Care-experience and protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010

That this House recognises that the Equality Act 2010 currently protects people against discrimination for protected characteristics including age, race, gender and sexuality, but not care-experience; praises campaigns by organisations including Who Cares? Scotland and campaigners such as Terry Galloway, who have long lobbied for care-experience to be classed as a protected characteristic; notes that those who are care-experienced are more likely than the general population to face significant challenges in their life, such as mental health issues, barriers to further education, prison sentences and early mortality; further recognises that classifying care-experience as a protected characteristic would be, according to campaigners, the single biggest action taken to support those who are care-experienced; and calls on the Government to amend the Equality Act 2010 to include care-experience as a protected characteristic.