Decision details

To adopt care experience as a protected characteristic.

(a)  That the development of an agreed definition of care experienced for the purpose of making this a protected characteristic, be supported.

(b)  Cabinet agreed that ‘care experience’ would be treated as if it were a Protected Characteristic under the Equalities Act 2010 so that decisions on future services and policies made and adopted by Dorset Council were assessed and considered the impact on people with care experience.

(c)  That the amendment of Dorset Council’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2021-2024 to reflect ‘care experience’ being treated as if it were a protected characteristic and the development of specific actions to reduce the disadvantage and discrimination that care experienced people face, be approved.

Reasons for the decision

Making care experience a protected characteristic would help to remove barriers to success for our care experienced young people and was in line with the recommendation to do so in the Independent Review of Children's Social Care, published in May 2022.