Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

My Lords, yet again, the noble Baroness has demonstrated how fortunate we are to have her in our midst. Her practical approach, reasonableness and experience are invaluable assets for us all. Perhaps I may make a couple of observations. The first is that the noble Baroness referred to the organisations that have been making representations. All of them without exception said at the outset of our deliberations on the Bill how much they welcomed it. Therefore, they are not at all speaking from a position of hostility to the Bill. They are speaking with a commitment to it and a desire to see it made as effective as possible. I am sure that my noble friend would agree that that increases the responsibility of the Government seriously to consider what their position is. Today, on my arrival in the House after the weekend, I saw a letter from the NSPCC, which emphasises some of the points that the noble Baroness made. Perhaps with the leave of the House I may quote from the letter. In doing so, I join the noble Baroness in expressing appreciation to all the officials and staff who have enabled us to complete our deliberations this evening. Whether they were consulted about enabling us to do so is another matter, but we are all very grateful to them. The letter states, as the noble Baroness said: "““45 per cent of looked after children and young people aged five to 17 are assessed as having an emotional or mental health disorder, compared to 10 per cent of the general child and young person population ... Looked after children and young people exhibit high rates of self-harm and high-risk behaviour, particularly in secure accommodation … and some studies have shown higher levels of substance misuse ... Two-thirds of all looked after children are reported to have at least one physical health complaint—most commonly eye and/or sight problems, speech and language problems, difficulty in coordination and asthma.""These figures demonstrate not only the significant physical, emotional and mental health needs of children in care, but also the extent of need that remains unmet””." I shall quote just once more from the letter: "““Furthermore, 63 per cent … of children are taken into care for reasons of abuse or neglect. The negative consequences for their health and development, both in the short and the long term, are well documented. As the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has clearly stated: ‘[T]aking into account the serious consequences abuse has on the child, the necessity of the intervention and psychotherapeutic treatment is obvious.""Undetected and untreated abuse and neglect yield devastating results for both the individual and the community … immediate reporting, intervention and treatment of abused and neglected children is an essential priority of public and social policy’””." When those carrying front-line responsibility on behalf of society as a whole say these things to us, we must respond, and I am sure that my noble friend will do so when he comes to reply.