MK Lib Dems call for care experience to be treated as a protected characteristic

Councillor Jane Carr, Cabinet Member for Tackling Social Inequalities will move the motion. She will ask the City Council to treat care experience as if it were a protected characteristic and to call upon other bodies and organisations to do the same until such time as it may be introduced by legislation.

Care experienced people include all children, young people, and adults who are, or have been in in care at any stage in their life, no matter how long, including adopted children who were previously looked after.

Care for children and young people may have been provided in one or many different settings such as residential care, foster care or kinship care.

If the motion is passed, the City Council will be required to treat care experience as a protected characteristic, which means that people who have been in care will receive protection in the same way the law treats discrimination against age, race, or disability.

Councillor Jane Carr, said:

“Care experienced people are faced with huge barriers throughout their everyday lives. Through no fault of their own they will experience discrimination which can affect their health, education, employment, and more. Everyone deserves an equal chance and opportunity to fulfil their potential and live their best life. I hope my fellow councillors will support this motion so we can continue to help care experienced people overcome the barriers they face.”

This comes as recommendations from a review into children’s social care published last year stated that, the Government should make care experience a protected characteristic and that by doing so, councils, businesses, and other local organisations could put policies in place which would promote better outcomes for care experienced people.

Councillor Kerrie Bradburn, the City Council’s Fostering Champion, added:

“Looking after and protecting children and young people is one of the most important jobs the City Council does. We take our role as corporate parents very seriously and offer a wide range of support to our care leavers such as help with housing, health and wellbeing, finances, education and much more. As corporate parents we need to do everything we can to ensure children under the City Council’s care and care leavers have the same opportunities as our own.”

The City Council is currently a legal corporate parent to hundreds of children and young people whose challenging home circumstances mean they need extra support.

Last month the City Council introduced two full-time positions for young adults leaving care and is calling on local organisations to provide additional training and employment opportunities.