To receive and consider the recommendations of the Cabinet (Minute 362(b) as an amendment to the following Notice of Motion submitted previously to the Council by Councillor Hannaford and referred thereto in accordance with Standing Order 8(2), namely:
Devon County Council recognises:
· Every elected member and employee of this Council is a corporate parent to the children and care leavers in our care.
· We are all responsible for providing the best possible care, safeguarding and outcomes for the children who are looked after by us.
· That Councils have a duty to put the needs of vulnerable people at the heart of decision-making through co-production and collaboration.
Devon County Council notes:
· A UCL study which showed 70% of care experienced people die early. Over 50% of people who are in custody up to the age of 21 have been in care (Become Charity) and a quarter of the homeless population is care experienced (The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care).
· The Government commissioned an independent national review of children’s social care, chaired by Josh Macalister, and one recommendation was to look at making care experience an additional protected characteristic; another was that all public bodies become corporate parents.
Devon County Council believes:
· Our children in care and those who have left care have the right to expect everything from a corporate parent that would be expected from a good and responsible parent. This includes how families continue their support, care, and ambition for their children after they leave home and gain independence including through employment opportunities.
· This authority has already taken important steps to support our care experienced children and care leavers better, but we can always do more.
· That we cannot wait until the government decides which recommendations to implement and therefore, here in the Devon County Council area of responsibility, we should act to be the best corporate parents we can be.
· That when making any decisions in relation to our policies or formulating our Corporate Plan that we should recognise care experienced people as a vulnerable group who face discrimination.
· That whilst we cannot change national legislation, we can use our powers to ensure that the Council consider care experienced people as part of its decision making to seek to prevent discrimination and improve life chances, in doing this. This will mean that we treat people with care experience the same as those with a protected characteristic.
Devon County Council therefore resolves:
1. That the Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer ensure that all council making decision documentation has in it appropriate sections to allow for the impact upon ‘care experienced people’ to be considered in decision making, where relevant.
2. Officers consider how information might be captured and reported upon on these matters in a similar way to that of the Public Sector Equality Duty Annual report.
3. Any publication of information relating to people who share a Protected Characteristic also includes ‘care experienced people’
4. To proactively seek out and listen to the voices of care experienced people of all ages when developing new Council policies and plans and, where possible, those where the Council produces them in partnership with others.
5. To request that the Chief Executive, as Head of Paid Service, explore with the Director of HR how the Council could seek to guarantee all care experienced persons an interview where they meet the essential criteria of the post applied for.
6. That the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Schoolswrites to all public bodies represented in the Devon County Council area of responsibility, the Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses to make them aware of this motion and, where possible and within available resources, offer training on corporate parenting and issues facing care experienced people and to work with our partners and our care experienced population to understand what corporate parenting means for them.
7. That the Leader of the Council, writes to Devon’s MPs making them aware of this motion and asking them to press government to amend the law to include Care Experienced persons as a Protected Characteristic and for the extension of Corporate Parenting to all public bodies, following the recommendations of the Macalister Report.
8. That the Chief Executive, Monitoring Officer, and Section 151 Officer attend a Corporate Parenting forum meeting to report on the actions taken because of this motion on notice.
Having had regard to the aforementioned, any factual briefing/position statement on the matter set out in Report (LDS/23/7) and other suggestions or alternatives considered at that meeting the Cabinet subsequently resolved:
(a) that Council recognises that care experienced people are a group who are likely to face discrimination;
(b) that it recognises that Councils have a duty to put the needs of disadvantaged people at the heart of decision-making through co-production and collaboration;
(c) that future decision, services and policies made and adopted by the Council should be assessed through Equality Impact Assessments to determine the impact of changes on people with care experience, alongside those who formally share a protected characteristic;
(d) 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; and
(e) that this Council will treat care experience as if it were a Protected Characteristic.
Decision:
(a) that Council recognises that care experienced people are a group who are likely to face discrimination;
(b) that it recognises that Councils have a duty to put the needs of disadvantaged people at the heart of decision-making through co-production and collaboration;
(c) that future decision, services and policies made and adopted by the Council should be assessed through Equality Impact Assessments to determine the impact of changes on people with care experience, alongside those who formally share a protected characteristic;
(d) 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; and
(e) that this Council will treat care experience as if it were a Protected Characteristic.
Minutes:
The Chair exercised his discretion under Standing Order 11(2) to vary the order of business and bring agenda item 13 forward.
Pursuant to County Council Minute 213 of 25 May 2023 relating to the Notice of Motion set out below as previously submitted and formally moved and seconded by Councillor Hannaford that:
Devon County Council recognises:
· Every elected member and employee of this Council is a corporate parent to the children and care leavers in our care.
· We are all responsible for providing the best possible care, safeguarding and outcomes for the children who are looked after by us.
· That Councils have a duty to put the needs of vulnerable people at the heart of decision-making through co-production and collaboration.
Devon County Council notes:
· A UCL study which showed 70% of care experienced people die early. Over 50% of people who are in custody up to the age of 21 have been in care (Become Charity) and a quarter of the homeless population is care experienced (The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care).
· The Government commissioned an independent national review of children’s social care, chaired by Josh Macalister, and one recommendation was to look at making care experience an additional protected characteristic; another was that all public bodies become corporate parents.
Devon County Council believes:
· Our children in care and those who have left care have the right to expect everything from a corporate parent that would be expected from a good and responsible parent. This includes how families continue their support, care, and ambition for their children after they leave home and gain independence including through employment opportunities.
· This authority has already taken important steps to support our care experienced children and care leavers better, but we can always do more.
· That we cannot wait until the government decides which recommendations to implement and therefore, here in the Devon County Council area of responsibility, we should act to be the best corporate parents we can be.
· That when making any decisions in relation to our policies or formulating our Corporate Plan that we should recognise care experienced people as a vulnerable group who face discrimination.
· That whilst we cannot change national legislation, we can use our powers to ensure that the Council consider care experienced people as part of its decision making to seek to prevent discrimination and improve life chances, in doing this. This will mean that we treat people with care experience the same as those with a protected characteristic.
Devon County Council therefore resolves:
1. That the Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer ensure that all council making decision documentation has in it appropriate sections to allow for the impact upon ‘care experienced people’ to be considered in decision making, where relevant.
2. Officers consider how information might be captured and reported upon on these matters in a similar way to that of the Public Sector Equality Duty Annual report.
3. Any publication of information relating to people who share a Protected Characteristic also includes ‘care experienced people’
4. To proactively seek out and listen to the voices of care experienced people of all ages when developing new Council policies and plans and, where possible, those where the Council produces them in partnership with others.
5. To request that the Chief Executive, as Head of Paid Service, explore with the Director of HR how the Council could seek to guarantee all care experienced persons an interview where they meet the essential criteria of the post applied for.
6. That the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Schoolswrites to all public bodies represented in the Devon County Council area of responsibility ,the Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses to make them aware of this motion and, where possible and within available resources, offer training on corporate parenting and issues facing care experienced people and to work with our partners and our care experienced population to understand what corporate parenting means for them.
7. That the Leader of the Council, writes to Devon’s MPs making them aware of this motion and asking them to press government to amend the law to include Care Experienced persons as a Protected Characteristic and for the extension of Corporate Parenting to all public bodies, following the recommendations of the Macalister Report.
8. That the Chief Executive, Monitoring Officer, and Section 151 Officer attend a Corporate Parenting forum meeting to report on the actions taken because of this motion on notice.
and having had regard to the advice of the Cabinet set out in Minute 362(b) of 12 July 2023:
Councillor Hart MOVED and Councillor McInnes SECONDED that the Cabinet’s advice be accepted and
(a) that Council recognises that care experienced people are a group who are likely to face discrimination;
(b) that it recognises that Councils have a duty to put the needs of disadvantaged people at the heart of decision-making through co-production and collaboration;
(c) that future decision, services and policies made and adopted by the Council should be assessed through Equality Impact Assessments to determine the impact of changes on people with care experience, alongside those who formally share a protected characteristic;
(d) 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; and
(e) that this Council will treat care experience as if it were a Protected Characteristic.
The amendment in the name of Councillor Hart was then put to the vote and declared CARRIED and subsequently thereafter also CARRIED as the substantive motion.