My Lords, in moving Amendment 2, I shall not go through each point but there are other important amendments in this group.
First, I thank the Minister for responding to concerns about the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in the annexe to his correspondence entitled “Considering the Impact of the Childcare Provisions”. Of course, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that the welfare of the child should be paramount. The Minister quotes Article 18 with regard to assistance of parents and legal guardians, and Article 3, on the best interests of the child. I add that UNICEF’s summary of that article states:
“When adults make decisions, they should think about how their decisions will affect children
That is a fundamental issue behind my amendment.
Of course I support getting parents into work, and I support the increase in free childcare. However, children are at the end of this. I think the noble Lord, Lord Storey, was in the same territory: children should be at the end of any deliberation we might make. The Bill as it stands is very adult-centred, and I want to redress the balance and put the focus back on to children and their needs, in particular with a specific provision to close the gap between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers.
Eligibility for working parents and the problems about eligibility will be discussed later, so I will not go into them now. Nor will I go on and on about the wonderful report of the Affordable Childcare Select Committee, chaired by the noble Lord, Lord Sutherland, although I have to say it is a good read. It is packed with research, options and recommendations from providers, parents and employers. Importantly, that report also has children and their welfare at its heart. It shows that children in deprived areas tend to get worse childcare than those in affluent areas and that early years provision attached to a school is generally of a better quality. The committee also recommended that the Government should reprioritise and focus on children who are most in need of high-quality childcare. As we go on, prioritisation may become important and we should discuss the options.
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I suggest, as did my noble friend Lady Jones, that the Bill is the wrong way round—“topsy-turvy”, I think she said. A Bill on childcare should look first at the best interests of the child. Childcare and early years provision should help disadvantaged children—and, of course, all children. This is the best interest of the child. We see in a report published last week, and referred to earlier, that there are serious challenges
with regard to early literacy skills, particularly with boys. Fundamentally, and worryingly, early disadvantage can mean less chance of success later in life. I therefore want us to state in the Bill, loud and clear, that the welfare of the child is paramount and to go on from there. It is only by doing this that we will make real differences. I beg to move.