Council to enhance its standards to improve residents’ experience

City of York Council’s Executive will be asked to adopt new standards to support people living with poverty in the city, at a meeting later this month (11 March).

The standards are set out in a Charter for Organisational Standards created by York Truth Poverty Commission and aim to make services more responsive to people’s needs rather than expecting them to navigate complex systems alone.

The commission is made up of Community Commissioners – those with lived experience of poverty who’ve voluntarily given considerable time to the commission, and Civic Commissioners – representatives of organisations and bodies in the city responsible for providing public services.  

The standards were created in response to learnings about the difficulties people who are in poverty with complex personal circumstances, such as those dealing with homelessness, mental health challenges or are disabled, are experiencing.

Over the course of 12 months, Community Commissioners shared lived experience of existing culture, systems and processes affecting those in poverty, and focussed on what needed to change.

The commissioners prioritised ‘To be treated with kindness, understanding, honesty and respect when accessing services’, as the scope of a set of conditions that would make the most difference to them whilst experiencing poverty.

From these discussions the commissioners produced The ‘Charter for Organisational Standards – TOGETHER promoting dignity and respect for those facing poverty’, which was launched last year. Civic Commissioners, including those from the council, publicly pledged to adopt and integrate the charter into the working practices of their respective organisations and invited others to do the same, to make a significant difference to the people of York.

At the March Executive meeting, councillors will be asked to approve four key organisational standards:

• We listen
• We are understanding
• We are respectful and friendly
• We are responsive, honest and care about getting you the right support.

Pledging the council’s backing for the standards will further support its vision to establish a culture and conditions that would make York a healthier, fairer, more affordable, more sustainable and more accessible place, where everyone feels valued. In addition, it will support the ongoing work to co-produce a 10 year Anti-Poverty strategy with residents and partners across the city.

It will also reinforce the council’s role in removing barriers to make it easier for residents to engage with the authority and other partners across the city.

Cllr Katie Lomas, City of York Council’s Executive Member for, Performance, Major Projects, Human Rights, Equality and Inclusion, said: “York Poverty Truth Commission’s work is vital in helping us to make York a fairer, more equitable city for all our residents. I want to thank all Commissioners for giving their time to developing these standards.

“It’s only by truly understanding the experiences of people living with poverty in York that we can help to provide the support they need, in the ways they need it most.

“These standards challenge organisations to reflect and think about how they engage, invite contact and respond to requests for help from York residents.  Only by doing this will they be able to confidently say they are providing inclusive services for each and every resident."

Councillors will also receive an update on the work of York Poverty Truth Commission, which launched in 2023.

More information about the Charter for Organisational Standards is available at https://www.yorkcvs.org.uk/york-poverty-truth-commission/