Councillors in Blaenau Gwent today agreed a Motion that will see care experienced people receive protected characteristic status.
The Motion was brought by a group of councillors who stated that ‘care experienced people are one of the most vulnerable groups of people across our society, often facing lifetime stigma and discrimination.’ It was supported and welcomed by all councillors at the meeting.
Research has shown that care experienced people are less likely to access further education such as university; are more likely to be paid lower in their employment and are 70% more likely to die prematurely.
Cabinet Member for People & Social Services, Cllr Haydn Trollope, led the Motion. He says:
“Whilst the experience of coming into care and being looked after as a child will be unique to every individual, the fact that it leaves a lasting legacy and influences life-trajectory, is indisputable. Care experienced young people face discrimination, stigma, and prejudice in their day to day lives and as Council we want to do all we can to help try and change that.
“Making care experience a protected characteristic would allow us to put in place policies and programmes which will promote improved outcomes for care experienced people. We currently offer a good level of support for our care leavers until the age of 25 but making people with care experience a protected characteristic will provide greater consideration and protection from discrimination for those over that age.”
As a consequence of passing the Motion, the Council resolves to:
· Add ‘care experienced people’ to the Council’s Integrated Impact Assessment, so that any impact of policy decisions on people with care experience is identified and taken into account when those decisions are made.
· Guarantee an interview to individuals who have been in care, provided they meet the selection criteria set out in the job description.
· include consideration of how it might overcome the disadvantages and discrimination experienced by care experienced people when setting and reviewing the Strategic Equality Objectives
Blaenau Gwent Council also recently signed the Welsh Government’s Corporate Parenting Charter which strengthened its commitment to ensuring the best services and opportunities for children and young people who have experienced care. Read more on this here.
A care experienced person is someone who is living, or have lived, in care at any stage in their life. This includes children who have experienced, or are currently, living in residential care, foster care, kinship care, or at home with a supervision order. Under the age of 25, they are referred to as care experience children and young people.