The Executive Director of Children’s Services submitted a report responding to a review of services to care leavers by Mark Riddell MBE, National Implementation Adviser for Care Leavers, which took place in March 2023.  The report recommendations were aligned with the outcome of the review of care leavers and had been endorsed by the Parenting Panel at its meeting on 13 July 2023.  The Panel’s terms of reference had been updated in partnership with panel members and children in care and were appended to the report for adoption.  This included a rewritten version of the Promise, which was attached to the report at Appendix 2 and stated the corporate parenting commitment to children in care and care leavers.  Additionally, the Care Leaver Review had recommended that the sliding scale of Council Tax exemption that was in place for care leavers up to the age of 21 years should be extended to 25 years to reflect the corporate parenting duties continued to this age.  The financial impact of this proposal would be included in the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) planning for the 2024/25 budget. 

The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care in England (May 2022) had recognised the negative outcomes for care experienced young people and adults and had recommended that the Government should make ‘care experienced’ a protected characteristic.  The report recommended that the Council should adopt this approach to tackle the inequalities that care experienced young people faced and, in doing so, support them to improve outcomes, including accessing work readiness and employability skills; building future careers and gaining experience; and championing access to apprenticeships and support through recruitment processes.

The following motion was moved by Councillor Hoskin and seconded by Councillor Gavin and CARRIED:

Resolved –

(1)            That the revised Terms of Reference for Corporate Parenting Panel, as attached to the report at Appendix 1, be approved.

(2)            That the proposal to include the revised sliding scale of Council Tax dispensation for Children Looked After and Care Leavers in the Council’s MTFS planning be noted.

(3)            That the proposal for Care Experience to become a Protected Characteristic be approved.