Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

My Lords, this is a wide and varied group of amendments, and I shall do my best to respond to the very many points that have been raised. On Amendment No. 10, spoken to in particular by the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, and my noble friend Lord Judd, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is an international treaty, which is signed and ratified by the United Kingdom. As such, the UK has an obligation under international law to ensure that the rights set out in the convention are given effect. This obligation does not rely on any specific provision in domestic legislation, but exists entirely independently. In practice, UK law often goes further than the convention requires, as the description of child’s rights in the UNCRC is set out in very broad terms. The Government take implementation of the convention seriously. Since ratification of the convention in 1991, they have pursued implementation through legislation and initiatives, including the Children Act 1989, the Children Act 2004, the Every Child Matters initiative and, most recently, the Children’s Plan, published at the end of last year by my department. All those programmes are steadily improving the well-being and outcomes for all children and therefore the fuller realisation of their UNCRC rights. In respect of the new duty in question, the Secretary of State’s duty to promote the well-being of children already encompasses the principles of the UNCRC and the duty as it stands creates an additional legislative vehicle through which the Secretary of State will carry out activities which implement the convention. However, in keeping with the UK’s approach to implementation at large, we do it through the totality of our activity rather than through individual legislative provisions, and we would not wish to depart from that established practice. I turn to Amendments Nos. 9 and 11 on supportive parenting tabled in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Northbourne. I appreciate that the intention of these amendments is to assist those working with parents and children to be able to explain authoritatively the significance of parenting and the responsibilities that accompany parenthood. I also understand that these amendments have been proposed in particular to respond to those parents specifically who are failing to take seriously their parental responsibilities and who may benefit from targeted support and challenge in this area. These are aims which we entirely support but, as a number of noble Lords have said in their contributions, we are not persuaded that changes to primary legislation are the right way forward. Most parents do not need the assistance of the state in telling them how to bring up their children. However, we fully accept that some parents do need advice and assistance, and we are steadily improving the quantity and quality of the advice and assistance being made available to vulnerable parents and their children. That is why, for example, we are looking at the principle behind the red book, mentioned by the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, which is given to every parent by their health visitor to track their child’s health development through the first years of life, and we are exploring whether we could use that document to give more advice and guidance. It is also in recognition that some parents, particularly young parents, need more help that we have allocated £30 million from this year to expand family nurse partnerships, enhancing the principle of the health visitor by providing intensive nurse-led home visiting for vulnerable first-time young parents in England until the child is two years old, well beyond the provision typically provided at the moment by health visitors. Nurses build close, supportive relationships with families and guide inexperienced teenage mothers and fathers to adopt healthier lifestyles, improve their parenting skills and become self-sufficient. In addition, to help every parent to do their best by their child, we are allocating £34 million over the next three years to ensure that there will be at least two expert parenting advisers in every local authority, and we are expanding school-based parent support advisers. Moreover, just today my department and the Department of Health have jointly published updated guidance on the Child Health Promotion Programme which is for PCTs, local authorities and practice-based commissioners, including health visitors. This is a single programme from pregnancy and early years through to adulthood, and today’s revised guidance focuses on pregnancy and the first years of life. It sets out that on offer to every family is a programme of screening tests, immunisations, developmental reviews and information and guidance to support parenting and healthy choices. The programme will ensure that each family receives support that is appropriate to their needs, with the most vulnerable families receiving intensive interventions and co-ordinated support packages. Our long-term commitment to supporting parenting through programmes of the kind I have set out—I could describe many others—is the reason why the Government have made it clear in Clause 7(3) that as part of meeting the general duty to promote the well-being of children, the Secretary of State may carry out, "““activities in connection with parenting””." That is precisely to meet the objectives set out by the noble Lord, Lord Northbourne. Amendments Nos. 39 and 40 propose to set out in statute the responsibilities of parenthood. As the House is aware, we considered this issue at length in Grand Committee on 17 January. At the end of that debate I undertook that the Government would consider the issue and come back on Report with their view as to whether there is a case for further amendment to the Act on the lines suggested and in line with the practice in Scotland. At the specific suggestion of the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss, the Government have sought the views of the president of the Family Division and through him other senior judges with experience of family cases, as well as that of members of the Family Justice Council. The common view of these experienced practitioners is that there have been no difficulties for them in managing cases using the current wording of Section 3 of the 1989 Act which defines parental responsibility as meaning, "““all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property””." On the contrary, concerns were expressed by judges in particular that a fuller definition such as that proposed here might cause difficulties. This view is summed up in a letter of advice sent to me by the president of the Family Division, Sir Mark Potter, saying that the proposed amendment is, "““neither necessary nor helpful””." The president goes on to say that, "““to introduce and define a new concept of the responsibilities of parenthood in the form of amended Section 8(4)(a) will create scope for argument and confusion in an area in which none of the many judges I have canvassed at all levels has ever found the existing definition to present any practical difficulties””." The advice of the president could not be clearer, and I simply commend it to the House. Finally, Amendment No. 40, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, seeks to place on those acquiring parental responsibility through the making of residence orders under Section 8 of the Act the additional responsibility of having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Since the obligations under the UNCRC fall to the Government as the signatory state party, it is not appropriate for a duty to have regard to international obligations which bite on Governments rather than individual citizens to be imposed on a narrow group of private citizens who, through seeking to promote the welfare of children known to them, apply for residence orders under Section 8 of the Act. But of course we accept the responsibilities of the convention in so far as they apply to the Government. The noble Baroness also asked me about the promotion of public awareness of the UNCRC, which is an important issue. I am glad to be able to tell her that our support for promoting this awareness is not in name only. My department is providing funding to UNICEF for its highly respected Rights Respecting Schools initiative which has been mentioned by a number of noble Lords. Funding of some £181,000 in the current financial year is being provided, and £178,000 in 2008-09. UNICEF has piloted the Rights Respecting Schools award in over 100 schools, and my department is seeking to scale up this activity in clusters of schools which can act as best practice models for others. We accept our responsibilities in this area and we are providing funding to see that public awareness is increased. I hope that that will have the desired effect.