Plymouth is to deliver a further step change in the support it provides for care experienced young people.
Councillor Carlyle, Cabinet member for Education, Skills and Children and Young People, says the Council is to build on its commitments to care leavers with the Care Leaver Covenant.
Councillor Carlyle says she will be supporting a motion at Full Council today (27 March) that makes further commitments to ensuring the interests of care experienced young people are at the heart of everything the Council does.
These commitments include the Council helping prevent discrimination by treating care experience as if it were a ‘Protected Characteristic’ and supporting these young people with measures such as offering guaranteed job interviews.
Councillor Carlyle 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 such as the Care Leaver Covenant that we agreed last year.
“We want to do more though and will be launching a campaign next month to encourage businesses to pledge their support to care leavers, by offering apprenticeships, work experience and free or discounted goods or services.
“We can and will do much more though and this is why I am supporting the motion to further embed our commitments by ensuring care experienced young people are considered in everything we do as a council.
“We can do this by ensuring our corporate plans recognise care experienced people are treated as a vulnerable group who face discrimination, and making sure that considering their needs and interests is part and parcel of every decision we make.
“It also means we will always listen to care experienced young people and proactively seek their views when developing new Council policies and plans.”