My Lords, I beg to move that the House do now resolve itself into Committee (on Recommitment) on this Bill.
Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Motion agreed to.
House in Committee (on Recommitment) accordingly.
[The LORD SPEAKER in the Chair.]
Clause 1 agreed to.
Before Amendment No. 1 is moved, I should like to make a wider point about the Bill and pre-legislative scrutiny. This is a classic case of a Bill which, even more than previous Bills, was not well considered before it came into this House, where it has been substantially rewritten. The broader issue that the House needs to consider—perhaps the usual channels will take it on board—is that this is an exceptional circumstance for a Bill. The number of amendments is by a degree larger than the number of government amendments we have had to other Bills in previous years, and it should not become the norm.
As my noble friend the Chief Whip made clear, there were exceptional circumstances with regard to the Bill. We were exceptionally attentive to the wishes of the House and have tabled these amendments to respond to the debates in Grand Committee. I suggest that on that basis we move on to the amendments.
Has the Minister given notice to others that the recommitment is to start immediately following Questions? There was a suggestion that the Statement was to follow at this stage.
It is normal practice for the recommitment of the Bill to follow Questions. The Statement will be taken as soon as it has been taken in the House of Commons. That is the normal procedure.
Clause 2 [Restrictions on arrangements under section 1]:
[Amendment No. 1 not moved.]
Clause 2 agreed to.
Clause 3 agreed to.
Clause 4 [Regulation of providers of social work services]:
moved Amendment No. 2:
2: Clause 4, page 4, line 5, leave out “(4)” and insert “(9)”
The noble Lord said: These are minor and technical amendments necessary to ensure that, if the social work practice model is made available following the pilot phase, providers of social work services will be subject to registration and regulation under the Care Standards Act 2000 and inspection by the chief inspector, and to provide for amendments to Section 5 of the Care Standards Act to be made by the Health and Social Care Bill. These are straightforward, non-controversial amendments. I beg to move.
On Question, amendment agreed to.
moved Amendments Nos. 3 and 4:
3: Clause 4, page 4, leave out lines 6 to 9 and insert—
““(10) This Act applies to a provider of social work services as it applies to an agency, except in so far as the undertaking of that provider consists of or includes the carrying on of an establishment; and “provider of social work services” has the same meaning as in Part 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 2008.””
4: Clause 4, page 4, line 10, leave out subsection (2) and insert—
“( ) In section 5 of that Act (registration authorities)—
(a) if when this section comes into force the amendment made by paragraph 6(3) of Schedule 5 to the Health and Social Care Act 2008 has not come into force, in subsection (1)(a)(iii), for “and adoption support agencies” substitute “, adoption support agencies and providers of social work services”; and(b) if that amendment has come into force at that time or subsequently comes into force, in subsection (1A) after paragraph (e) insert “and,(f) providers of social work services in England or, where the activities of a provider of social work services are carried on from two or more branches, the branches in England.””
On Question, amendments agreed to.
Clause 4, as amended, agreed to.
Clauses 5 and 6 agreed to.
[Amendment No. 7 not moved.]
moved Amendment No. 8:
8: Before Clause 7, insert the following new Clause—
“Well-being of children and young persons
(1) It is the general duty of the Secretary of State to promote the well-being of children in England.
(2) The general duty imposed by subsection (1) has effect subject to any specific duties imposed on the Secretary of State.
(3) The activities which may be undertaken or supported in the discharge of the general duty imposed by subsection (1) include activities in connection with parenting.
(4) The Secretary of State may take such action as the Secretary of State considers appropriate to promote the well-being of—
(a) persons who are receiving services under sections 23C to 24D of the 1989 Act; and(b) persons under the age of 25 of a prescribed description.(5) The Secretary of State, in discharging functions under this section, must have regard to the aspects of well-being mentioned in section 10(2)(a) to (e) of the Children Act 2004 (c.31).
(6) In this section—
“children” means persons under the age of 18; and
“prescribed” means prescribed in regulations made by the Secretary of State.”
The noble Lord said: The Government are moving this amendment to reflect properly in statute the Secretary of State’s policy responsibilities for the well-being of children. Our intention is to demonstrate the Government’s long-term commitment to improving the lives of children and young people and in doing so to secure financial propriety for the Secretary of State to form relationships with partners effectively to deliver these improvements.
The extensive consultation that informed the recent publication of the first ever national Children’s Plan set out the value that children, young people and families place on a positive experience of childhood. The concept of well-being runs through the Children’s Plan and builds on the changes implemented through the Every Child Matters reforms. A strengthened focus on play, social and emotional skills and talent, for example, will all be important in enhancing opportunities for children and young people to enjoy a happy and healthy childhood.
The Secretary of State has for many years carried out activities for the benefit of children. In particular, he is already required by Section 10 of the Education Act 1996 to promote the education of the people of England and Wales. The significant developments in government policy over recent years through the Every Child Matters agenda have seen the Secretary of State recognise the need to look more closely at the holistic needs of children and the wide range of matters affecting a child’s life, happiness and prospects other than just his or her education.
We believe that the time is now right to recognise in statute the broader responsibilities of the Secretary of State for the well-being of children. This duty is in line with current duties on local authorities and schools to promote the well-being of children. It also reflects the Secretary of State’s general policy responsibilities in a manner that complements the operational responsibilities of local children’s services and brings a consistent focus on children’s outcomes at every level of the system.
In addition to the well-being duty for all children, this amendment gives the Secretary of State a power to promote the well-being of care leavers over the age of 18 and others under the age of 25 as provided for in regulations, to recognise the importance of supporting vulnerable groups of young people through their transition into adulthood at a national level as well as through the existing corporate parenting responsibilities of local authorities.
I commend the amendment to the House. I beg to move.
As we are discussing the first of the Government's significant changes to the Bill, I thank the Minister for listening carefully to all that was said at Second Reading and during our deliberations in Grand Committee. We have before your Lordships' House today a much improved Bill. I also thank the noble Lord, Lord Adonis, for the extraordinary care and attention that he pays to answering our concerns at length and in much detail in his letters. We are very lucky to have a Minister of his integrity and ability dealing with issues that involve some of our most vulnerable and challenging children and young people.
I also take this opportunity to place on record our thanks to Jake Vaughan in the Government Whips’ Office. I sometimes think that his job is almost impossible. It is daunting to be faced with a much altered Bill just a few days before Report. To be faced with it when the House is going into recess tests even the best humour. We were therefore most grateful for the concession to recommit the whole Bill to Committee—a rare happening—so that we had the opportunity to listen to the Minister and to reflect on what he has to say and on the implications of the changes before Report.
We warmly welcome the addition to the Bill of the Secretary of State’s general duty to promote the well-being of children in England in line with his current duty to promote the education of the people of England and Wales. Given the responsibilities of the new department, it makes good sense. We are particularly pleased that the new clause gives the Secretary of State a power to promote the well-being of care leavers. Will the Minister clarify the practical ramifications of such a general duty? As much of the Bill is concerned with placements and with decisions about a child’s welfare taken at local level, how much of an impact will this general duty have on those decisions? Will he also say whether the Secretary of State’s duty to promote the well-being of children will apply to children in the asylum and immigration system?
I echo the noble Baroness’s thanks to the Minister for his very careful response to all the points that we made in Committee; we are very grateful for the lengthy and detailed letters that we have been receiving. I also echo the noble Baroness’s thanks to Jake Vaughan in the Government Whips’ Office for being very patient about what has been going on in the past week or so.
We also welcome the Government’s amendments, which bring the Secretary of State’s functions in relation to well-being into line with those of local authorities and governing boards—functions that were set out in the Education and Inspections Act that was passed not very long ago in 2006. Given the importance of the role played by the Secretary of State and his department in dictating the terms according to which education, training and care are delivered in this country, it is appropriate that the Secretary of State should be subject to the same objectives and constraints as those who are on the front-line of delivering those services.
We are also very pleased that well-being is being extended to parenting. This recognises the very important role of parents and parenting in the well-being of children. I do not know whether the noble Lord, Lord Northbourne, is in his place today—I think not; he is still on holiday—but we have all played a substantial part in this issue. Perhaps I should declare an interest here as vice-chairman of the All-Party Group on Parents and Families. We are also delighted to see included in the amendment care leavers over 18 years of age, who are particularly vulnerable. Again, this is very appropriate.
We do, however, have a number of queries and questions for the Minister about the amendments. First, does the duty of well-being also apply to the Secretaries of State for Justice and for Home Affairs in relation to the children of illegal immigrants, of asylum seekers, of those held in detention centres and of those held in custody? Secondly, are there no equivalent provisions for Wales? Thirdly, does not proposed new subsection (4)(a) on the well-being of care leavers receiving services also apply to care leavers not receiving services? Does it apply both to those who have been actively receiving services and to those who have not?
In his explanation of 6 February, the Minister says:
“The Secretary of State now has responsibility for promoting the well-being of all children and young people (and, by extension, their families and those who care for them)”.
Can the Minister explain precisely who is implied by “their families”? Will it be spelled out in guidance?
The Minister’s letter also states:
“The clause itself requires the Secretary of State to promote children’s well-being”.
The clause explains that this is a general duty to reflect its target nature, recognising that the Secretary of State will be entitled to take a wide range of matters into consideration. The letter continues:
“It also ensures that the activities the Secretary of State undertakes to promote children’s well-being includes activities in connection with parenting”.
I have just welcomed that, but it would be useful to know what sort of activities the Government have in mind and what sort of resources are likely to be put behind such activities.
In this letter explaining the government amendment, the Minister also points out:
“The new duty will enable the Secretary of State to deliver the Children’s Plan more effectively and to ensure that the expenditure he incurs in certain contractual arrangements is in accordance with the government financial propriety rules. This would allow him to form those relationships with providers in the private and third sectors that are the most appropriate to achieve his objectives as he is currently able to do for education services”.
What plans does the Secretary of State have in mind? Is there likely to be a conflict between these and the Every Child Matters agenda? For example, taking the analogy with education, can a Government required to promote the general well-being of children and young people justify imposing an academy on a community which has decisively rejected such a proposition?
Finally, I should like to pick up on one or two points made by Barnardo’s, which says:
“The Government amendment rightly links the Secretary of State’s duty to promote well-being back to the five Every Child Matters outcomes for children and young people enshrined in law in s. 10(2)(a)-(e) of the Children Act 2004. Barnardo’s does not think that the current support systems fully contribute to young care leavers achieving the five outcomes outlined in the Every Child Matters agenda; and we would welcome steps taken by the Secretary of State through the new duty to address this. The following illustrate how care leavers’ achievement of the five outcomes can be compromised”.
First, on physical, mental and emotional well-being, Barnardo’s states that,
“many young care leavers tell us that they feel they have not been prepared for the reality of leaving care and in particular the issues of isolation and loneliness. Leaving care preparation frequently concentrates on the practicalities such as DIY, cooking and budgeting; but does not provide preparation for the emotional impacts of living alone or how to get help and advice”.
On protection from harm and neglect, Barnardo’s says that,
“we know that care leavers are vulnerable to many social problems such as substance abuse, exploitation and crime, yet it is too often the case that care leavers are placed in areas of the community where these problems are rife”.
On education training and recreation, Barnardo’s says that,
“the measures outlined in Care Matters and in the Bill to improve access to further and higher education are commendable; but we would also like to see proposals for increasing supported employment and believe there is an untapped opportunity to link to the commercial and business sector to achieve this”.
On making a contribution to society, Barnardo’s says that,
“we have already commented on the isolation that young care leavers’ experience which can preclude this contribution. The preparation for moving to independent living should include introductions and supports to enable young people to link to social and other networks in their new home area, including appropriate volunteer opportunities”.
Finally, on social and economic well-being:
“Barnardo’s welcome the proposal to provide extra money for child trust fund accounts, but recognise this will only impact on a small percentage of the care population, those born on or after the 1st September 2002. Barnardo’s would like older children in care to have similar opportunities to develop assets for use when they reach 18. In addition Barnardo’s believes there should be a minimum level of leaving care grant for each young person, consistent across all local authorities”.
As I say, those points have been put to us. It would be helpful if the Minister could provide further elucidation of his proposals.
This substantive new clause was proposed by the Government after we completed the Committee stage or, more accurately, thought that we had done so. It is fair to say that it was not signalled at that stage, but the Minister has written to those of us who participated in the earlier debates in Committee and has set out his reasoning today in moving the amendment. Although we have to react quite fast to the changes now being made to the Bill, I salute the Minister for taking a radical approach to the points that were made at the earlier stage and for coming forward with a comprehensive solution.
Although by nature I am hesitant about giving additional new duties, functions and potential action to the Secretary of State in legislation, I believe that in this case the new clause provides a guarantee for the well-being of children, in particular for those persons receiving services under Sections 23C to 24D of the 1989 Act. It may sound a little patronising to say so, but this is a longstop provision, described by the Minister in his letter as “complementary” to the duties on local authorities and governors of schools. I do not regret that; on the contrary, I welcome it.
As we are all relative newcomers to this new clause, I have one question for the Minister. I am glad to see the reference to,
“activities in connection with parenting”,
to which some noble Lords referred in Committee, but is the Minister satisfied that the phrase will sufficiently define what is needed and not go too wide? Does the phrase in fact exist anywhere else in United Kingdom legislation? I rather doubt it, so I would welcome a comment from him. However, as I have said, I support the new clause and, if it comes to it, I will certainly vote for it.
I am still digesting the impact of this proposed new clause, but on the face of it the provision is very welcome. In the past, there has been concern that too much responsibility in this area has been passed down to local government and not enough taken by central government. This is reflected in the failure to improve outcomes sufficiently in past years. In principle, giving the Secretary of State new powers in these circumstances is welcome; in practice, we should think about what will happen when the social work practice pilot report returns.
The concern is that, while we hope that this will improve continuity of care for children with a care order in the care system and that it will attract more social workers to work with children in care, thus preventing the high turnover currently so often experienced by these children, it might undermine the work done to support and intervene in families before children become legally subject to the duties of local authorities. Moreover, it might exacerbate the current situation, with which we all familiar, of a high threshold of intervention in families because of the lack of social workers and what are sometimes poor levels of support for social workers. That was strongly reflected in the research recently commissioned by the Government from the University of East Anglia, which highlighted a number of child protection cases where interventions were not adequate and children came to harm as a consequence.
To my mind, this new clause is reassuring in that these new responsibilities will put the Minister in a better position to look across the board to ensure that any interventions proposed do not help some children to the detriment of others. I look forward to learning more about these matters from the Minister in his response.
I, too, welcome these amendments and I commend the Minister for his careful perusal of the detail that we went through in Grand Committee. I have just two points to make. First, some years ago we spent a lot of time trying to introduce the concept of well-being into legislation. I recall the noble Baroness on the Liberal Benches—the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, rather than her colleague the noble Baroness, Lady Sharp of Guildford—pressing for this kind of phraseology in another Bill. We therefore warmly welcome it, although I am not sure that we know what the definition is and what it will mean in practice, a point that I shall come back to. I wish that the new clause were being inserted not before Clause 7 but before Clause 1. That would put into proportion the whole of this part of the legislation and take the heat out of the debate among social workers about practices in childcare. It would also give a whole-concept framework for children in terms of the 1989 Act and following through. I know that one of the Minister’s hopes is that he can latch these two pieces of legislation together more fundamentally, so that well-being is then the central core.
My second question concerns the wide range of duties on the Secretary of State and how those duties will link in with the local authority. The noble Baroness, Lady Sharp, referred to a long list of issues raised by Barnardo’s and other groups. I shall not repeat them but they are practice issues—not necessarily policy issues—which will have to be implemented by the local authority. I am sure that inspections will bring to the fore some of the issues and I should be interested to know how Ofsted might develop a more rounded approach towards helping those who are attempting to change practice as well as bringing the necessary criticisms to the fore. One of the difficulties is that, unless the regulator takes a rounded approach, there is a blame culture rather than a development culture. I shall be interested in the interrelationship between the Secretary of State’s new duties, which I welcome, and the practice issues that have to be carried out by the local authority.
My third point relates to finances. We have heard a great deal about the way in which the finances will be put together. However, as it is not yet clear in my mind, I ask the Minister what funding will be ring-fenced to ensure that this work can move forward. What will be left for the local authority to set its priorities, alongside its many other priorities, in order to ensure that children generally, and in particular children in care, receive the services that we are working towards?
I, too, congratulate the Government on the major thrust of the amendments. They seem to have taken into account a great deal of the detailed debates that we had earlier. Obviously the proof will be in the pudding. There is to be a Report stage and so we will have rather longer to absorb the full meaning of these provisions. In particular, I support what my noble friend Lady Howarth said about the relationship between how this will work out in practice and the wording. We can all applaud thoroughly the fact that well-being is included in the Bill in this form; we have been asking for it for a long time and there is a much greater understanding of what it means. There may not be the total detail but the holistic approach towards what we understand to be a child’s well-being is becoming clearer by the minute. I support the comments made by Barnardo’s, which raised some important issues, as other noble Lords have mentioned. With that proviso, I support the amendment and look forward to the Report stage.
I, too, welcome the new clause. It is, indeed, a sea change. It may not bring about something rich and strange, as the immortal Bard puts it, but it is nevertheless a tribute to the sensitivity, patience and understanding of the Minister, which he has shown at every stage of this legislation. The term “well-being” is well chosen. I do not know whether there is any statutory definition in any other legislation but I would have thought that it cannot be a thousand miles away from the reference to the welfare of a child that occurs dominantly in Section 1 of the Children Act 1989.
Another matter that may well arise in relation to many of these amendments is that it is made perfectly clear that the general duty on the Secretary of State is limited to children in England. I would be grateful if the Minister could kindly let me know whether there is currently any intention for the Welsh Assembly to create a parallel in Wales. I suppose that that very probably is the case.
I make a point en passant that reflects on all the matters that have been devolved by this House in favour of the Cardiff Assembly. Nothing constitutionally prevents this House, as the mother Parliament, from passing legislation that may be utterly contrary to what might have been done in Wales, although I do not think for a moment that we would intend to do so. On Scotland, a formal undertaking was given—I think that it is called the Sewel undertaking—that, having devolved a certain area of jurisdiction, the House would not seek to interfere in that area any longer. During the passage of the Government of Wales Bill through this House in 2006, I was given an undertaking by the relevant Minister that a parallel undertaking would be given concerning Wales. I have not heard anything formally in that regard, but I would not suggest for a moment that the Government were acting other than in perfect good faith on this matter. Unless I hear anything to the contrary, I assume that such an undertaking is now current and will be observed.
I am grateful for all the complimentary remarks that have been made, both about me personally and about the Government Whips’ Office, which has sought to accommodate the legitimate concerns of noble Lords that they should have an adequate opportunity to consider the government amendments before we move on to Report. We are glad to have been able to accommodate that request.
I was asked a large number of questions. I shall seek to answer as many as I can, although I may have to respond to some in writing. I am glad that there has been a general welcome from noble Lords in response to the new power set out in this amendment. The noble Lord, Lord Williamson, asks whether there is a precise parallel for the phrase,
“activities in connection with parenting”.
I am not aware of a precise parallel, but I can tell him that Section 14 of the Education Act 2002 gives the Secretary of State power to give financial assistance to support parenting, including support for prospective parents. Therefore, this builds on powers that exist in current legislation.
The noble Baronesses, Lady Morris and Lady Sharp, asked whether the new duty applies just to the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families or to other Secretaries of State. I can tell them that the duty is in relation to all government departments with regard to policy on children, not just to the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families. The noble Baroness, Lady Morris, mentioned asylum and immigration children. All relevant government departments will need to have regard to well-being in forming policies. However, the new duty sits alongside other legal duties on Secretaries of State, who will need to balance all their legal duties when developing policy and taking action on specific cases.
The noble Baroness, Lady Sharp, and the noble Lord, Lord Elystan-Morgan, talked about Wales. The new clause applies only to children in England. Wales is aware of the Secretary of State’s policy reasons for taking a new duty but is content at this stage not to take one itself. Wales has indicated that it does not have the immediate problems of financial propriety encountered by the Secretary of State in incurring expenditure under contracts, by virtue of Section 68 of the Government of Wales Act 2006. It therefore does not see the need to take the power at this stage.
In relation to financial propriety and contracting, the amendment will enable the Secretary of State to meet the Government’s financial propriety rules when he incurs expenditure in contractual relationships with providers in the third and private sectors. The noble Baroness, Lady Sharp, asked me to set out more fully why this was necessary and I am glad to do so. While there are powers to provide financial assistance through grants in Sections 14 and 15 of the Education Act 2002, there is no general statutory provision that provides the Secretary of State with authority to incur expenditure under contracts in relation to his children’s services activities, as there currently is for education. A general provision such as this can be construed as providing the Secretary of State with statutory authority to incur expenditure under a contract, because the provision is general in nature and silent as to how resources are to be applied for that purpose. One effect of taking the duty would be to plug the gap and remove the need for the department in future to seek specific legislation for a particular project related to children’s well-being that entailed expenditure under contracts. It would also reduce the number of circumstances in which the department needed to seek the Treasury’s permission to rely on the sole authority of the Appropriation Act. In particular, this would enable contracts to be let nationally to better support local authorities to deliver children’s services—for example, by providing expertise to assist in the establishment of Sure Start children’s centres, which I think would be welcomed on all sides of the Committee.
The noble Baroness, Lady Howarth, asked me whether the provision changes the legal duties of local authorities. It involves no changes in their legal duties, which will continue as they are now, and it does not make any changes to the funding regime for local authorities, including that balance between generally allocated and ring-fenced resources, which would not be subject to any change simply as a result of the amendment.
The noble Baroness, Lady Sharp, asked whether the definition of care leavers would be set out more fully elsewhere. We intend to do that. Subsection (6) of the new clause will give the Secretary of State power to make regulations in this regard. The noble Baroness raised some other, more detailed and technical issues in respect of the Barnardo’s response, to which I shall respond in writing.
On Question, amendment agreed to.
I beg to move that the House do now resume.
Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Motion agreed to.
House resumed.