My Lords, I am pleased to have been able to add my name to the amendment moved by my noble friend and apologise for having jumped the gun on this issue on our 10th day in Committee. The Minister, in replying, said then:
“There is a strong framework of support already in place to support parent carers under the Children Act 1989 and in new provisions in Part 3 of the Bill”.—[Official Report, 11/11/13; col. GC 196.]
However, this is not how carers’ organisations see it. They are arguing for a stronger and more coherent right to an assessment on behalf of parent carers. My noble friend has made the case very well and I will not add much to that, but it is important that we take this opportunity to consolidate and clarify the law for parent carers alongside that of adult carers and young carers.
I find it strange that Mr Timpson in the Commons argued in a Written Answer to Paul Burstow:
“Amending the Children Act 1989 to assess the needs of parent-carers separately from children would risk the needs of the children becoming second to those of their parent”.—[Official Report, Commons, 11/11/13; col. 506W.]
I cannot see the logic of this argument, given the whole-family approach that the Government are quite rightly espousing—and my noble friend has disputed the argument. Could the Minister clarify why the Government believe that this would be the case? Why does it undermine the rights of the children to have a clearer right for their parents when the family is living as a family?
It is important to make sure that parent carers’ entitlement to assessment and support is better understood as well as strengthened. There seems to be confusion over this. Both the Minister’s response when we last discussed this briefly and the Government’s response to the Joint Committee on Human Rights referred only to the Children Act and not to the rights that exist in the carers legislation. The point has been made that we run the risk of burying this important entitlement under layers of law and a confusing web of guidance. It almost seems as if it is so deeply buried that the Government themselves are not totally aware of the nature of all these rights. This is an opportunity to clarify and to bring it into the new legislation so that it is not left behind in what my noble friend has called “rump legislation”. This is a vital opportunity that we really must not lose. I am glad that there is going to be a meeting and I hope that the Minister can clarify why there is this belief that the needs of children are being pitted against those of their parents. I hope that we can resolve this because it is not, in a sense, producing something completely new.