Care leavers in Bedford given 'protected characteristic' status as council vows to tackle discrimination

Bedford borough councillors have passed a motion to help prevent discrimination by treating care experience as if it were a ‘Protected Characteristic’.

At last night’s (July 12) Full Council meeting, members voted unanimously to pass the motion to demonstrate the importance the council places on supporting care experienced people in whatever capacity it can.

A “care experienced person” is someone who as a child or young person, for however long, has been in care.

During the meeting two members of the public shared their stories as a care-experienced person.

Jacqui Battle said: “I wonder if I could tell you about the time when aged 13 when leaving my children’s home to walk to school I was stopped and my school bag searched by two police officers.

“Or about being 16 years old studying for GCSEs and living independently and how it really did take every piece of determination and resilience that I could gather to be able to navigate through that time.

“Now I’m in my late 40s, I can look back and say that the care experience is probably the biggest barrier I’ve faced as an adult, and in some ways I’m yet to overcome it.

“I prefer not to dwell on these things and focus on my hope that if passed this motion will create a real opportunity to start to address some of the discrimination and disadvantages care experienced people face and to be able to do this in a really kind and meaningful way,” she said.

Terry Galloway told the members that he had lived in over 100 places while in care.

“The thing for kids in care is they’re not getting the love, they’re not getting the nurture, and when they leave care the [support] just drops away,” he said.

“All that safety and that protection is gone, and that is when care leavers are so vulnerable and they’re out there looking to love.

“And what actually happens is they become a target for predators, so you get criminal gangs, you get coercion, you get domestic violence.

“That’s why we have the statistic of care experienced people are 70 per cent more likely to die prematurely than any of the group,” he said.

He added that if the motion was passed then the council would be “voluntarily” making care experience a protected characteristic.

“On a practical level you will be able to look and hear and see the voice of care experienced people every time that a decision or policy or a scheme is created by your council,” he added.

“But the biggest point of this today is so that your council can stand up and say to the community out there that they should be also contributing to looked after children and care leavers and thinking about that in everything that they do.

“Because whilst it is your responsibility as a council and social care department you can’t do this alone.

“This is about getting everybody out there thinking about care experienced people so that the discrimination that is happening right now in policy stops,” he said.

The motion was put forward by the portfolio holder for family, education and children’s services, councillor Jane Walker (Conservative, Clapham & Oakley).

Councillor Walker said: “I think this motion, and hopefully the motions that are passing all over the country, will eventually get to the government and will give care experienced people like yourselves a voice in law.”

The motion allowed the council to become one of only forty in the country to recognise care experienced people as a group who are subject to discrimination and protect them from this.

Speaking after the meeting Councillor Walker added: “This motion further embeds our commitment to ensuring care experienced young people are considered in everything we do as a council. It was great to welcome Terry Galloway, the leader of the national drive to have their experience recognised in council policies with one of our very own care leavers, Jacqui. Their speeches will be a constant and poignant reminder of the important step we have taken and that all care leavers are part of our family.

“Care leavers and care experienced individuals still face discrimination but last night we sent a message: care leavers deserve unwavering support to unlock their full potential.

“We will ensure our corporate plans recognise care experienced people are treated as a vulnerable group who face discrimination, and make sure that considering their needs and interests is part and parcel of every decision we make. We are all passionate about this because we want the future to be better for children in care and care leavers.

“It also means we will always listen to care experienced young people and proactively seek their views when developing new Council policies and plans.”