Making being raised in foster care a legally protected characteristic like age, race, or religion is up for vote in an English council.
A motion recognising that “care experienced people are an oppressed group who face discrimination” will be considered today by Cumberland Council in the north-west of England.
According to the report, these individuals frequently face a “postcode lottery” when trying to get assistance, and they deal with stigma and discrimination in a variety of settings, including housing, health, education, romantic relationships, employment, and the criminal justice system.
If approved, the council would have to treat “care experience” as a protected characteristic and “call upon all other bodies to treat care experience as a protected characteristic until such time as it may be introduced by legislation,” among other things.
It happens after a review of children’s social services recommended that the UK become the first nation in the world to protect being raised in or having experience with care.
In a report released in May of this year, Frontline founder Josh MacAlister urged the government, councils, employers, and educational institutions to “step up” and ensure that people who have been in foster care have access to “loving relationships, quality education, a decent home, fulfilling work, and good health.”
A wider range of organisations would also need to “act as corporate parents for looked-after children,” it was added.
If the proposal is accepted, Cumberland Council would be the first local government to implement the report’s recommendations.
People from care settings do experience “discrimination, stigma, and prejudice in their day to day lives,” according to a motion at the Labour-dominated council that governs half of Cumbria, including the city of Carlisle and the towns of Whitehaven and Keswick.
According to the article, “Public perceptions of care experiences centre on the idea that children are irreparably damaged, and this can give rise to prejudice and presumptions.”
The statement continued, “This stigma and discrimination can be explicit, and it frequently entails presumptions about the likely traits of children and adults with experience in foster care.
They may also be implicit, as shown by the way care experience is covered in the media, at work, and in classrooms.
‘At its worst this can lead to care experienced people being refused employment, failing to succeed in education or facing unfair judgements about their ability to parent when they have children and families of their own.’
It goes on to say it is ‘clear that such discrimination can be similar in nature to other groups that have a legally protected characteristic’ under the Equality Act.
The motion says: ‘ So, while there may be ways that society can help reduce stigma and discrimination, including creating greater public consciousness on these issues, just as with other areas of equality, there is a case to go further.
Consequently, the government ought to safeguard care experience as a trait.
Making care experience a protected characteristic would give employers, companies, government agencies, and policymakers more power to implement policies and initiatives that improve outcomes for people with care experience.
The UK will be the first nation in the world to do so when recognising those who have experience providing care.
It will support and open the way for some of the recommendations in this chapter as a result.
Allerdale Borough Council, Carlisle City Council, and Copeland Borough Council make up the council at the moment; however, they will combine to form the new unitary authority of Cumberland Council the following year.
The council’s Shadow Authority, which is in charge of directing the planning and execution of the new unitary authority between May of this year and April of 2023, will vote on the motion.
At its meeting with the Shadow Authority this morning, the council will vote on the motion.