Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Bill [HL]

My Lords, one of the statistics that has stayed with me during my discussions with organisations on this legislation was that in 2006 the Crown Prosecution Service reported that 250 girls aged 13 to 16 did not return to the school roll in Bradford after an extended period of absence during the summer holidays. Some of those would have been due to perfectly legitimate reasons, such as moving house. But the noble Lord will know why that statistic particularly struck me. I have no doubt of the importance of schools. One issue raised by the victims of forced marriages to whom I spoke was the need to be able to talk to their friends and perhaps to people who they felt they could trust who are outside their own communities. It will be no surprise to the noble Lord that after victims, the highest percentage of those who call the Forced Marriages Unit helpline are teachers in schools. I could not agree more with the thrust of what the noble Lord is saying. Schools and education are critical. We need to discuss with our colleagues in the Department for Education and Skills how best we achieve that. It will be a combination of the citizenship programme and the opportunity to deliver, as we do on domestic violence already, these issues as part of the curriculum. It will be about offering advice and support to teachers who come across this, which is part of the guidance of the Forced Marriages Unit and its work right across the system. It will also be about the opportunities to make sure all young people are aware of this problem, so that those who may be victims, or those whose friends may be victims, know what to do and who to turn to. Again, I could not agree more. The Forced Marriages Unit speaks to schools extremely regularly. It is a combination of all those things. I take that point very seriously and I hope that I have addressed it. With permission, I am on my valedictory now. I want to pay tribute to my team which has been nothing short of magnificent. We have all worked together across your Lordships' House because this is such an important issue to deal with. It has been extremely important for me. I have learnt a huge amount. This is incredibly important legislation, but more than anything for me, this is the House of Lords at its best.