Appendix 1

Care Leavers Notice of Motion – 15 May 2024 Full Council

Young people leaving social care are already in a vulnerable situation, and they are often subject to discrimination when attempting to get a job or find a place to live. Indeed, some housing providers directly stipulate “no care leavers”.

The effect of this discrimination is to push these young people, who are already vulnerable, into hostels and shelters where they are easy targets for exploitation and victimisation by criminal gangs.

We call on this council to join over sixty other local councils in the UK by treating care experience as if it is a protected characteristic by:

•           Ensuring that during development of future policy and service provision, impact on those who have had care experience is considered alongside impact on those with other protected characteristics.

•           Including care leavers and children in care in its equality objectives and reports, alongside those with other protected characteristics.

•           Proactively seeking out and listening to people who have experience of care, especially when considering decisions which affect them.

•           Formally calling on central government to add care experience as a protected characteristic in the Equality Act, as recommended by the 2022 Independent Review of Children’s Social Care.

•           Formally calling on other bodies, such as academy trusts, housing providers, and the new combined authority to treat care experience as if it is a protected characteristic in similar ways.

Proposed Cllr Andrew Timothy

Seconded Cllr Chris Aldred