Ealing Council are set to vote on whether to make it illegal to discriminate against those who have experienced care. 

The council hosted their first ever summit for care leavers (those who have been cared for by the council) and local businesses, organisations, councillors, and senior council officers pledged to support care leavers as they moved into adulthood. 

Peter Mason said at the summit that he was going to propose to the next council meeting making it illegal to discriminate against people who have experienced care, as is presently the case for age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion, belief, sex, and sexual orientation. 

He said: "In Ealing, our care leavers have achieved amazing things, despite the challenges they have faced. Today's event is testament to the talent, promise and potential of our care leavers.   

"As a council and as a community, we have an incredibly important role to play in the lives of all of our borough's young people. Care leavers often face multiple barriers both visible and invisible, and this is something that must change.   

"So, at our next full council meeting, we will be putting forward a motion alongside care leavers themselves, which will make experience of care a protected characteristic, to ensure every young person in our borough has the fairest start in life, despite the challenges they face." 

A survey carried out prior to the summit amongst care leavers to identify key areas where they need support, which were: housing, employment, health and wellbeing, education, leisure, mentoring and advocacy, finance and immigration. 

Local police commander, Sean Wilson, pledged to provide support and mentoring to care leavers and those at risk of offending, and Marcus Gayle, Community Sports Trust ambassador at Brentford FC, pledged to set up a direct hotline for care leavers. 

Councillor Kamaljit Nagpal, cabinet member for a fairer start, said: "Today, we have gathered to address the pressing issues faced by young people who have grown up in care, to provide a platform for their voices, and to pledge offers of support for our care leavers.  

"Being a corporate parent means doing everything we can for every child in the council's care – and those leaving it – to give them access to all of the opportunities that other children get. We need to be ambitious for the children in our care, encouraging them to dream big.  

"This is about making sure that every young person who leaves our care has someone at the end of a phone when they have hard day at work or university, or need help navigating an application form. It's about doing the things we would all do for our own children."