Children and Families Bill

Baroness Tyler of Enfield Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Tyler of Enfield]

My Lords, I would like to add my strong support for the Bill. This legislation represents a real opportunity to improve the lives of millions of children and families in this country. I declare an interest as president of the National Children’s Bureau and as chair of CAFCASS.

There is much to welcome in the Bill and I should like briefly to draw attention to several of its key provisions before moving on to the main points on which I wish to focus. First, in terms of promoting family-friendly employment policies that reflect the needs of modern families, I warmly welcome Part 6, which introduces a system of shared parental leave, which will enable families to decide for themselves, given their own circumstances, how best to care for their child for the first year, thereby encouraging both parents to be involved in this critical phase in their child’s life.

Part 7 helpfully complements Part 6 by allowing prospective parents to take paid time off work to attend antenatal appointments. Extending the right to request flexible working to all employees is also part of a much-needed modernisation of working patterns that should lead to greater harmony in the workplace with everyone feeling they are being treated fairly in terms of their work/life balance.

This leads me to the importance of childcare and, in particular, measures to make it easier to offer wraparound care. I will return to this as the Bill proceeds, especially the need for childcare hubs to be able to offer a one-stop-shop facility for parents to access the additional hours needed for wraparound care through a network of linked and quality-assured childminders, However, I am concerned that the proposed removal of the duty on local authorities to publish a formal assessment of the sufficiency of childcare in their areas may result in some local authorities no longer actively working with providers to ensure there are sufficient quality childcare places available locally.

I turn now to four specific areas of the Bill: the family justice reforms, young carers, the local offer and independent advocacy for children in care. First, I give my strong backing to this Bill’s efforts to improve the family justice system and help deliver better outcomes for children and families who go to court after family separation or where children may be taken into care. By tackling delays and introducing a statutory time limit of 26 weeks for care and supervision proceedings and focusing timetabling decisions for care proceedings on the child’s welfare, the child’s interests and well-being are rightly placed at the centre of proceedings and decisions, rather than being left in limbo. Every day matters for a vulnerable child and every day in limbo can feel like a lifetime.

It is worth recalling that the proposed 26-week statutory limit initially attracted a degree of incredulity because the last time an average case took 26 weeks to complete was in 1995. However, over the past year, the average time a case takes to go through court has reduced by some 15 weeks, making this already one of the most radical reforms to care proceedings in a generation, and that was before the legislation commenced. I am also aware that 26 weeks is a maximum. Many new cases this year are being completed in 20 weeks or less. A culture of delay is being replaced by one of urgency. However, there will always be a small number of particularly complicated cases where this is not possible or, indeed, in the best interests of the child. Judges, through effective case management, must feel able and must be able to approve extensions where necessary.

In the run-up to this legislation, there was much heated debate as to what was then being called the presumption of shared parenting and what that would lead to. Following the consultation, it became clear that no one thought that strict 50:50 shared parenting—as some were choosing to interpret the presumption—was sensible, workable or desirable. I am very pleased as well that the language has now changed. The most important thing is that the child and their needs are put first. As other noble Lords have said today, the paramountcy principle is indeed paramount. This is clearly the intention in the child arrangement orders, which should assist in focusing parents on effective co-parenting and making parenting time arrangements in the interests of the child. The initial focus on parents’ rights in this area has moved, quite rightly, to one of joint parental involvement with a focus on the child’s rights and the parents’ responsibilities.

Secondly, at the Second Reading of the Care Bill, I drew attention to the treatment of young carers, which many noble Lords have spoken about today. We have already heard the statistics about the number of children and young people affected, so I will not repeat them. There can be little doubt about the heroic work performed by such children and young people and the importance of the contribution they make to their families. However, the existing legislation simply does not give young carers the protection and support they deserve. All too often, the demands of caring responsibilities at home interfere with a child or young person’s education, as well as shortening their childhood and all the experiences that should entail.

Like many noble Lords today, I was very encouraged by the recent comments made by the Children’s Minister, Edward Timpson, when he said that the time had now come to address this issue. I would therefore welcome an explanation from the Minister of exactly how this commitment is being taken forward and how and when it will be incorporated into the Bill. Young carers sit at the intersection of the Care Bill and this Bill and it is critical that these two pieces of legislation are properly joined up. I strongly believe that, with both Bills before the House, this is an unprecedented opportunity to clear away the current inconsistent and complex law surrounding young carers and to ensure that they are given the same rights and protection that the landmark Care Bill is introducing for adult carers.

Thirdly, I will talk very briefly about Part 3 of the Bill. As time is moving on, I will simply add my voice to that of other noble Lords who have mentioned their concerns about the local offer. It has many good points in making known the services available but I share the concerns about the lack of a duty on local authorities to make some vital services universally available or to deliver the services that families with disabled children need. This aspect of the Bill will need close scrutiny.

Finally, I want to mention briefly the importance of independent advocacy for children in the care system, which was highlighted by my noble friend Lady Hamwee. The Government should be congratulated on introducing legislation improving services and support for children who are looked after and adopted, and for placing young people at the centre of decision-making. However, the Bill can be further strengthened by ensuring that children and young people are given access to independent advocacy at key stages, such as care planning reviews and child protection conferences, to help them express their views, wishes and feelings. Is there scope in Part 1 of the Bill to amend the existing legislation to include a presumption that access to such independent advocacy will be provided?