4 2GM Monday May 23 2022 | the times
News
Children in care should receive protec-
tion under the Equality Act in the same
way as race and sexuality to tackle the
stigma and discrimination they face in
life, a landmark review recommends.
The once-in-a-generation children’s
social care review, published today,
calls on the UK to be the first in the
world to make care experience a pro-
tected characteristic, and to do so under
the 2010 act.
Josh MacAlister, who led the inde-
pendent study, said in an interview with
The Times that this would send a
“powerful message” and called on the
government to be brave with legis-
lation. The review, which includes
more than 80 recommendations, also
suggests a windfall tax on the 15 largest
private children’s homes and fostering
providers to claw back hundreds of
millions of pounds.
MacAlister said: “This should be the
civil rights issue of our time. The extent
of discrimination and the extent of dis-
advantage faced by those who’ve been
in care... there are hundreds of thou-
sands of people who’ve got that experi-
ence in England.
“We know so little about what their
life is like. What we do know is that they
face huge, huge disadvantages.
“Protected characteristics for care
experience would shift social attitudes
and focus organisations and govern-
ment on outcomes for that community.
“It sends a very powerful message to
society that this is a group that we need
to have special consideration for.”
MacAlister, 35, a former teacher who
came out as gay at 15, sees similarities
with the way the previous government
policy helped to reshape attitudes to
sexual orientation.
He encouraged Boris Johnson’s gov-
ernment to trigger a “big change” by
adding those with care experience to
the Equality Act.
He said: “I went to school in the 1990s
and the 2000s. Attitudes in schools and
in society about being gay were being
completely transformed during that
period of time. Part of that was the gov-
ernment making decisions that were
slightly ahead of where the public were
at times.
“That change allowed society to
change its attitudes and allowed us toTweed for speed Hundreds of dapper bikers, such as these in Poole, Dorset, gathered for the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride to raise awareness of men’s health issues
Trophy thieves jailed
Six men who blew up cash
machines and stole ten trophies
from the National Horse Racing
Museum have been jailed. The
gang attacked 18 machines in a
year and took £100,000. In May
2020 three of them stole trophies
including the £75,000 Ascot Gold
Vase. At Oxford crown court
James Sheen, 37, the gang leader,
got the longest term of 17 years.Body found in river
Human remains found in the
River Severn in Shropshire are
believed to have been in the
water for a “significant amount of
time”, West Mercia police said.
They were recovered in the
village of Cressage, between
Shrewsbury and Ironbridge, after
a passer-by reported the find on
Saturday. Police said the death
was being treated as unexplained.Boy, 2, falls from block
A woman has been arrested after
a two-year-old boy was reported
to have fallen from the window of
a second-floor flat in Leicester.
The child was taken to hospital
but police said he was not thought
to have suffered life-threatening
or life-changing injuries in the
incident on Saturday. A woman
aged 23 from Leicester was being
held on suspicion of neglect.Lunch is a quick bite
British workers take just under 26
minutes for lunch, according to a
survey of 2,000 people by Costa
Coffee and Marks & Spencer.
Those in Newcastle had the
shortest rest at 22 minutes, while
people in Sheffield took the
longest at 28 minutes and 48
seconds. Almost a third of those
questioned said they were too
busy to take a longer break.Man and girl die in fire
A man aged 58 and a girl aged 14
have died in a house fire in
Cumbria. Firefighters were called
to the blaze at a terrace on the
edge of the village of Distington,
south of Workington, in the
early hours yesterday.
Neighbouring properties had to
be evacuated and surrounding
roads were closed, but there were
no further reported injuries.
Cumbria police said that
officers were working with the
fire and rescue service to
investigate the cause of the fire.AADDEEEF
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Cryptic clues every day onlineZACHARYCULPIN/BNPSA record number of children and young
people are being treated for mental
health problems.
More than 420,000 were receiving
treatment in February, NHS figures
show, prompting experts to warn of an
“unprecedented crisis” in mental
health among under-18s.
Olly Parker, head of external affairs
at Young Minds, told The Guardian:
“The record high number of children
and young people receiving care from
the NHS tells us that the crisis in young
people’s mental health is a wave that’s
breaking now.”
The number of “open referrals” —
troubled children and young people in
England undergoing treatment or
waiting to start care — reached 420,
in February, the highest number since
records began in 2016.
The total had risen by 147,853, or
54 per cent, since February 2020.
January’s figure of 411,132 cases
represented the first time that the
number had exceeded 400,000.
Parker said it was positive that more
under-18s were receiving psychological
support but “the rise in the number of
young people seeking help from the
NHS is relentless and unsustainable”.
He added: “Over the past two years
young people have experienced
isolation, disruption to their education
and reduced access to support,
including from counsellors and GPs.
“All of these things have massively
impacted their mental health, but these
figures are only the tip of the iceberg
and will continue to rise.”
Claire Murdoch, NHS England’s
national mental health director, said
the NHS had expanded mental health
teams in 4,700 schools and colleges and
set up 24/7 telephone support services
for all ages.Plea for equality law to
protect children in care
make progress. The nine other protect-
ed characteristics in law at the moment
allow organisations to take positive
action.”
Projections in the review claim that
by 2032 there could be approaching
100,000 children in care costing £15 bil-
lion per year, compared with 80,
costing £10 billion per year now. It also
calculated that the lifetime costs of
adverse outcomes of children’s social
care is £23 billion each year.
To counter that, the review recom-
mends an injection of £2.6 billion to
enable 30,000 more children to live
with their families by 2032. It also wants
£253 million for the professional devel-
opment of social workers.
MacAlister said a windfall tax would
help to recoup some of the profits made
by companies that take advantage of a
“dysfunctional market”. His comments
come two months after the Competi-
tion and Markets Authority said the
largest private suppliers of children’s
homes and foster care places in the UK
make excessive profits.
Nadhim Zahawi, the education sec-
retary, said he would set out plans for
“bold and ambitious change”. He
added: “This report will be central in
taking forward our ambition to ensure
every child has a loving and stable
home and we will continue working
with experts and people who have
experienced care to deliver change on
the ground.”
Dame Rachel de Souza, the children’s
commissioner for England, said it was
time to “grasp this unique moment to
deliver ambitious reform, designed
around children and families”.
Sir Peter Wanless, the NSPCC chief
executive, added: “This is an ambitious,
essential and achievable plan to fix a
children’s social care system that is
under increasing strain and in need of
urgent reform and investment.”James Beal Social Affairs Editor
Mental illness
among young
at record high
Key recommendations Charlie Moloney
6 Make experience of being in care
a protected characteristic under the
Equality Act.6 Levy a windfall tax on profits
made by the largest providers.6 A new family help service based
in community settings.6 Expert child protection
practitioners should work in every
case where there are concerns
about the serious harm of a child.6 A new lifelong guardianship order
should be created.6 The Department for Education
should launch a national
recruitment drive to bring in 9,
foster carers over three years.6 £253 million for the professional
development of social workers.6 A new set of care standards.6 “Frictionless” sharing of
information between local authority
and partner systems.