Bedford Borough Council took a significant step forward last night in its support for care-experienced young people, as confirmed by a motion that received cross-party support at Full Council on July 12, 2023. The motion solidifies the Council's commitment to prioritising the well-being of care-experienced young people at the heart of everything the Council does.
The commitments include the Council helping prevent discrimination by treating care experience as if it were a ‘Protected Characteristic’. The motion allowed the council to become one of only forty in the country to recognise care-experienced people as a group who are subject to discrimination and protect them from this.
Councillor Jane Walker, Portfolio Holder for Family, Education, and Children’s Services, said, “As a Council, we take our role as corporate parents extremely seriously and have already put in place additional support for our care-experienced young people.
“This motion further embeds our commitment to ensuring care experienced young people are considered in everything we do as a council. It was great to welcome Terry Galloway, the leader of the national drive to have their experience recognised in council policies with one of our very own care leavers, Jacqui. Their speeches will be a constant and poignant reminder of the important step we have taken and that all care leavers are part of our family.
“Care leavers and care-experienced individuals still face discrimination but last night we sent a message: care leavers deserve unwavering support to unlock their full potential.
“We will ensure our corporate plans recognise care experienced people are treated as a vulnerable group who face discrimination, and make sure that considering their needs and interests is part and parcel of every decision we make. We are all passionate about this because we want the future to be better for children in care and care leavers.
“It also means we will always listen to care experienced young people and proactively seek their views when developing new Council policies and plans.”