More councils in the north make care experience a protected characteristic

Published by Professional Social Work magazine, 17 October, 2022

Councils  in the north of England are increasingly moving to make experience of the social care system a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.

Westmorland & Furness Council and Cumberland Council, both new authorities due to take over from local and borough councils in April 2023, have made the policy decision ahead of their launch.

And councillors in Manchester recently agreed to ensure young people in care and care-experienced people are added to existing characteristics considered in equality impact assessments. They are exempt from council tax up to the age of 25 and are considered a Band 1 priority on the housing register.

Making care experience a protected characteristic will give it the same protection against discrimination under the Equality Act as age, disability, race, religion, gender reassignment, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity and marriage and civil partnerships.

It was one of the recommendations in England’s Independent Review of Children’s Social Care.

Manchester council has also brought its Leaving Care service back in-house and introduced 'trainer flats' to allow care leavers to get used to independence. Care leavers are also guaranteed first access to apprenticeships.

Councillor Garry Bridges said: ""We're fully committed to doing everything we can to help everyone who is care experienced - whatever their age - towards independence, and to support them in building a happy, healthy, successful future for themselves."

Meanwhile young people in Newcastle and Gateshead who have been in care are to be offered free travel on local bus and Metro services under a pilot funded by NHS North East and the North Cumbria Integrated Care Board.

Stephen, a 20-year-old man with experience of care, said: "It'll help getting to work because it takes away that barrier of having to pay. Especially if people start a new job, which I've actually done in the last couple of months. That initial pressure being taken off my shoulders is important, so I can focus on what I need to do at work.

"It also helps with mental health, which I think is more important than ever. I know from experience, as soon as you have people cooped up inside regularly, things start to become difficult. People like me need to be able to stay positive about themselves and be able to achieve what they want to do, or even just go and spend time out with friends. Now we can."

The progress comes after the successful #ShowUsYouCare campign on Twitter, which saw 25 local councillors who won seats in the May local elections back a motion to make care experience a protected characteristic.

In total, 105 election candidates pledged to propose a motion urging Josh MacAlister, chair of the Independent Review of Children's Social Care, to recommend the motion to the government and make it law.

Campaigners maintain this will help end stigma and create systems that better promote the rights of people who have been in care. They ultimately want all public bodies to pledge to make care experience a protected characteristic. It would mean organisations would have to show what actions they are taking to remove discrimination, with care leavers having legal recourse under the Equality Act.

Terry Galloway, campaigner and care leaver, said: "Our politicians are listening. #CEP (care experienced people) everywhere take a bow. RIP those we have lost."

Terry's sister committed suicide after being abused in foster care and enduring years of self-harm and losing custody of her children.

Terry added: "Our work is about pushing on with the policy work and building the evidence of how this will impact the care-experienced community and part of that work will be to work with employers. 

“The main focus for us is to show our community that they won’t have to declare they are care experienced to benefit from it as a protected characteristic because there is so much indirect discrimination in policy and how decisions are made, we want to go right to the source, which gives us a voice.”