Ethnic origin has always mattered in the care system and it has surfaced again after Cheshire West Council revealed that it does not document the numbers of young people in the Muslim and Pakistani demographic residing in the area. After the Brixton Riots in London in 1981, and the Inquiry which followed it, the Scarman Report, published in November 1981, found that the unrest had been caused by social, economic, and political pressures such as:
- unemployment,
- people feeling sidelined due to race, and
- a general lack of feeling supported by law enforcement authorities.
The Scarman Report suggested that more needed to be done to deal with these problems, such as officers being encouraged to build solid working relationships with the local community, and better standards for police staff to achieve.
Councils are encouraged to respect faith and culture
Councils were strongly encouraged to respect the cultural background of children when placing them in the care system. Fast-forwarding to the early 1990s, regulators thought sending younger age demographics to care providers in their own respective communities was achievable; however, there were mixed results when it came to adherence.
There has been a worry for a long period of time that children from Pakistani and Muslim demographics are being placed with members of the community who are blissfully unaware of their religion and background. This possibly has an eroding effect on their sense of self. If the reader thinks that this is theoretical, based on word of mouth testimony without substance, on the contrary: prominent voices have sounded the alarm, especially when youngsters find themselves uprooted from their cultural environment and planted with another family with a separate heritage. Partners in Care and Health observe that this can lead to a ‘closed culture’ which can be a ‘major risk to the wellbeing and human rights of people with needs’ in terms of ‘care and support’, ‘who are unable to protect themselves from abuse and neglect, due to care and support needs.’
However, in spite of the widespread concerns in this area, local authorities have not been documenting dual heritage, parental demographics, or the religion of younger demographics. Although, a point of fact is that Councils are not under a legal obligation to keep records of ethnicity and seem to take contrasting approaches about the recording of this information in their records.
How did the Cheshire West and Chester Council respond?
A response received from Cheshire West and Chester Council to a Freedom of Information Request (FOI) gathered some important information. The Local Authority observed that zero people from the younger Muslim or Pakistani demographic were provided with residential adoption care in the whole of 2024. They admitted that fewer than five young people of Pakistani origin were placed into foster care and noted that the numbers were so small that they did not justify revealing them in the public domain.
The Local Authority supported their stance in deciding not to reveal the numbers, citing legislation regarding privacy. The Council shone a spotlight on the fact that zero young people from the Pakistani demographic were under a child protection arrangement or residing in accommodation designed to meet the needs of children and younger demographics.
Statistics speak for themselves
Looking at the statistics, Cheshire West and Chester revealed that in 2024 a total of 5,173 children were classified as ‘in need’ and a record of their religion was never maintained. Out of this headcount, 3,888 were not residing in an environment designed for:
- care
- fostering, or
- child protection.
Throughout its response, the Local Authority emphasised that it did not maintain a record about the
- background
- religion, or
- heritage
of the mother or the father. They reminded the reader that they are not required to do so by law in England when they are providing services to younger individuals.
Tay Jiva wanted this level of detail due to long-held worries among the public about too many young people from Pakistani and Muslim backgrounds being potentially placed in the care sector and too few recorded in the maintained records, to examine how focussed the Local Authority is on taking responsibility and how tuned-in it is to the cultural needs of younger demographics. There was also concern, as alluded to previously, that many young people from Muslim and Pakistani demographics are residing with people who take responsibility for their care but do not match their origin, and worries that the Local Authority cannot guarantee that the environment the respective young person finds themselves residing in will be able to support their individual and particular requirements.
Taken at face value, part of the Local Authority’s explanation arguably alleviated the worries of many members of the community, as it revealed that the courts had not handed down a custodial term of imprisonment to no one of Muslim and Pakistani background, and that, contrary to rumour, the child protection system was not overwhelmed by the number of young people from the Pakistani demographic in Cheshire West and Chester.
A revealing and worrying response to the FOI request
However, the response received from Cheshire West and Cheshire is revealing in that it brings to the fore vital issues about demand for the service, and the minute figures of documented service users in Cheshire West and Chester. There is a broad brush approach to demographic information and no religious affiliations data is maintained, making it more difficult to assess. There are two ways to view the low levels of data collected. The situation may be perceived positively or negatively because it may conceal a significant deficiency of information.
The most worrying theme emerging from Cheshire West and Chester’s response is the lack of transparency and insufficient sharing ofimportant information. The lack of documenting the backgrounds of people from the younger demographic, potentially leaves local authorities unable to oversee how these services are performing, hiding inconsistencies or instances of people being treated less favourably. Additionally, councils are unable to guarantee that the requirements of young people from Muslim and Pakistani backgrounds in terms of:
- spirituality
- culture, or
- language
are contemplated when decisions around planning assistance, help, and accommodation are made.
No information gathered about people with parental responsibility
Just as concerning is the revelation that crucial information about the origins of those people with parental responsibility is not being consistently gathered. The absence of this data clouds the authorities’understanding, particularly regarding children of dual heritage or mixed parental backgrounds. Gaining an understanding of these distinctions is particularly important in areas where identity is traditionally passed through the family line. Identity passed down this way has separate legal, cultural, and social consequences, particularly in societies where the paternal line influences the nationality, social status, and inheritance. The separation has an impact on how information on the background of young people is gathered and analysed. This is pervasive throughout the important interlinked areas of:
- human rights
- equality, and
- child protection.
Historically, these concerns are nothing new. When the details of young people from Pakistani and Muslim demographic backgrounds are not kept, it becomes more difficult to support their wellbeing and it obstructs the making, implementation, and administration of good regulations.
No obligation to document faith or ethnicity
Nationwide, businesses, lawyers, and researchers have sought to shine a spotlight on the disparity in the way councils gather and utilise information regarding social care. By way of observation, there is no obligation for local authorities to document the faith of young people from Pakistani and Muslim demographics, despite the Government, through the medium of the Department for Education, placing legal obligations on councils to do so regarding gender and race. The authorities just have a reduced classification for the collection of information related to ethnic origin. Councils are permitted to gather a broader range of information, however only a small number choose to do so, which impacts on country-wide reviews because they fail to detect subtle differences in the ethnic origin of members of the population residing nearby. It ignores worries held by local people, especially Tay Jiva, that the numbers of people from the Muslim and Pakistani demographic are not able to be examined or supported by the collection of independent evidence.
Background is important when caring for children
The case for mending the system is gathering pace. If Councils want to achieve a system of care which is against treating people less favourably because of a protected characteristic, culturally aware, and sensitive to the needs of people suffering from trauma, they should document the background from a religious and ethnic perspective routinely, connect information received from young people with their personal histories when it is suitable to do so, and utilise information to oversee decision making. At face value, the response received from the Local Authority seems to highlight that a low number of youngsters from Pakistani or Muslim origin are involved with providers of care services. However, putting this under the microscope for a second, what comes to the fore is not any bending of the rules but a clear lack of data, which opens up to public scrutiny constraints in the care sector. This also brings to the surface the burning issue for decision makers, as to whether young people from Muslim and Pakistani demographics are being supported as well as they possibly can be.
