Latest news with #FlickWilliams
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Disabled campaigner takes on M&S over ‘discrimination' at York store
A disabled campaigner from York has taken on Marks and Spencer after alleging she was discriminated against at a city store – and won. Flick Williams, a visually impaired wheelchair user, described the case as a 'David and Goliath fight' which showed 'disabled people don't have to just sit back and accept discrimination'. An M&S spokesperson told The Press it is 'committed to making our stores accessible to all our customers' and is 'grateful for Ms Williams' engagement on how we can continue to improve accessibility in store'. Ms Williams' legal action against the supermarket giant followed a visit to the M&S food hall at the Vangarde Centre last June. She said she had arrived at the store to shop for herself and her 91-year-old mother but found a refurbishment had resulted in the chiller cabinets becoming enclosed and behind closed doors. The chiller cabinets at the M&S food hall at the Vangarde Centre in York in June 2024 (Image: Flick Williams) The change, she said, meant it was 'impossible' for her to pull the door open and reach into the cabinets while in her wheelchair. 'I could not even find the items I wanted because the doors were misted up,' she said. 'And then trying to open the doors proved impossible as I couldn't manoeuvre my wheelchair, pull the door and reach in all at the same time. I ran out of arms!' Ms Williams said she tried to locate a member of staff to assist, then found that the store's customer service desk had been removed during the refurbishment. 'I was frustrated that there was nobody available to help me, so I left the store without being able to make a purchase,' she said. Ms Williams said M&S told her the new cabinets had been introduced to make them more energy efficient. She said the company had also suggested she phone the M&S store in advance of her next shopping trip to ensure there would be a member of staff to help her. But the disability rights campaigner said she 'couldn't accept that'. 'Non-disabled people aren't expected to telephone in advance of going shopping which makes it discriminatory. 'The failure on the part of this food retailing giant was not to properly consider the needs of all their customers in their plans.' Flick Williams outside the M&S food hall at the Vangarde Centre in York (Image: Flick Williams) Ms Williams took legal action against M&S under the Equality Act 2010, which she said has now been settled out of court. She said the Vangarde Centre store has now made 'significant improvements' by lowering the handles on chiller doors and treating the doors to prevent them misting up. M&S also gave assurances that staff would be available to assist customers, she said. Ms Williams shared the incident on X (formerly Twitter) at the time and it received 11,000 likes and more than 300 replies. 'I was overwhelmed by the response,' she said, adding that the replies showed 'this was an issue affecting many people's ability to shop independently as they always had done. And that strengthened my resolve to seek legal redress.' 'We can and will challenge unfair practices,' says campaigner She continued: 'It was a David and Goliath fight that shows disabled people don't have to just sit back and accept discrimination, we can and will challenge unfair practices. 'I'm delighted that the changes to the store resulting from my case have removed some of the barriers that made it unreasonably difficult for many to shop there.' The M&S spokesperson said: 'We are committed to making our stores accessible to all our customers, and work with AccessAble to help us do that with access guides covering inside and outside our stores. 'We always strive to ensure colleagues are on hand to help every customer and we always take customer feedback on board. 'We're grateful for Ms Williams' engagement on how we can continue to improve accessibility in store.'
Yahoo
03-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
£1 million Inactivity Trailblazer to help York people back into work
A project backed by around £1 million aiming to get more York people into work will focus on people with mental health issues, disabilities, veterans, and early retirees under council plans. Plans for Inactivity Trailblazer funding include helping the unemployed gain skills through archaeology and construction programmes, workplace health checks and help to move young people into work or further education. Cllr Pete Kilbane, York Council's Labour deputy leader and economy spokesperson, said it was a bold step to unlocking hidden talent and ensuring no-one is left behind. But disability rights activist Flick Williams has claimed attempts to remove barriers to work facing those in ill health would not address employers' unwillingness to take them on. It comes as proposals for the £1 million project are set to go before councillors for a decision on Tuesday, August 5. Cllr Pete Kilbane, Labour deputy leader and economy executive member on York Council. Picture is from York Council The funding is part of the £10 million given to the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority by the Government to trial efforts to tackle long-term joblessness. The announcement that the region was among eight selected to host Inactivity Trailblazer programmes came as part of wider Government plans to reform the welfare system unveiled in November. They included plans to cut disability benefits which originally aimed to save £5 billion by 2030 but provoked a backlash, leading to them being watered down. RECOMMENDED READING: Library in York to receive £390,000 boost to improve its facilities Plans to close £18.5m shortfall for York Station Gateway scheme approved Tougher restrictions on holiday lets needed amid York housing shortage - council boss Employment Minister Alison McGovern told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) in March the Trailblazer and wider reforms aimed to stop people out of work being left on the scrapheap. Official figures show that in York and North Yorkshire, economic inactivity due to long-term sickness rose by 72.2 per cent between 2019 and last year. Government figures show around one in eight young people nationally are not in work, education or training. A York Council report on plans to spend its £1,038,250 share of regional Trailblazer funding stated the situation locally was generally better than national picture. Almost one in five working age people in York, 19.8 per cent, are economically inactive compared to the English average of 21.1 per cent according to council figures. Locally, 5,900 people aged between 16 and 64 are out of work due to health issues but 77.3 per cent of those with physical or long-term conditions are in work. That compares to 65.3 per cent nationally. Plans to spend the Trailblazer funding in York include spending £120,000 to recruit two new Opportunities Brokers who would help people address barriers hindering them getting into work. Supported Pathways helping people into work or with wellbeing through the local Archaeology on Prescription programme and construction skills training is set for £175,000. Tailored support for young carers would receive £18,750, with help getting 16 to 25 year olds with social, emotional or mental health needs into working, learning and training getting £37,500. A programme encouraging early retirees or those considering leaving work before they reach pension age into vacant jobs in the council, further education and other areas would get £62,500. Improving access to jobs for veterans would be backed by £18,750, with Mental Health hubs and talking therapy to support people with severe issues would get £250,000. Efforts to draw together best practice from businesses to create a package of support for employment and recruitment would receive £100,000. A total of 15 schemes specific to York are set to be supported by the one-off funding which runs until the end of March. Council Deputy Leader Cllr Pete Kilbane said it aligned with the authority's ambition to create jobs and grow the local economy. Council Public Health Director Peter Roderick said it was an opportunity to make a difference to lives of those facing barriers to employment due to their health or personal circumstances. Mr Roderick said: 'We're proud to be delivering a programme that puts people first—offering tailored support, improving wellbeing, and helping individuals find meaningful work.' But activist Ms Williams said it the reason many disabled people and carers were out of work was because it was harder for them to get and keep a job. Speaking previously about the proposals, she said: 'If you had spoken to disabled people you may have learned about barriers to work such as inaccessible, unreliable, irregular transport, lack of accessible housing, barriers to obtaining mobility aids, social care support and timely healthcare. 'Where are all the employers willing to employ us, ready to make reasonable adjustments, offer the flexibility to employees to manage our impairment issues, health appointments or caring responsibilities?'
BBC News
02-08-2025
- Business
- BBC News
'Phone payment system for parking in York isn't inclusive'
Carrying extra change to feed the parking meter used to be a common habit - but in the digital age, it's increasingly a thing of the some local authorities making a move towards cashless payment methods in their car parks, concerns around accessibility and digital exclusion have been raised. City of York Council recently introduced pay-by-phone only parking in areas across the city centre, to mitigate the cost of upgrading machines and to reduce Kate Ravilious, executive member for transport, said that the pay-by-phone system was secure, and didn't require users to have a smartphone in order to pay. The BBC went to speak to people and businesses in the city centre to find out how the changes to parking payment methods affected them. Disability activist Flick Williams was one of the 793 people who responded to last year's council consultation about on-street parking moving to cashless. She objected to the move to a pay-by-phone system on the basis that it wasn't inclusive to people who might struggle with technology for a variety of reasons."Digital exclusion is primarily associated with older people but also people with learning difficulties, with brain injuries, would also struggle with it," she said."They might not themselves be drivers, but they often have support workers who take them to appointments, and the deal can be that the client pays for parking -with cash that was easier. "Now support workers have to download an app and there's no proof of receipt."She added that a choice between payment methods would be fairer and more inclusive. 'Customers worry' John Cotton, owner of Bang Hair Salon on Bishopthorpe Road, said that his customers had to spend time downloading the app to pay, often making them late to appointments and "stressed out"."They really need to put in place something where you can tap a card – people don't want the app, they don't want all this extra data and personal information in another app," he said."With the rise in data crime these days, they need to be able to just tap a card, but they can't do that."Hairdresser Sophie at Studio 56 on Micklegate reported her clients often encountered similar issues, making their salon experience rushed and unenjoyable."The number or the app doesn't always work, meaning that customers are worried about getting a ticket," she up Micklegate, Lucius Books shop assistant Poppy said she often had to help people parking on the street. "We have quite a few people coming in confused about parking charges and how to pay. There's not clear information on the parking zones," she said."I do think quite a large proportion of our customers are from an older demographic, but we have customers of all kinds." In the Marygate car park, visitors Liz and Roy said they'd been concerned about payment methods while travelling in, stating that they would simply "not park" in an area that took phone-only payment options."By card, I don't mind but I couldn't do anything on the phone," Liz said."Having to pay by app was something we were panicking about as we drove in, thinking 'oh my goodness, if we've got to pay by phone, we're stuck'. "We certainly wouldn't be able to pay for it."Roy added that his concern would be finding out an enclosed car park required phone-only payment upon exit and struggling to pay, calling the idea "isolating".Ron Delnevo, chair of the Payment Choice Alliance (PCA), a campaign group lobbying against a move to cashless-only payment options, said that "people deserve a choice"."It's ludicrous that we're creating a two-tier society where people who want or need to use cash are being locked out of that society because we're only catering to people who have the means or the technical skills to use digital solutions."People are being horribly inconvenienced by having cashless imposed on them." The city council announced in February 2024 that it was moving to cashless on-street parking, in part to save the £60,000 per year spent on emptying payment parking made up 6% of parking income in York and more than 50 parking machines would have needed an upgrade at "significant cost" if cash payments remained, it said that following the public consultation, it was found that 90% of parking payments were made by card."We are aware that some still prefer to pay with cash. While most car parks will become cashless once the new payment machines are installed, Bootham Row car park and Castle car park will still accept cash," she under the revised Castle Gateway regeneration plans, due to be discussed by the council later this year, Castle car park could be set to close. If approved, the closure will not happen until at least 2026, and until that time cash payments will still be taken at the car park, according to the council."It's worth noting that even without a cash option, paying doesn't need to be complicated," Ravilious added."One swipe of a bank card is all that's required. And Pay By Phone is a secure system which importantly also allows payment by telephone or by sending a text message, as well as through its app, meaning a smartphone isn't required to pay."She said that available payment methods for council-run car parks were listed in its car parks directory. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
15-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Life expectancy gap growing in York, council health report says
People living in the most affluent parts of York live an average of 11 years longer than those in the poorest, according to a council in the Westfield ward can expect to live to around 80 on average and men to about 76, it said, compared to roughly 92 and 87 respectively in of York Council's report said trends were heading in the "wrong direction", with a rise in poverty, unemployment, overcrowded homes, obesity and substance misuse in more deprived comes as the council's Health and Wellbeing Board heard updates on work to try and reduce inequalities between the richest and poorest areas in the city by 2032. Peter Roderick, council public health director, said the number of years people were spending living in ill health across York had recently increased. The report states men in York could expect to live in ill health for an additional 2.4 years compared to figures a decade ago, with an additional 3.6 years for women. Roderick said efforts to try and reverse health trends included brain health cafés, welfare advice and supervised teeth brushing in the board meeting heard government plans to cut disability benefits could make problems worse, the Local Democracy Reporting Service Williams, a disability rights campaigner, told the meeting: "It's strikingly clear that the government's proposed cuts to social security are taking us in the wrong direction."How are council services preparing for the tsunami of need coming your way?"Ministers said the measures aim to stop a spiralling welfare bill and the reforms will introduce greater protections for those unable to work while supporting those who councillor Lucy Steels-Walshaw, the council's health spokesperson, said they were committed to supporting those in need including those affected by the government's proposals. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
