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Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]
The Bill will reform the statutory framework around the care system to enable children and young people to receive high quality care and support and drive improvements in the delivery of services focused on the needs of the child.
The Bill aims to increase the focus on the transparency and quality of care planning and ensuring that the child’s voice is heard when important decisions that affect their future are taken.
The Bill takes forward the ‘Care Matters’ white paper, which originated from a consultation launched in October 2006.
Junior children, schools and families minister Lord Adonis opened second reading debate on the Bill in the Lords.
The Bill will create a “first-class system of public care”, Lord Adonis said.
Introducing the Bill, Lord Adonis stated the principles behind the Bill are fourfold:
To ensure good parenting from everyone involved in these children’s lives;
To improve the stability of their experiences;
To give children a greater say over decisions that affect them; and,
To bring about a culture change where all those involved have greater ambitions for these children and believe that the children can achieve.
The Bill seeks to embed good parenting from professionals in every part of the care system. The second objective of the Bill is to improve stability, the third to put the voice of the child “at the heart of every part in the care system”, and fourthly, to raise the aspirations of all those involved in the lives of children in care and young people proceeding from care, the minister added.
Opposition spokesperson Baroness Morris of Bolton welcomed the Bill, but expressed concern that “much of the government’s commendable ambition will not be achieved without a motivated and rewarded workforce.” The government must do all it can to ensure that children do not enter the care system in the first place, she added.
Children’s social workers “must be properly respected, trained, motivated and resourced,” the Baroness said.
Baroness Morris said key issues arising from the government’s proposed new models of social work practice will be the concept of accountability and allowing the social work practice the freedom to operate in its own way. She also spoke on care of disabled children and the state of children’s homes.
Liberal Democrat spokesperson for children Baroness Walmsley described the Bill as a “real step forward” to “promote more stability in care placements, a bigger place for the voice of the child, more independent support for the child and, I hope, a better quality of care and more appropriate placements.”
She said there are “many good things in the Bill”; she welcomed the higher education bursary for children in care, but added “it is important that they are given training in how to manage their own money, or they will not feel the full benefit of it.”
The Baroness added she would like to see unaccompanied refugee children treated no differently from any other children in the care of the state.
Progress
House of Lords
First reading: November 14 2007 [HL Bill 8]
Second reading: November 26 2007
Grand Committee:
Bill recommitted to a Committee of the Whole House: February 18 2008
Committee of the Whole House:
Report stage: March 17 2008
Bill as amended on report: HL Bill 42
Third reading: March 25 2008
House of Commons
First reading: March 26 2008
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