Issue - meetings

The Portfolio Holder for Children, Education, Skills, and Early Help to present the report and the recommendation from People & Health Overview Committee of 17 October 2023.

(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.

In setting out the report, the Portfolio Holder for Children, Education, Skills, and Early Help proposed the recommendation, as presented to People and Health Overview Committee of 17 October 2023.

“Care Experience” was not classified as a protected characteristic and the term had no statutory basis but was an umbrella term used to refer to individuals who were, or had been, in care.  By treating care experience as if it was a protected characteristic, Dorset Council must actively and explicitly take the needs of this cohort into account in all future policy and decision making.

It was proposed by Cllr B Quayle and seconded by Cllr S Gibson

Decision

(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.

To consider a report by the Corporate Director for Care & Protection and the Youth Voice Manager.

The Corporate Director for Care and Protection introduced the report and gave a presentation which is attached to these minutes. The presentation outlined the protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010 and gave background details to adopting care experience as a protected characteristic. Approximately 50 councils had adopted care experience as a local protected characteristic, and it was a recommendation from the national children’s social care review.

Members asked questions and discussed the report. The following points were raised:

·         The care leaver service could help care leavers identify as care experienced.

·         What members could do as corporate parents to help champion care experience as a protected characteristic.

·         It would be important for care leavers to identify as a care leaver on applications forms so they can receive support.

Proposed by Cllr Jones, seconded by Cllr Holloway.

Decision:

That the following recommendations be made to Cabinet:

1.    To support the development of an agreed definition of care experienced for the purpose of making this a protected characteristic.

2.    To agree that ‘care experience’ will 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 are assessed and consider the impact on people with care experience.

3.    To approve 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.