Children: Care

Baroness Afshar Excerpts

Wednesday 13th March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I can assure the noble Lord that we will make that correction.

[Baroness Afshar]

My Lords, will this cause the usual problem of exacerbating the difficulties of those who cannot afford better rates by providing minimal care for second-class citizens whose children will be cared for at this level, while intense, high-quality care will be reserved for those who can pay better rates and employ more people?

[Lord Nash]

The noble Baroness raises a good point. This is something that we will consider carefully in the consultation. It is not our intention, which is to provide higher-quality care by more highly qualified staff. All the evidence is that children from deprived backgrounds in particular, who have a deficit of structure and language in their home lives, need higher-quality staff to care for them.