Children's services
Council calls for care experience to become a local protected characteristic
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A motion was put forward at a Council meeting on Wednesday 28 February 2024 by Councillors Elson, Jukes, Harrison, Waters, Hicken, and Worrall, outlining the local authorities Corporate Parenting responsibilities to children and care leavers in the council’s care, and recommended that a report goes to Cabinet asking them to formally act and call upon partners to treat care experience as a local protected characteristic.
Councillors acknowledged that young people who have spent time in the care system can be treated less favourably and therefore should be treated similar to others with protected characteristics.
The report outlined how young people in care will often have lower educational attainment than non-care experienced peers and are overrepresented in the homelessness population.
An Independent Review of Children’s Social Care published in May 2022 recommended that Government should make care experience a protected characteristic, and new legislation should be passed which broadens corporate parenting responsibilities across a wider set of public bodies and organisations.
The motion will be followed with a Cabinet report asking members to treat care experience as a local protected characteristic until such a time where it may be introduced by legislation. If approved by Cabinet, it would mean the council could do more to ensure that care experienced young people are not discriminated against, and work with partners to improve support for care experienced people in all aspects of their lives including housing and accommodation, health, employment as well as education and training opportunities.
“ I’m so pleased that this motion was passed at Council last week.
People who have care experience are often one of our most resilient members of the community, but despite this, it’s important their needs and the long-lasting impacts of being in care are taken into account.
These are real people with real lives, who often face discrimination in all walks of society, including housing, health, education, relationships, employment, and the criminal justice system.
As a council, we should be championing our children and young people who are and have been in our care, and challenge negative attitudes of society.
I look forward to bringing a report to Cabinet in the future, where we will formally request that the authority and its partner organisations treat care experiencers with the respect and equality they deserve, and handle care experience as a protected characteristic as though it was legislation. “
You can read the motion, and listen to the discussion on Walsall Council’s committee management system: https://cmispublic.walsall.gov.uk/cmis/Meetings/tabid/70/ctl/ViewMeetingPublic/mid/397/Meeting/3854/Committee/487/SelectedTab/Documents/Default.aspx
More information about children and young people in care can be found on the Walsall Council website: https://go.walsall.gov.uk/children-and-young-people/children-care-and-care-leavers
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