Children and Social Work Bill [HL]

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville Excerpts

Tuesday 14th June 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD)]

My Lords, I welcome this Bill and the chance to debate the issues around the care of extremely vulnerable children and young people. I declare my interest as a vice-president of the LGA and a district councillor at South Somerset.

Following public outcry after high-profile, horrific childcare cases, we have seen increased numbers of children and young people admitted to the care system. One can understand the nervousness of hard-pressed social workers anxious not to take risks or find the excruciating spotlight of the press and public opinion turned on them. This has placed an almost intolerable burden on local authorities, which with shrinking budgets year on year are finding it difficult to provide adequate care to those vulnerable children and young people placed with them. However, it is the right of every child to live in a loving environment, to feel safe, to be able to access education and to take advantage of life’s chances, to laugh and to thrive.

At a time when there is a desperate shortage of qualified and experienced child social workers, goal posts are yet again being moved. I think I understand where the Prime Minister and the Government are coming from. It is vital that we improve the life chances of looked-after children. But will this piece of legislation do that? I hope so. Recruitment, support and training for social workers is essential to achieving this.

I have been an elected councillor for 23 years, spending 20 years on Somerset County Council, with 10 parish councils to visit. Their main concern seemed to be the state of rural roads, depth of potholes and speeding traffic. These issues, important though they are, were not what got me out of bed in the morning. But the plight of a neglected and sad child, or the dignity with which those with learning difficulties were treated, were issues which motivated me to do the best I was able to try to protect them. I took my responsibilities as a corporate parent seriously and enjoyed visiting children’s homes with a fellow like-minded councillor. We tried to visit around tea-time and eat with the children and young people as there was a more relaxed atmosphere and you could often engage them in conversation, hear their aspirations and encourage them to share concerns.

Whether visiting children’s homes or discussing looked-after children in Committee, from the days of the Quality Protects legislation to the present day, I always tried to use the same yardstick: if, in my eyes, it was not good enough for my own children, it was not good enough for looked-after children. The Article 39 briefing stresses, among other things: the importance of children and young people feeling loved, happy and secure; the importance of keeping siblings together whenever possible; and the provision of appropriate support to help children recover from past abuse and neglect.

At the point of permanent adoption, legislation states that the court or adoption agency should consider the relationships that children have with relatives and others, and specifies relatives, including the child’s mother and father. The 2016 Act confers the legal status of relative on a prospective adopter with whom the child is placed. The law already requires the court to have regard to the child’s wishes and feelings with regard to the general adoption decision. However, no provision has been made for due consideration to be given to children’s views, wishes and feelings about the relationships they value and naturally wish to preserve. I will return to the view of the child later.

Last week, the Children’s Society produced a report, The Cost of being Care Free, which gives some chilling statistics around how ill-prepared young people leaving care are to deal with the financial implications of living on their own with regard to paying council tax, access to benefits and the implications of being sanctioned by jobcentres, as my noble friend has already pointed out. Young people generally have little understanding of the ramifications of household bills, but most have parents to help them through and point them in the right direction. Those leaving the care system should have access to advice and support to assist them to live independently. I strongly support the Children’s Society in its aim to make this happen. The Children’s Society’s report The Wolf at the Door showed how quickly care leavers could fall into financial difficulty. One young person interviewed said:

“I kept on being charged for council tax. I couldn’t pay it. I was just falling further and further behind … I tried telling them that I couldn’t pay that per month, they weren’t having none of it … and then I ended up just leaving it. Even though I didn’t have any money, they weren’t willing to do anything”.

Care leavers need a better package of financial support to reduce their likelihood of facing poverty and financial exclusion. This should include exemption from council tax until the age of 25 to support their transition to adulthood and prevent them falling into debt. Does the Minister agree that more needs to be done by national government to reduce the likelihood of care leavers facing financial exclusion? Social workers should be trained to help provide guidance on organising personal finance.

As the House has already heard, there is wide- spread evidence that looked-after children suffer disproportionately high levels of mental health problems. It is difficult enough for children and young people living in a united loving family to access mental health services; it is doubly difficult for those in the care system.

I return to the issue of communication. Some 60% of looked-after children have a special educational need—four times the rate for all children. The majority of looked-after children and young people experience conditions of poverty and social disadvantage which are closely linked to communication difficulties. In areas of high social deprivation, between 40% and 50% of children start school with language delay. Two-thirds of seven to 14 year-olds with severe behavioural problems have communication needs. The Prison Reform Trust’s recent report, In Care, Out of Trouble, which has already been referred to, highlighted that children and young people with a range of conditions and needs, including communication needs, are known to be overrepresented in the care and criminal justice systems. Evidence suggests that not enough is done to identify such needs at an early stage and ensure they are addressed to support children’s development and protect them from criminalisation. I am grateful to the NCB, the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and others for their briefings, which will be invaluable in Committee.

It is vital that children coming into the care system are assessed for their communication skills and problems at the very start, so that professional help can be provided where needed. Lack of the ability to communicate emotions and ambitions will lead to frustrations, depression and other mental health problems. Communication on all fronts, both with, and on behalf of, young people is key to ensuring they are able to make their wishes known and eventually take control of their lives. It is particularly vital when children are placed for adoption that their views are sought and given weighty consideration.

When I was first elected in 1993 we all attended information sessions run by the various heads of department. The one that sticks in my mind was the director of social services talking about children and parenting. He said we should not be looking for exceptional or super parents. Parents have to be only “good enough”. It is part of the job of this House to scrutinise this important legislation to ensure that the system and the social workers offer sufficient support and advice to allow parents to be good enough to bring up their children safely and for them to live happy and fulfilled lives. I look forward to the Minister’s response to this debate.