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Principles met

  • Co-production

    We will develop systems that enable citizens to be equal partners in designing and commissioning public services and in determining the use of public resources.

  • Community leadership and a new role for councillors

    We will explore ways for councils to act as a platform for helping the community to contribute to local outcomes, and to re-think the role of councillors as community connectors, brokers and leaders.

  • Enterprise and social economy

    We will promote community-based approaches to economic development that focus on supporting the creation of jobs, social enterprises and other businesses and providing an environment for co-operative and mutual enterprises to thrive.

  • Learning

    We will capture and ‘expand’ the experience and learning from individual projects and approaches in order to encourage broader application of co-operative principles within individual member Councils and across the Network.

  • New models of meeting priority needs

    In exploring new ways of meeting the priority needs of our communities we will encourage models, such as co-operatives and mutuals, which give greater influence and voice to staff and users. in designing and commissioning public services and in determining the use of public resources.

Care experienced individuals include people who have lived with Foster Carers, in Residential Children’s Homes or who have been adopted. Plymouth City Council has over 500 Children is its care at any one time with over 180 young people leaving care every year.

Children in care experience worse health outcomes and higher rates of truancy and exclusion. Care leavers are nine times more likely not to be in education, training or employment and are more likely to experience challenges in dealing with the emotional and practical upheaval of living independently and finding suitable accommodation. Though their experiences will have varied, the challenges faced by care experienced individuals can have profound and lasting impacts.

Recognising that we needed to do better Councillors showed community leadership, unanimously supporting a motion on notice brought to council by back bench councillors to ‘Treat care experience as if it were a Protected Characteristic’. The Council led by example, providing guaranteed interviews to those with care experience and a work experience programme that prioritises children in care and care experienced young people.

Foster Care

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