Agenda item

This is an opportunity for members of Care In Action (CIA) and Care Leavers in Action (CLIA) to feedback on recent activity.

This will include a discussion about Care Experience as a Protected Characteristic, facilitated by Brent young people and Participation leads.

Alice Weavers (Participation and Engagement Manager, Brent Council) opened the session with a workshop which considered care experience as a protected characteristic. She explained that in the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care by Josh McAlister, a recommendation was made for care experience to be a protected characteristic in the same way as other protected characteristics such as race, gender and disability. The government did not take that recommendation on board nationally, but the recommendation did lead to conversations in local authorities reviewing what could be done locally to support care experienced young people. In introducing the discussion, she highlighted that at least 63 local authorities had now adopted policies with care experience as a protected characteristic, which would mean that all reports with Equality Impact Assessments would need to consider their impact on children and young people with care experience. Other Councils had used it as an opportunity to launch new initiatives for care experienced young people. For example, Camden Council had launched free WiFi access for care leavers under 25. Across the country, there was some confusion about what it would mean for the Council to consider care experience as a protected characteristic with no general consensus across the piece nationally or regionally. As such, she asked those present to consider what it would mean for Brent in terms of people’s work, their colleagues, and for children and young people if this policy were to be implemented in Brent.

During the discussion, concerns were raised in relation to disclosure and the risk of discrimination or stigma. Young people felt that disclosing their care experience may cause discrimination against them due to societal stigma, but it was highlighted that to have care experience as a protected characteristic would mean that they would be protected from discrimination and would be able to challenge where they felt discriminated against. The policy could also be used as an opportunity to break stigma and take a zero-tolerance approach to discriminatory behaviour.

NHS colleagues highlighted that local providers would likely be willing to adopt the policy of having care experience as a protected characteristic if the Council took a lead in that. This would mean that those with care experience would automatically be guaranteed an interview during recruitment processes if they met the relevant experience criteria and disclosed on their equal opportunities form that they were care experienced. There were also staff networks to support those with protected characteristics to come together, which included campaigns and events such as LGBT+ month and International Women’s Day, which would mean those with care experience would be given supported opportunities to come together in a similar way.

It was highlighted it was not clear to young people what this policy would mean tangibly, with a suggestion for the phrase and terminology to change so that it was easier to understand. The policy could be used for lobbying for more offers for care experienced young people such as free WiFi and free travel. As well as this, services would need to consider care experience when planning their services alongside the other protected characteristics.

The next steps would be to come to a decision as to whether care experience was a protected characteristic and, if so, ask the Committee to endorse that approach and the work that was happening to make care a protected characteristic. The policy could then be presented to Full Council.

The Committee then moved on to updates from CIA / CLIA representatives.

K highlighted the interview panels she had been part of for participation staff and leaving care staff. She advised the Committee it had been a good and insightful opportunity which had built her confidence and also helped with her own interviews. CLIA was also involved in a commissioning project for the independent reviewer contract and she had provided feedback for that. A residential was planned for July. Previously, this had been to the Gordon Brown Centre, but most care leavers had already done that residential a few times so had been looking for an alternative. This time they would be going to a lake and taking part in some outdoor activities.

N informed the Committee that CIA / CLIA would be launching a Participation Strategy.

S updated the Committee on the London Borough of Culture ‘Seen and Heard’ project that she had been involved in since 2019. In 2020, 5 apprentices had been selected to design a space that was being built for young people, and the space those apprentices had designed had won a Euro Cities Award. Two young people had then travelled to Brussels to collect that award. On 15 February 2024 there had been a presentation in Brent Civic Centre which demonstrated how they had won the award. Being part of this project had given S the opportunity to build her knowledge and skills and work with clients such as Quintain, LSE and other young people.

The Committee thanked the representatives for the updates and RESOLVED:

That the updates by the representatives of Care in Action/Care Leavers in Action be noted.