CAMPAIGNER HAILS COUNCILS OVER ANTI-DISCRIMINATION MOVES FOR CARE CHILDREN AND LEAVERS

A campaigner who grew up in children’s homes has welcomed the commitment by two Greater Manchester councils to protect youngsters in care from discrimination.

Salford-born Terry Galloway was speaking the day after his home city council and Trafford council agreed to add cared for children to the ‘protected characteristics’ in their equality impact assessments.

This category now sits alongside anti-discrimination laws relating to age, gender assignment, being married or in a civil partnership, being pregnant or on maternity leave, disability, race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief and sex.

Salford city councillors yesterday approved a resolution enshrining the policy followed later in the day by Trafford – the 20th such council to do so.

Terry, who now lives in Nottingham, but was in Greater Manchester to meet councillors, is a longstanding campaigner against discrimination affecting children and adults who are or who have been in the care system.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:

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“By the time I left the care system, I had lived in more than 100 places.

“I am from Salford but also lived in Manchester and all over the place.”

Terry pointed out that each child in the care system will cost the economy about £1.2m in their lifetime. 

“If you were to count up all the people in prisons or custody in England up to the age of 21, more than half have come from the care system,” he said.

“Above the age of 21, that figure would be much higher.” 

 

He campaigns to prevent vulnerable people who have been in the criminal justice system to be better rehabilitated.

He continued:

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“The question is: what happens when they come out of prison?”

“These people are 70 per cent more likely to die prematurely because of the trauma they have been through in their lives.

“If you haven’t got love and nurture it tends to end up killing you.”

 

The Salford city council resolution read:

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“The city mayor and the cabinet team will include the consideration of ‘cared for children’ and care experienced young people’ in all of our Equality Impact Statements, alongside those protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010, and consideration of socio-economic disadvantage which the city council adopted in November 2021. This will give them the formal recognition to ensure that in all decisions we make and in all of the policies that we set, will consider their specific needs and the impacts on them.”

Trafford council’s resolution went along similar lines. 

It said:   

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When making any decisions in relation to its policies or formulating corporate plans the council recognises that care-experienced people are a vulnerable group who face discrimination

That it recognises that councils have a duty to put the needs of vulnerable  people at the heart of decision-making through co-production and collaboration

That in the delivery of the public sector equality duty the council includes care experience in the publication and review of equality objectives and the annual publication of information relating to people who share a protected characteristic in services and employment

That the council will treat care experience as if it were a protected characteristic so that future services and policies are assessed through Equality Impact Assessments to determine the impact of changes on people with care experience, alongside those who formally share a protected characteristic

The council will provide support to corporate parents to act as mentors

The council will champion this with its partners and work with other bodies to treat care experience as a protected characteristic 

To call upon other public bodies to adopt corporate parenting for children in care and care leavers until such time as it may be introduced by legislation

For the council to proactively seek out and listen to the voices of care-experienced people when developing new policies based on their views.

 

Photo ©: Nick Jackson - Local Democracy Reporting Service