County Hall yesterday voted to support people who have been in care, a group facing ‘significant barriers that impact them throughout their lives’.
Most councillors backed cabinet member for adult social care and public health Cllr Debbie Andre’s motion to assist ‘care experienced people’ who the Local Government Association (LGA) define as those that, at any point in their life and for however long, were in care.
Her submission proposes seven measures of support including recognising care experienced people as a group ‘likely to face discrimination’, and that councils have a duty to put the ‘needs of disadvantaged people’ at the ‘heart of decision-making’.
It also includes assessing the council’s ‘future decisions, services and policies’ to ascertain impacts on care experienced people and treating care experience ‘as if it were a Protected Characteristic’.
Protected Characteristics are those such as age, sex, religion or disability.
Cllr Andre’s motion also calls for care experience to be included in the ‘publication and review’ of the Isle of Wight Council’s Equality Objectives, aims public bodies are required to adopt by law.
It says:
“Care experienced people face significant barriers that impact them throughout their lives.
“(They) often face discrimination and stigma across housing, health, education, relationships, employment and the criminal justice system.”
A prominent national campaigner, Terry Galloway, who was abused while in care and moved in and out of the care system around 100 times, said:
“The Isle of Wight Council is now the 112th to back this motion, recognising what too many care-experienced people already know — the trauma of our past does not just disappear when we leave care.
“My sister Hazel and I made a promise to change the care system so others would not go through what we did.
“She told me she didn’t want to die, but like my brother James, she didn’t make it. Care-experienced people are 70 per cent more likely to die prematurely.
“This isn’t just about recognition. It’s about survival.”
Cllr Peter Spink, who represents Freshwater North and Yarmouth said he was prepared to support the proposal but expressed concern over ‘broad allegations’ in its ‘discrimination and stigma’ clause.
He said:
“We’re asked to note that people often face discrimination and stigma across housing, health, education, relationships, employment and the criminal justice system.
“I’m not sure frankly if all those groups deserve that criticism…having had 35 years in the criminal justice system, not as it were dealing with children specifically, but I’ve not found any discrimination in the criminal justice system.”
Cllr Spink ultimately voted against the motion.
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