Conclusion 46

Many stakeholders have told us about the discrimination that people with care experience face once they leave care. We heard this testimony with deep concern. Although there would be potential merits in recognising care experience as a protected characteristic in the Equality Act 2010, we recognise that there would also be challenges raised by doing so, for example in relation to adequately covering the experiences of people in kinship care, and to having proper regard to those who do not wish to be labelled as care experienced or have their care experience disclosed. Any review of this area should thoroughly consider both the merits and challenges involved, in wide consultation with the sector and relevant people. (Conclusion, Paragraph 228)