommending that North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) convene and
lead a statutory Equalities Forum to provide leadership, promote debate, share good
practice and monitor performance. It also recommended a separate Equalities and
Diversity Forum to be created by the voluntary and community sector. In the event, a
combined forum has been created with representation from both sectors.
The picture of BME representation across North Yorkshire has changed over recent years
as migrant workers from Accession 102 countries have moved into areas where food
growing, processing and packing industries need high levels of labour. Research carried
out by Gary Craig in 2009 was based on data from the Worker's Registration Scheme
(WRS) and NI numbers registrations with the DWP. As the Workers' Registration
Scheme no longer exists, it is hard to bring this further up to date. However, between
2004 and 2008, there was a total of 7,185 WRS registrations in North Yorkshire, 11,150 NI
numbers allocated, with people from EU Accession states accounting for 6,650 of these.
1
The nine protected characteristics listed in the Equality Act 2010 are age, disability, gender re assignment, marriage
and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex, sexual orientation.
2
A10 countries are those that joined the European Union after 1st May 2004 and includes Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia.
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
The picture of migration patterns in and out of North Yorkshire is brought up to date by
Migration Yorkshire and is further covered in the report of the findings below.
At the same time as the research for this report was taking place, a piece of research
commissioned by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner was nearing
completion, covering both York and North Yorkshire. The author reported, from her
interviews with groups, that racism is a prevalent issue and that racism is more widely
reported than other hate crimes. Her discussions with groups though suggested that this
may only be a snapshot of reality, identifying a number of barriers to reporting such as
language and lack of awareness of services and support. The comparatively small nonwhite communities in North Yorkshire were seen as possibly easy targets for racism.
Black people don't drink tea...' national research.
The issues raised in North Yorkshire are indicative of issues of being part of a BME group
in a rural area across the country. In the mid 1990s, North Yorkshire Forum as it then was,
published a training pack of materials for social work practice teachers wanting appropriate
materials for teaching anti discriminatory practice in a large rural area. This included
extracts from publications such as 'Keep Them in Birmingham' published by the CRE
about rural racism in the south west. A report was published during the course of my work
by the Third Sector Research Centre which examines the experiences of rural BME
groups and communities in rural and less diverse areas of England. This work
acknowledges the context of reduced funding opportunities, the 2010 Equality Act and the
changed political environment. Alongside these are the additional factors of:
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the significantly increased rural BME population between 2001 and 2011,
the sometimes dispersed population and lengthy travel distances to access facilities
by groups of similar minority background,
the potential for racism in areas with less exposure to diversity.
This report finds little evidence of debate in rural England parallel to debates of the 1970s
about settlements of BME communities in urban areas.
“Rural BME communities remain largely invisible, particularly in relation to policy and
practices (p28).
The approach taken by statutory and voluntary organisations has been problem centred,
recognising only problems that might be created by incoming communities and not the
problems caused for them by poverty, isolation and racism, leading sometimes to a failure
of agencies to deliver services in a culturally sensitive and appropriate fashion,. There are
few, if any, BME strategic organisations representing the needs of people in rural areas
probably because of perceived low numbers and the absence of concentration of
numbers. Although the rural BME population, currently 5% across the country, is
increasing, there is currently little discussion or consideration in relation to policy
development of their needs.
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
2010 Equality Act
This work also needs to be set in the context of the Equality Act which replaced previous
legislation including the Race Relations Act, bringing together all existing anti
discrimination legislation into one single Act of Parliament. It introduced the concept of
'protected characteristics', of which race is one of nine. This includes a Public Sector
Equality Duty which means that public bodies have to consider all individuals when
carrying out their day to day work, in shaping policy, in delivering services and in relation
to their own employees. All public bodies have to develop an equality vision, set equality
objectives, develop an equality statement and strategy and publish information showing
compliance with the Equality Duty. Within the NHS, a Workforce Equality Standard has
been introduced to help NHS organisations to improve the experience and representation
of black and minority ethnic staff across all levels of the organisation.
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
Methodology
This piece of research in North Yorkshire has used both primary and secondary research
methods. The remit of this research is North Yorkshire only, excluding the City of York.
The secondary research methods included:
• Reviewing pieces of research carried out by RAJINY, Gary Craig et al, the Third
Sector Research Centre and Rural Action Yorkshire. These are summarised in the
background section of this report.
• Gathering statistical evidence of BME populations living in North Yorkshire. This
included using 2011 Census data, the North Yorkshire Schools Census, data from
the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) about
migration trends, data collected by Migration North.
This data informed the first part of the research which involved mapping BME populations
across the county. The second part of the research involved meeting with groups of
people to find out:
• what their experiences are of living in North Yorkshire and of receiving public sector
services,
• their interest in being part of a wider development to give BME groups a voice.
A number of methods were used to locate groups to talk to, including:
• using contacts provided by staff from voluntary sector infrastructure bodies across
the county,
• attending a meeting of Community Cohesion workers at County Hall and making
contact with groups through their volunteers,
• attending meetings of the Harrogate Independent Advisory Group, Ryedale
Equalities Forum and Selby District Equality Network.
• making email and telephone contact with a range of statutory sector workers.
A number of contacts with groups were obtained from these encounters, some of which
never came to fruition and some only came to fruition some months later because of the
nature of the groups and their meeting patterns. In some cases, contact was made by
phone, email, letter and text message before a response was received. It was also
becoming clearer that some ethnic minority groups simply did not meet collectively and
getting to meet a group of them was not going to be possible. Some groups no longer
existed. After meeting a small number of groups, it was decided to try other methods of
meeting people. These included:
• visiting a Roman Catholic priest to find ways of meeting the Polish population in the
town,
• making contact with children's centres,
• making contact with providers of English classes
• visiting a women's group in Harrogate.
Unfortunately, the Catholic priest in Selby was also having issues with making any
meaningful contact with his Polish practitioners who came to Mass but rarely stayed
afterwards to socialise. He was put in touch with the District Equality Network. The
contacts with children's centres were, however, more fruitful. In Harrogate, an invitation
to attend a Stay and Play session led to meeting a small number of Eastern European
mothers and attending one of their English classes. They also suggested visiting the
Mowbray Church when a women's group was taking place which led to another church
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
with an attendance by a number of people of BME origin and an introduction to a woman
running a preschool with a number of useful contacts. English classes also produced a
number of useful contacts in Ryedale and Scarborough. This approach led to meeting a
very diverse range of people from a variety of backgrounds.
The following people and groups were met:
• a group of Pakistani woman in Skipton
• two Polish women in Selby
• Gypsy and traveller groups in Selby, Stokesley and Malton
• Broughton Road Women's Group in Skipton
• a member of a Nepalese group in Richmond
• the Harrogate Islamic Society
• an English class in Norton, near Malton, comprised of Polish, Russian and Spanish
people
• an African woman in Harrogate
• Eastern European women in Harrogate
• a Black American pastor of the New Life in Christ church in Harrogate
• an English class in Harrogate comprising of people of Thai, Argentinian, Polish and
Macedonian and Afghani origin
• two English classes in Scarborough comprising of Polish, Romanian, Ukrainian,
Spanish and Chinese people
Had time permitted, there was also scope for meeting other English classes in other parts
of the county. All of these encounters took considerable time to set up and relied on the
help and co-operation of others.
This research, therefore, cannot be put forward as an entirely representative picture of the
BME experience of living in North Yorkshire. Attempts have been made to ensure that all
districts are represented in some way but it has not been possible to ensure that all ethnic
groups are represented. There is, for instance, a substantial Chinese population in
Harrogate but, despite trying, no contact was made. Data protection issues prevented
HARCVS from providing contact details although they did pass on messages. Ultimately,
it seemed that the Chinese association that had previously existed did so no longer.
Similarly, there were the same difficulties contacting the Filipino group in Scarborough.
The difficulties experienced in making contact with people and groups may reflect the
difficulties those people and groups have in establishing some foothold with service
providers and policy makers.
Some of the encounters took the form of one to one interviews and some took the form of
a focus group. The information obtained is of a qualitative nature and provides some
insights into why people have chosen to live in North Yorkshire and their experiences of
living in one of the largest rural areas of England. This latter point needs to be qualified by
the fact that most people spoken to were living in some of the larger centres of the county
and few, with the exception of gypsies and travellers, lived in the more remote areas.
This account of the methods used serves to demonstrate some of the issues of trying to
research BME issues across this large rural area. These include:
• the geographical diversity of the area,
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
• the diversity of the BME populations and the absence of significant social groups of
people of the same ethnic origin,
• a possible absence of identification of selves as belonging to a different ethnic group,
• where groups do exist, they are often informal and contact details are governed by
the Data Protection Act,
• where web sites exist for groups, these may often be out of date and contact details
often lead to nowhere,
• people who have come to this country to work are often very busy, with little time to
belong to social groups and probably little time to spare to be interviewed,
• it might be argued that the numbers are small in North Yorkshire. However, in some
areas, there are significant numbers of Polish people for example but getting to meet
them en masse has been really difficult.
A question asked at English classes has been about where and how they collect socially
but most social gatherings seem to take place in people's homes.
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
The Demographic Picture
While it is important to gather statistical data about the nature of the population in North
Yorkshire, it is important to recognise that figures can sometimes distort the lens through
which we look at race and ethnicity within the county. There are two key types of
statistics. The first are those collected about people's ethnic origins which relies on
people's own self definition. These include the Census and the schools census. There is
another important body of data collected by organisations such as Migration North which
presents figures about people newly arrived in the area both from other parts of the
country and other parts of the world.
The first set of data may relate to people and families who have lived in the UK and in
North Yorkshire for generations and may well have British nationality but who still value
their different ethnic identity. The second relates to new arrivals, the presence of whom
may bring new challenges to service providers, and who may well still define themselves
by their nationality. These two sets of data need to be viewed together as they provide
different but overlapping pictures of BME populations in North Yorkshire.
All statistical pictures need to start with the most recent Census figures which are now, of
course, five years old. In all districts of North Yorkshire, except Richmondshire, the
largest minority population is 'White other'. The largest minority in Richmondshire is 'Other
Asian' presumably explained by the high number of Nepalese people settling after being
based at Catterick Garrison, together with a range of other ex services personnel. 'White
other' is not further broken down and, while to a large extent, this can be explained in
some places by migrant labour from Accession 10 countries, my own research has found
an extremely diverse group of people living in North Yorkshire, many of whom might
define themselves as 'White other', many of them coming to work but some for family
reasons.
The 2011 Census figures for North Yorkshire districts showing ethnic minorities as a
percentage of the total population and the identities of the both the first and second largest
groups as a percentage of the population are given below.
District
Total population
Minorities as % of total population
Craven
55,409
4.2% (2,327)
Hambleton
89,140
3.4% (3,030)
Harrogate
157,869
7.8% (12,313)
Richmondshire
51,965
6.2% (3,222)
Scarborough
108,793
4.5%
(4,896)
Selby
83,449
4.1%
(3,421)
Ryedale
51,751
3.3% (1,708)
North Yorkshire
598,376
5.2% (30,917)
Source: 2011 Census, Note: there appears to be a slight discrepancy in the final total above, as a result
of the rounding of figures.
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
The figures give a picture of the numbers of people identifying themselves as being of
BME origin in North Yorkshire districts.
District
Largest
minority
% of
population
2nd larger minority
% of
population
Craven
White Other
1.5%
(831)
Pakistani
0.9% (479)
Hambleton
White Other
1.5%
(1,337)
Indian, other Asian
0.2% (17)
Harrogate
White Other
4.1%
(6,472)
Chinese
0.6% (908)
Richmondshire
Other Asian
2.0%
(1,039)
White other
1.6% (752)
Ryedale
White Other
1.8%
(932)
Other Asian
0.2%
Scarborough
White Other
2.0%
(2,176)
Indian, other Asian
0.4% (425)
Selby
White Other
2.3%
(1,919)
Gypsy & Traveller,
Indian, Chinese,
other
Asian, Black African
0.2%
North Yorkshire
White Other
2.4% (14,361)
Other Asian
0.5%(24,824)
(102)
(167)
Source: 2011 Census
The proportion of the population representing 'White other' people ranges from 4.1% in
Harrogate to 1.5% in Craven and Hambleton, accounting for 2.4% of the population across
North Yorkshire as a whole. Even these disaggregated figures mask considerable
variations: thus, for example, Ouseburn ward in Harrogate district has a non-White British
population half as high again as the district average (at about 12%) as a result of the
location of a major private school with significant numbers of minority staff from countries
such as China and Russia servicing the needs of a multi-ethnic student body.
Breaking these figures down further, there are some wards in Scarborough where 'White
other' people constitutes 7%, 4.4% and 4.9% of the population respectively. STREAM, the
data collection service with North Yorkshire County Council, has produced figures showing
wards where there are unexpected concentrations of people from BME groups. There are
relatively high numbers of Middle Eastern and Asian people in Hipswell and Scotton
(Richmondshire). Scotton also has high numbers of African people and people from pre
A10 European countries. Thirsk (Hambelton) has a relatively high number of European
people from both A10 and pre A10 countries. Ampleforth (Ryedale) also has a high
number of European residents. They also picked out unexpected concentrations of BME
pupils from the schools Census, showing a high number at Le Cateau Primary (79)
reflecting the Nepalese and other communities settling from Catterick Garrison
(Richmondshire). The high number at Stokesley School (65) in Hambleton may reflect the
gypsy and traveller site in that area, and similar in Seamer, Scarborough. St. Stephen's
Catholic Primary in Skipton has 71 children from BME groups.
Other schools in the schools Census undertaken in January 2015 show the following
schools with over 100 children of BME origin:
• Grove Road Community Primary School in Harrogate (120)
• St. Augustine's RC school in Scarborough (109)
• Ermysted's Grammar School in Craven (154)
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
• John Fisher Catholic High School in Harrogate (200)
The demographic patterns described above reflect migration patterns. Historically, there
was migration from Commonwealth Countries to Skipton, largely from Pakistan to work in
textiles. This population is now largely settled though. The Nepalese community in
Richmondshire migrated here as members of the armed forces. Both Scarborough and
Harrogate have always attracted migrants to work in the hospitality and tourist industry
and now in the care sector. Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby all have aspects of the food
industry that require high numbers of workers, many of whom have migrated here from
both A10 and pre A10 European countries. Scarborough has a campus of Coventry
University, previously Hull University, which will attract students from overseas. All larger
centres of population have hospitals which attract staff from a wide range of backgrounds
and countries. Some of the settlements named that have an unexpectedly high BME
population have public schools such as Ampleforth which provide places to foreign
students.
Migration Yorkshire's Local Migration Profile published in November 2015 shows
population growth happening in most areas, with the notable exceptions of Richmondshire
and Harrogate. They assert that population change in North Yorkshire tends to be driven
by internal migration within the UK. The largest number of new arrivals is expected in
Ryedale and Craven. Harrogate, however, although it is currently experiencing negative
net migration has one of the highest non British populations in Yorkshire and the Humber,
alongside Hull. Ryedale has the lowest. Nine per cent of Harrogate's population, is non
British. Hambleton has the lowest proportion in Yorkshire and Humberside of births to
mothers born outside the UK. Richmondshire has the lowest number of new GP
registrations in Yorkshire and the Humber made by people previously living abroad. In
terms of migration from countries outside the UK, Poland is the top country for new
arrivals. 6,900 came to North Yorkshire in 2012 with 2,000 Pakistanis as the next largest
group.
A report produced by the Migration Impact Fund in November 2010 showed Selby as one
of the areas where migration had the greatest impact in 2006, accounting for 0.75% of the
population. At that time, schools in North Yorkshire had little experience of new pupils
with little or no English and bi lingual teaching assistants were appointed in Harrogate,
Scarborough and Selby, the three parts of the county seeing the most arrivals of migrant
workers. They supported newly arrived pupils and provided a link between home and
school through working with Polish parents and carers.
Net migration in North Yorkshire fell to just over 11,000 in 2012, the lowest figure in
several years. International students accounted for a significant number of migrants. A
report by Migration Yorkshire in 2014 found little evidence of job displacement while the
economy is strong, with skilled migrants filling important skill shortages. Around 27,080
workers arrived in Yorkshire in 2012, a fall of over 8.000 on the previous year.
Projections, however, show some potential increase in some parts of North Yorkshire,
notably Ryedale, Hambleton and Harrogate.
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
Findings From The Research
The findings can be summarised under six themes:
1.
Diversity of people and cultures across North Yorkshire
2.
Differential expectations of support
3.
Stressful working conditions for migrant workers.
4.
Issues of being in a rural/semi rural area
5.
Support to BME communities
6.
The sheer diversity of groups and issues.
1.
Diversity of people and cultures across North Yorkshire.
The discussion of statistics above has already demonstrated the sheer diversity of
people across the county. This adds another layer to an already culturally diverse
county made up of seven districts each with their own particular culture. These
include the cultures of coastal towns, farming communities, the tourist and
conference centre of Harrogate, the former mining community of Selby now the
focus of food producing and packing, communities dominated by army garrisons
and air force bases and rural settlements that have become places of retirement
and second home ownership. It is, therefore, unsurprising that such a large and
diverse county also contains so many diverse ethnic communities. The people
spoken to included:
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–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Gypsies and travellers
Polish people
Pakistani women
people of a wide range of nationalities, all of whom were Muslim
people from Ukrainian
a Gambian woman
a representative of a Gurkha and Nepalese group
Argentinian women
Spanish people
a Latvian/Russian woman
a Macedonian woman
an Afghan woman
Thai women
a Black American man
a Romanian woman
a Chinese woman
It is clear from the statistics and from speaking to a range of professionals that there
are many other nationalities represented across North Yorkshire. The people
spoken to were mainly here for work and some have come here to marry and to be
near to family. This diversity means that it is very difficult to generalise about
experiences. The circumstances that brought them to this country have created
different expectations and different experiences. It should also be remembered that
gypsies and travellers are indigenous to this country but lead very different lifestyles
to the majority settled population. The Pakistani Kashmiri community in Skipton
has also been a part of that town for two or more generations, many having been
born in this country but with a different culture and faith.
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
Within these different groups are professionals working as such in this county,
retired service personnel, active service personnel, previously professional women
now trying to make a new home and life in the country in which their husband works
and people working in unskilled work here because of the low pay rates in their own
country. Different groups have settled in different parts of the county depending
upon the economy of that district. Filipino nurses are concentrated in areas where
large hospitals need them; Eastern European people work in the factories and
packing plants of Selby and Malton; Pakistani people used to work in the mills of
Skipton and people of all nationalities work in the hospitality trades of Scarborough
and Harrogate.
2.
Differential expectations of support.
With the exception of the three groups who have lived in this country for more than
one generation, there was a general feeling that provision of public services was
good.
Although there was a general comment about the absence of proper effective
translation services in primary care and in some North Yorkshire hospitals, most
people seemed to accept that it was their responsibility to take someone with them
or to have their symptoms written down. The American man spoken to, felt that we
were lucky to have the NHS.
People generally felt that it was also their responsibility to learn English, but also
commented on how expensive ESOL classes are now unless students are
unemployed, in which case fees are paid by the Job Centre. Most ESOL classes
were provided free in the early part of the century but have been affected by central
government imposed cuts, thus creating a barrier to integration. This would seem
to contradict government mission statements on community cohesion.
People who were settled in the UK and had a history of living here over generations
tended to have higher expectations, possibly as a result of living in a culture with a
welfare state for longer. Issues were raised about the lack of provision for Muslim
burials in Harrogate with cemeteries and crematoria not operating at weekends, the
absence of a translator for a dementia assessment and the difficulty of finding a
female Muslim carer anywhere nearer than Skipton. These were all issues
affecting small, thinly spread populations of Muslims in a largely rural area that may
well not have been encountered in larger centres of population.
Pakistani women in Skipton felt strongly that their voices went unheard. The
difference between what was available to Asian people and groups in Skipton and
those in Keighley and Bradford was noticeable. Again, this is a function of being a
small group in a rural centre. There is little available for Asian older people in
Skipton that is culturally sensitive to their needs. The absence of translation in GP
surgeries was commented on.
Gypsy and traveller families tend to be self sufficient and, while they do use the
benefits system and health service, often have to be encouraged to do so.
Examples of discrimination experienced by gypsies and travellers were cited by
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
tenancy support workers from both health service and benefits administrators. The
system itself often works against people often with mental health issues and low
levels of literacy which create a lack of confidence in challenging other people's
behaviour. A support worker pointed out that hospital appointments are often not
kept because of the use of 'care of' addresses which means that letters are often
not found in time for the appointment.
Gurkha and Nepalese people also experience some difficulty negotiating our
systems. Children report difficulty settling in schools, especially if coming in late
teenage years and not knowing the language and culture. There are issues of older
people not knowing the system. Health services are paid for in Nepal but people
can go direct to a specialist without a GP referral and there is no waiting time.
Cultural differences mean that they are often mistrustful of drugs and often use
alternative medicines which NHS staff are unfamiliar with. The local health practice
in Richmond has applied for funding to provide an interpretation service but there
are also issues of literacy. Take up of Housing Benefit is low because of the
complicated system of applying and people have stopped attending ESOL classes
since adult education has started to make charges.
While people were, generally, very appreciative of the NHS, a number of people
reported frustration with the slow and cumbersome process of getting to see a
specialist, via a GP referral. This seems to be a process peculiar to our system.
Some Polish people reported returning to Poland and paying for tests, and for
dentistry. A representative of the Gurkha and Nepalese community in Richmond
reported the difficulty that people have in understanding our system, and the
frustrations at the waiting time. In Nepal, people can go direct without a referral.
The representative who contributed to this research works for the NHS and
explained that absence of interpretation is as frustrating for clinicians as it is for
patients.
Case Study 1
Broughton Road Women's Group, Skipton.
This is a group of about a dozen Muslim women, mostly of Pakistani origin who have
been meeting at Ings Road school for some years. They have been involved in a number
of educational activities in the past both at the school and at a nearby community centre.
There is a small mosque in this area of Skipton and the wife of the imam was one of the
women present. 1.6% of the Skipton population claimed to be Muslim in the 2011
Census. Skipton is on the edge of North Yorkshire, bordering with West Yorkshire.
Economically, it has had much in common with West Yorkshire, having been a textile
town and therefore attracting workers to the mills but administratively it is part of North
Yorkshire and on the border of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
The women reported experiences of rural living that affect many without the resources to
enjoy it. The small population of Pakistani people means that there are fewer services,
facilities and organisations than there are in towns with a more highly concentrated
population – for men and women and both older and younger people. House prices are
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
high which makes it hard for children to move out of their parents' home. Activities that
previously happened are no longer funded and ESOL classes have to be paid for.
Women only provision is rarely made. Again, no translation is available in GP surgeries.
All reported good experiences of schools for their children and positive relationships with
the police. A 24 hour guard was provided to the mosque following the Paris bombings.
There was a willingness among the women to come together with others to break down
barriers subject to the constraints imposed on them in terms of rural living, transport
availability and work and family commitments.
3.
Stressful working conditions for migrant workers.
As the method of collecting information changed to include visits to English classes
and other places where people gather, so more migrant workers featured in the
research. This included some skilled and professional people who were working in
a bacon factory or in a bakery but were still receiving three or four times the wages
they would have received in their home country as professional workers.
Most people were eager to improve their English in the hope of practising their own
profession here. There were reports of stressful working conditions in the
workplaces where people were put under pressure to work harder. This raises the
issue of the vulnerability of migrant workers and the difficulty in providing firm
quantitative data to enable North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire County
Council to address what many believe to be a form of modern slavery.
There were also examples of people losing their jobs through taking time off for
domestic responsibilities. Only met a small number of people were involved in the
interviews but there are clear instances of people such as nurses and
radiographers working in manual roles with aspirations to use their skills and
qualifications in this country. These are examples of professional people
experiencing difficulties on having their credentials and qualifications recognised in
this country even where they bring skills that would contribute to addressing a
recognised shortage.
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
Case Study 2
Eastern Europeans in North Yorkshire.
Although Polish people form the highest number of Eastern Europeans, there were also
Latvian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Macedonian people among those I
met in various settings. Some had left professional jobs behind and were in unskilled
work at much higher rates of pay than they had left behind, often in stressful and poor
conditions. All reported being made welcome in the towns in which they lived. Although
one Polish woman and her husband had set up a language school and advice service in
Selby, there was very little collective action among Easter European migrants, except on
an informal basis.
The issues people reported having to face included:
– needing help to understand English laws
– help with form filling
– problems with understanding people in call centres.
Experiences of health services varied with some described as 'fantastic' but others not
living up to services in their own country. People reported having to be assertive with
both GPs and Accident and Emergency. Again, all described schools as excellent and
reported good experiences of adult education but that it was hard to find. It was only
available in larger centres and not smaller towns like Whitby. Like others, Polish and
other Eastern Europeans reported housing as hard to find and most failed to qualify for
social housing.
4.
Issues of being in a rural/semi rural area.
These issues can be double edged. Women spoken to in Harrogate referred to
living in the 'Harrogate bubble' where they felt safe and well looked after. People in
Scarborough who had previously lived in Hull, felt safer there whereas they often
felt threatened in Hull. The other side of this coin is a view expressed by members
of the Harrogate Islamic Society of feeling that they were 'the only Muslim in
Harrogate'. Buying halal meat in the town is nearly impossible and there is too
small a population to merit a mosque. The society meets for prayers once a month
in a community centre. The group that meets is also very diverse in terms of
nationality with faith being the common factor.
The Pakistani women in Skipton found that they suffered from being only a small
number compared with friends and colleagues in nearby Keighley and also from
being in a rural area in terms of high house prices and access to services.
Gypsy and traveller families are housed on sites well outside of settlements, largely
as a matter of choice as many would not choose to live in a built environment.
Their rural location though can cause issues with getting access to health services,
local authority services, libraries etc. They are also disadvantaged by the difficulty
of receiving any quality of broadband reception at a time when the government is
promoting its 'digital by default' policy and most services – local and national – only
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
being available on-line. Living rurally for anyone will present difficulties with
receiving digital services where super fast broadband has not yet been rolled out.
Case Study 3
Gypsies, Roma, Travellers and Show-people.
All of the above are placed in one category. According to Horton Housing, there are few
Roma in North Yorkshire and Show-people are a very self sufficient group, well organised
in their use of services and need little support. I visited two traveller sites, one in
Stokesley, one in Selby and a drop in for travellers in Malton.
Gypsies and travellers are regarded by the Census as BME and most families have lived
in this country for generations. They have a specific culture of their own. Many children,
especially girls, are home educated after the age of eleven and are often subject to a strict
discipline. Few use youth centres and are often not allowed out alone at night except to
accompany their family to church.
Issues of discrimination were picked up from both travellers and tenancy support workers,
who often found it directed to them as they were seen going in and out of sites. There
seems to be a lack of understanding of the traveller community with children reporting
bullying at school and often fighting back, which can cause situations to escalate.
Poor physical health and mental health are common among travellers and is often
hereditary. The systems in place to help are not set up for people with chaotic lifestyles
and low literacy levels. Traveller families often move into housing because of poor health
or to get children educated but can find it hard to settle. More travellers are now claiming
benefit as work has become harder to find with others moving into their field. As with the
Nepalese community, there are different cultural perceptions of domestic violence and of
the position of women.
5.
Support to BME communities.
In urban settings, where there is more likely to be a critical mass of people of the
same nationality and ethnic origin, self help support systems are often in place as
well as support from statutory and voluntary agencies. Where those numbers do
not exist, there are fewer community organisations supporting people of the same or
similar background. The expectation was that, in areas such as Selby or Harrogate,
where high numbers of Eastern European people now live, services and groups
would have started, in the same way as food shops, bakeries and lettings agencies
have been initiated. People spoken to include a Community Cohesion workers
providing language classes and to the Roman Catholic priest in Selby but found no
evidence of community groups supporting Eastern European populations. There
was a desire to become integrated into the host population and socialising in the
same places as their British work colleagues. People also worked long shifts.
Those with families had little time left for socialising and where it did happen, it took
place in people's homes. The Roman Catholic priest in Selby reported a number of
Polish families attending mass and children coming forward for confirmation. None
stayed to socialise after mass though and he was struggling to find ways to connect
with the families.
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
Shared faith seemed to offer the main source of support among most communities.
Roman Catholic churches provided a space for Polish families even though they
took little advantage of social activities. The Harrogate Islamic Society provided
both worship and social gathering for Muslim people of all nationalities. There is
also a Scarborough Islamic group which it was not possible to meet, which
presumably does the same. Research suggested that this was a group of health
professionals based around the hospital who met together for Friday prayers.
While gypsies and travellers had extremely professional tenancy support provided
by Horton Housing Association, many seemed to get informal and mutual support
from evangelical churches in nearby towns.
In Harrogate, a number of churches were suggested which attracted and gave
support to a number of people from very diverse backgrounds.
Other sources of support to people came from a range of agencies. Children’s
centres run a range of services that provide support to parents and their children
and attracted a number of Eastern European mothers, and provided well attended
English classes. Adult Education provide ESOL classes and staff were witnessed
at these centres providing more than just teaching but also guidance and
information on a range of issues. Horton Housing has already been mentioned in
terms of the tenancy support they provide to gypsies and travellers. There was
clear evidence of their skill in providing advice and guidance on a complex range of
issues from housing to benefits to domestic violence. The community safety
partnerships were also involved in staffing drop in sessions for GRTS groups and
Horton staff also played a role in challenging bad practice in statutory agencies and
providing literacy classes.
Where groups of people have wanted to come together to provide mutual help to
each other support has been available from voluntary sector infrastructure bodies.
The Gurkha and Nepalese group in Richmond is a formal group with both a welfare
role and a function of promoting culture and integration into the community. They
aim to have their own centre and have been receiving support from Richmondshire
CVS in this. CAVCA, AVS and Harrogate CVS have all been active in supporting
groups in their areas and in servicing Equality Networks and Independent Advisory
Groups.
Case Study 4
The Gurkha and Nepalese Group in Richmond.
This group was established in 2006 with mainly a function of providing welfare for its
members but also of promoting culture and integration into the local community. They
hold cultural events about five or six times a year. The group is currently working
towards having a centre of their own, with the help of Richmond CVS. The group has
over a hundred family members and there are about a dozen people on the committee.
They have links into the Gurkha Welfare Trust which cares for ex Gurkhas, especially
people retiring after World War 2 without equal pensions. Gurkha and Nepalese people
have settled in the area after serving at Catterick Garrison. There will also be people
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
from other commonwealth countries retiring from armed services in York, Topcliffe and
Dishforth.
Changes in residence arrangements in 2003/4 have led to some Gurkhas returning to
this country to live or often bringing older parents with them. They are not, however,
allowed to bring children if aged over eighteen which means that the extended family
system of caring for older people has broken down. Where younger children do
accompany their parents, families are having to face a conflict of values. Parents find it
difficult to send their children to youth clubs and are often not open to their children
changing. Arranged marriage is still customary in Nepal which can lead to generational
tensions. Different cultural perceptions around alcohol abuse, domestic violence and
sexuality are also problematic. Although groups and organisations exist to provide
support, they may not be aware of cultural differences and the community still feels that
asking for help is stigmatising.
6.
The sheer diversity of groups and issues.
Making generalisations about any group experiencing one of the nine protected
characteristics can be dangerous and poor practice. Making any generalisation
about experiences of BME groups across what is already a very diverse area called
North Yorkshire can be meaningless. The research encountered people from a
very diverse number of countries, some of whom were recent migrants, some were
third generation. For some, this was their home; for others, North Yorkshire
provided a place to study or to work for now and they would be moving on
eventually. Some were able to find others of the same faith or nationality to relate
to and give and offer support; others wanted to integrate with the host population.
Meeting the needs of such a diverse population in a culturally sensitive way
presents a challenge to those providing services across the county. The Minority
Ethnic Achievement Team has workers based in schools who understand the
nature of the population in their area and work to ensure that children from minority
ethnic groups have provision to give them equal chances and deliver services and
activities that raise cultural awareness among teachers and children. This is
reflected in the positive remarks made by interviewees of children's experiences in
schools. North Yorkshire County Council Community Cohesion Team is working to
bring together a range of groups and people and develop translation and
interpreting services.
This diversity of groups and cultures also leads to a diversity of issues. Language
is a major issue and cuts to and charges being made for ESOL classes are causing
some difficulties. Literacy is an issue for some groups but not others. Access to
services is more of an issue for those groups who have been here for more than
one generation. The case study below provides some flavour of the diversity of
issues that exist.
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
Case study 5
The Harrogate Islamic Association.
The Harrogate Islamic Association meets monthly on a Saturday afternoon and weekly
for prayer in a community centre in the middle of Harrogate together with celebrating
Eid twice a year with a party. As well as opportunity for social gathering, they provide
the only space for Muslim worship in the town apart from a room available at the
hospital for staff, patients and visitors. The group, which comprises a number of
different nationalities, reports that there are seven hundred Muslims in Harrogate and a
significant Bangladeshi community living in one area. They also reported a feeling of
being the 'only Muslim in town' with difficulties in accessing Halal food in local shops
and schools and the cost of with organising Muslim funerals at a week-end when
double charges are made for opening up crematoria and cemeteries and there is
seldom someone to contact over a week-end for a quick burial or cremation.
The small number of Muslims in Harrogate and their dispersed nature through the town
means that schools are sometimes not aware of the Muslim calendar. They also felt
that Muslims were sometimes not proactive enough in not selling their religion and
culture. The small numbers and the absence of a mosque no nearer than Leeds or
York leads to feelings of isolation.
The group was interested in being kept informed of the Syrian refugees expected in
Harrogate and were willing to make arrangements to welcome Syrian Muslims to their
group. They were also interested in being involved in with promoting equality and
diversity generally within the town and have been in contact with the Engagement
Officer at the Borough Council.
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
Conclusions
1. Diversity of BME groups across North Yorkshire.
Provision for BME groups is never going to be a simple matter because there is an
element of 'super diversity' across the county due to the nature of the county,
offering different opportunities to different people at different times thus leading to
differing settlement patterns. The diversity and low numbers of any one group
accentuated the issue of invisibility.
2. The rural issues.
Small concentrations of people with the same background in an area with poor
transport links, high house prices, sparsity of services means that people's needs
are often not recognised, never mind met. Invisibility of BME groups means that
culturally appropriate services are often not provided, although schools stand out as
a service that is meeting the needs of young children. Faith groups and churches
are another key source of support with some evidence of these meeting people's
needs in the more urban areas of North Yorkshire.
3. Differential expectations of support.
There was a range of expectation of help and support from those who had been
here longest to those who were newest to the country who had lower expectations.
This may reflect on the culture of this country of collective welfare provision
compared with the more individualist experiences of some European countries.
4. Support to BME communities.
Support is available to people from a number of sources including the voluntary
sector, schools, adult education and particularly faith organisations. There is little
specific targeted support though. The absence of specific self help support groups
also lends to the invisibility of BME groups and people.
5. The issues experienced.
Many of the issues articulated were ones that would not be unfamiliar to the
indigenous population. Gaining access to social housing is not only difficult for
someone for whom English is not their first language but the choice based lettings
system poses issues for people lacking IT literacy or with learning difficulties or
mental health problems. Dealing with difficult accents at a call centre can be a
problem whether the accent is Yorkshire or Far Eastern. Working your way through
our health service system of referrals can be a mystery even to the indigenous
population who has grown up with it. Poor and stressful working conditions affect
many people and enforcement and advice agencies are short of resources. The
problems often lie within our structures, policies and practices, rather than within
the people trying to use them.
6. Overlapping of 'protected characteristics'.
It is important to recognise that the protected characteristics are not mutually
exclusive and that Black people are also young/old/disabled/gay or any combination
of any of these and that they may face a variety of issues as a result.
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
Recommendations
1. There needs to be a greater awareness generally of the sheer diversity of the
population of North Yorkshire which is often seen as 'monochrome' in common with
many other rural areas. This could feed into a work programme for the North
Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership, which should consider how
to make use of this report and publicise it widely possibly as a formal publication
owned by the NYEDSP.
2. Service providers need to develop a 'needs not numbers' approach which should be
incorporated into their Equalities framework. There is a wide range of individuals
with needs who cannot be counted in numbers of people with the same
characteristics.
3. There is scope for an Equalities reference group comprising people from the groups
visited and individuals who gave their names. The purpose of this group is to
provide a voice for people experiencing any combination of the nine protected
characteristics set out in the Equality Act. Consideration will need to be given to
the family and work constraints on the people who want to be involved and the
costs involved in travelling across a county as large as North Yorkshire to meetings
and the value and appropriateness of virtual meetings. This reference group will
link with the strategic and operational forums and partners.
4. Application should be made for funding for a county wide training programme to be
delivered locally through the Community Learning Partnerships to:



provide information, possibly through ESOL classes, but also through other
means on how our systems work. There are examples of learning
programmes designed by the Workers' Education Association which also
incorporate an empowering approach. They could have a wider application
than just BME groups,
improve the 'voice' of BME groups across the county by developing skills in
advocacy, campaigning and articulating needs,
provide skills in group development for BME and other groups using the skills
and resources already existing in local support and development
organisations.
This programme of learning could usefully be delivered by some of the people
already involved in running and supporting their own groups where they exist. This
includes volunteers with the Community Cohesion Service and people involved in
the admittedly small number of formally constituted community groups. Provision
could be made for Training for Trainers courses which would equip people
representative of some of the groups mentioned above with the skills and
knowledge necessary for empowering themselves and others.
5. Future research might make greater use of contacts with schools identified in the
schools census as having higher than average BME populations to provide contact
with groups and individuals. Sports clubs in towns where there are higher numbers
26
North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
of BME groups has also been suggested as a potential source of people to
interview.
There has been no coverage in this research of the position of asylum seekers and
refugees. North Yorkshire has never been a dispersal area for asylum seekers but
will be receiving a number of Syrian refugees at some point in the next two years.
Some support services are being put in place in larger settlements such as Settle,
Skipton and Harrogate but there is still little indication of when people will arrive.
There may well be other people who have moved to North Yorkshire once they
were granted refugee status. It would be useful to research who and where they
are.
Similarly, this research has not had the scope to find 'hidden' people and groups
who may well be under the radar of the official statistics. One suggestion for
locating people involved approaching taxi drivers who have a wealth of knowledge
about an area but this would need to be the focus of a separate and distinct piece
of work with appropriate resources. The issue of working conditions arose in
discussion particularly with migrant workers from EU countries. Research into
those working conditions would almost need investigative journalism techniques but
there is certainly a need for some data on conditions of employment, which goes
beyond the anecdotal, to allow enforcement agencies to be effective.
6. Finally, it would be useful to collect and showcase some examples of good practice
that exist across the county in terms of service provision that could offer some
scope for learning and replication.
Reporting on progress
Progress on actions and developing the Partnership action plan to take forward the
Recommendations is a standing agenda item at the quarterly meetings of the Equality
and Diversity Strategic Partnership. The minutes of the meetings are available on the
NYYF website. www.nyyforum.org.uk.
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
References:
Ahmed A., Brow, P., Duda-Mikulin E., Martin P., Scullion L. Destination Integration: Third
Country Nationals in the North of England. Sustainable Housing and Urban Studies Unit,
University of Salford. June 2015.
Craig G. Migrant Workers in North Yorkshire. 2009.
Jay E. Keep Them in Birmingham: Challenging Racism in South West England.
Commission for Racial Equality. 1992.
Migration Yorkshire. Local Migration Profile. Summary Document. November 2015.
North Yorkshire Black and Minority Ethnic Strategic Board. Black and minority ethnic
voluntary and community sector organisations in rural areas and Defra. A think piece from
the NYBSB in response to the Defra consultation document 'Towards a Defra Third Sector
Strategy'. 2009
Peter Stone Consulting Ltd. An evaluation of the Rural Voices Project. 2009- 2014.
Racial Justice in North Yorkshire. Equality and Diversity in North Yorkshire. 2014
Racial Justice in North Yorkshire. Report of work of RAJINY to Commission on Equality
and Human Rights, Yorkshire and Humber Regional Office. August 2009.
Raine H. Understanding Hate Crime in North Yorkshire and the City of York. Police and
Crime Commissioner North Yorkshire. October 2015.
Ware P. 'Black people don't drink tea....' The Experiences of Rural Black and Minority
Ethnic Community Groups in England. Third Sector Research Centre Working Paper 30.
June 2015.
Acknowledgements
This research has been conducted by Ann Hindley, Consultant, on behalf of the North
Yorkshire and York Equality and Diversity Partnership.
This report could not have been completed without the time and help given by a number of
people including the following:
– Gill Scanlon of North Yorkshire County Council Adult Learning and Skills Service for
allowing me to meet her ESOL students during her classes.
– Judith Bromfield of Richmondshire Community and Voluntary Action for setting up the
meeting with: Dr. Jagannath Sharma of the British Gurkha and Nepalese Community for
his time.
– David Walker and his Community Cohesion Team in North Yorkshire County Council.
– Mariola Beech and her friend, Dorota, for information about the Polish population in
Selby.
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016
– The Harrogate Islamic Association for inviting me to their January meeting.
– Yesmien Ali for giving her time to meet me.
– Broughton Road Women's Group for giving up an afternoon to meet me.
– Jayne Mitchell at Mowbray Church Women's Group, Harrogate.
– Pastor Roosevelt of the New Life in Christ Church in Harrogate.
– Hannah Brown, Linda Simpson, Sam Clarke and Lisa Robson of the Horton Gateway
project for inviting me to their drop in sessions on gypsy and traveller sites.
– Fiona Corby of Harrogate Children's Centres for inviting me to Stay and Play and
English classes.
– Rita Lister for her introductions to others.
– Janine Toole, Saltergate Children's Centre for allowing me to sit on an English class.
– Gary Craig for information about the work leading to this research.
– Leah Swain at Rural Action Yorkshire for information about the Rural Voices project.
– Chris Hailey-Norris for the invitation to the Selby District Equality Network.
– Amanda Heenan representing Harrogate and District CCG for her input to the forward
planning.
– All the people in voluntary and statutory sector bodies who responded to my request for
information.
For further information
Contact: North Yorkshire and York Forum on [email protected].
Copyright
Use of the content of the report is not restricted by copyright and should be used
responsibly.
North Yorkshire and York Forum would welcome communication from colleagues making
use of the report and sharing the report. In particular the Forum wishes to collect
information about actions taken forward in response to the Recommendations.
Information should be sent to: [email protected].
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North Yorkshire Equality and Diversity Strategic Partnership – September 2016