Purpose

To
adopt care experience as a protected characteristic.

Content

(a)  That the development of an agreed definition
of care experienced for the purpose of making this a protected characteristic,
be supported.

 

(b)  Cabinet agreed that ‘care experience’ would
be treated as if it were a Protected Characteristic under the Equalities Act
2010 so that decisions on future services and policies made and adopted by
Dorset Council were assessed and considered the impact on people with care
experience.

 

(c)  That the amendment of Dorset Council’s
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2021-2024
to reflect ‘care experience’ being treated as if it were a protected
characteristic and the development of specific actions to reduce the
disadvantage and discrimination that care experienced people face, be approved.

 

Reasons for the decision

 

Making care
experience a protected characteristic would help to remove barriers to success
for our care experienced young people and was in line with the recommendation
to do so in the Independent Review of Children's Social Care, published in May
2022.