Agenda item

(A)  Care Experienced People

The following motion was moved by Cllr Ruth McGregor and seconded by Councillor Rebecca Wiffen:

“Council notes that:

• Care experienced people face significant barriers that impact them throughout their lives;
• Despite the resilience of many care experienced people, society too often does not take their needs into account;
• Care experienced people often face discrimination and stigma across housing, health, education, relationships employment and in the criminal justice system;
• The Public Sector Equality Duty requires public bodies, such as councils, to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, and victimisation of people with protected characteristics;
• The Independent Review into Children’s Social Care published its report in May 2022 and recommends that the government should make care experience a protected characteristic

 
Council resolves:

·  That this council will treat care experience as if it were a Protected Characteristic so that future services and policies made and adopted by the Council should be assessed through Equality Impact Assessments to determine the impact of changes on people with care experience, alongside those who formally share a Protected Characteristic;

·  To formally call upon all other bodies including government to treat care experience as a Protected Characteristic until such time as it may be introduced by legislation;

·  For the Council to continue to proactively seek out and listen to the voices of care experienced people when developing new policies based on their views.”

On being put to the vote, the motion was LOST.

(B)  Prostate Cancer

The following motion was moved by Cllr Chris Price and seconded by Cllr Sophie Dunbar:

“This Council notes; 

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. 

1 in 8 men will be diagnosed, rising to 1 in 4 for Black men.

As many as 69% of those treated with surgery may experience urinary incontinence as a result. 

1 in 25 men aged over 40 will experience some form of urinary leakage every year. 

1 in 20 men aged 60 or over will experience bowel incontinence in the UK. 

Men who need to dispose of their sanitary waste (including incontinence pads, pouches, stoma, catheter, colostomy, ileostomy waste by-products) often have no direct access to a sanitary bin in male toilets. 

Bromley Council resolves: 

To ask the executive member for Environment to investigate providing at least one sanitary bin in all Council operated and contracted male public toilets.   

To encourage other providers of public and workplace toilets in the borough to make male sanitary bins available in their facilities. 

That the Leader should write to our 4 local MP’s to encourage for Government to update any necessary regulations to ensure that ‘suitable means for the disposal of sanitary dressings’ is provided in all toilets, in alignment with the Prostate Cancer ‘Boys need Bins’ campaign.” 

The following members voted in favour of the motion:

Councillors Jeremy Adams, Jessica Arnold, Kathy Bance, Graeme Casey, Sophie Dunbar, Robert Evans, Alisa Igoe, Julie Ireland, Mike Jack, Simon Jeal, Charles Joel, Kevin Kennedy-Brooks, Josh King, Ruth McGregor, Tony McPartlan, Chris Price, Chloe-Jane Ross, Shaun Slator, Mark Smith, Alison Stammers, Melanie Stevens, Harry Stranger, Sam Webber and Rebecca Wiffen (24).

The following members voted against the motion:

Councillors Jonathan Andrews, Felicity Bainbridge, Yvonne Bear, Nicholas Bennett, Kim Botting, Mark Brock, David Cartwright, Josh Coldspring-White, Aisha Cuthbert, Peter Dean, Kira Gabbert, Hannah Gray, Sunil Gupta, Christine Harris, Colin Hitchins, David Jefferys, Kate Lymer, Christopher Marlow, Alexa Michael, Tony Owen, Angela Page, Will Rowlands, Colin Smith, Diane Smith, Michael Tickner and Pauline Tunnicliffe (26)

The following members abstained:

Councillors Mike Botting and Keith Onslow (2).

The motion was LOST.