Campaigner calls on Nottinghamshire councils to work together in protecting children in care

Terry Galloway
By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter

A campaigner is calling on all councils across Nottinghamshire to “align their policies” as work continues to give children and adults who have been through the care system better protection.

Nottingham City Council will put forward a motion in a Full Council meeting on January 9 pledging to treat experience in care as if it were a ‘protected characteristic’.

This means future services and policies made and adopted by the Labour-run council “will be assessed through Equality Impact Assessments to determine the impact of changes” on people who have experienced, or are in, care.

Terry Galloway, who grew up in care and now campaigns for better rights for those who have been in the care system, has been behind the work to get local authorities across the country to adopt care experience as a protected characteristic.

Wider work is also ongoing to get the Government to write the protections into legislation.

A similar motion has already been passed by Ashfield District Council, which was the first authority to do so in the county.

Conservative-run Nottinghamshire County Council later tabled its own motion, but it was deferred in November over Mr Galloway’s concerns the wording the council chose was “toothless”.

At the time he accused the council of playing party politics, and claimed it was trying to pass its own motion before any other opposition party could do the same.

He said: “We need a joined-up approach.

“That’s why I am calling on all the councils to align their policies and avoid playing party politics.

“Nottingham city councillors are right behind it now. I am also working with social services, we are really going to do some pioneering stuff.

“For children in care party politics do not matter. There should not be a postcode lottery.

“The county council’s motion will return on January 18. The city council’s motion will put a bit of pressure on the county.”

An Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, which was spearheaded by Josh McCallister, the former chief executive of children’s charity, Frontline, was published in May last year.

Among other recommendations it called on the Government to make having care experience a protected characteristic.

Mr Galloway says securing a change in the law is the ultimate goal, but in the meantime he is calling on councils to enact change themselves, particularly amid proposed closer working between political parties for a devolution deal across Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Derby and Derbyshire.

A devolution deal would mean the four areas would be covered by a regional mayor, with greater powers and more money passed down from central Government for more local control.

Mr Galloway added: “Care experienced people face the worst outcomes of any group, we are represented in every worst possible statistic, and it is a national scandal.

“We are 70 per cent more likely to die prematurely and are overrepresented in the homeless, prison, mental health and drug addiction populations.

“Nottingham City Council is now doing something about it. We need change nationally. But adopting this voluntarily locally right now means we are doing something, and we can start to address the inequality. But what we really need is legislation change.

“There will be some big hitters fighting to become mayor of the new devolved region and I’m calling on them and all councils to adopt this right now, because if we are serious about devolution then we need to join together as one region to look out for our most vulnerable.”