Childcare Bill

: My hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) and I have adjoining constituencies and it falls to me to express my party’s thanks to the Conservative Front Benchers, my hon. Friends the Members for Basingstoke (Mrs. Miller), for Wycombe (Mr. Goodman) and for East Worthing and Shoreham. I add my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Mr. Evennett), who has paid close attention to everything that was said. Perhaps it is too late to suggest to Ministers that the title of the Bill should be changed to ““Early Years Well-Being””. When considering the well-being of children up to the age of five—or up to the age of eight if one takes account of part 3—it is important to reduce the avoidable disadvantage, distress and handicap that they may face and to improve their well-being, which is a mixture of wealth and welfare. The development stages, which part 1 covers, are vital. Although the measure is primarily about the duties of local authorities, everybody in local authorities will want to involve parents. Trying to develop the confidence and competence of parents is the key to developing the confidence and competence of children in the early stages and building on that through the primary school years, secondary school years and adult life. Earlier, I referred briefly to the Plowden report, which was published in 1967. The research papers are worth rereading and I commend them to people in local authorities as well as to those who advise Ministers. The Court report on child health services again showed that parents’ actions matter. There is no point in relying on what local authorities or health services can provide if we do not engage parents in what they can do. The reports may be 30 to 40 years old but, if the work was redone now, the same conclusions would be reached. What was learned in Home-Start and what Sure Start is introducing are lessons that are not especially new. Every generation needs to relearn them. The bipartisan approach to the issues that local authority responsibilities cover matters. We have the problem—or challenge—of trying to ensure that that gets across to parents in all parts of the country in every generation. If 600,000 to 700,000 children are born each year and at least half are first children in a family, many new parents need to know what is available, what their child’s experience will be and what the normal hiccups, obstacles and problems are. All those who dedicate themselves to children, whether in the voluntary sector or in other ways in their professional lives, matter a lot. My final word of caution is to enthusiastic Ministers in this third way, new Labour Government. Life did not start in 1997, and nor did the co-operation between health and education. It has been said in a slightly jokey way that, when my right hon. Friend the Member for North-West Hampshire (Sir George Young) was booked into a hotel room at a party conference with his wife, Lady Young, they were the Ministers for the under-fives in health and education, and that the two Departments have had better dealings with each other ever since. We need to monitor the outcomes that people have worked for. When my wife, who is now in another place, was Minister for Health, she was as concerned about these matters as Ministers are now. I suspect that Ministers will be coming to the House in five or 10 years’ time to report on the measurable outcomes. The issue of whether reducing inequality—which is not how I would have put it—or raising people up from levels at which they should not be allowed to stay is the more important will become clear. An example of inequalities for the elderly in our constituencies is that they have to wait nearly two years for a hearing aid, but if they go privately they can get one almost straight away, for a vast sum of money. We could reduce that inequality by saying that people should not buy hearing aids privately. Alternatively, we could reduce the level of unfairness by saying that everyone should get their hearing test and their hearing aid within 18 weeks. I commend that to the Ministers as well. Question put and agreed to. Bill accordingly read the Third time, and passed.