Education and Adoption Bill (Third sitting)

Edward Timpson Excerpts

Thursday 2nd July 2015 Public Bill Committees

[Steve McCabe]

It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Chope. I look forward, as I am sure we all do, to your firm but fair guidance in the course of the coming sittings.

The amendment is relatively simple. It challenges the Government intention to delegate substantial powers to the Minister to make changes in our adoption arrangements without any further reference to Parliament or scrutiny by parliamentarians. As can be seen in the transcript of the witness sessions, the Minister described the powers as a backstop, powers he hopes not to use. He told the Committee that he aspires to achieve all of his changes by consent and persuasion. I understand that he has also given that assurance to a recent adoption conference.

The Minister has been so persuasive in that respect that one of the witnesses, Sir Martin Narey, a mind for whom I have the utmost respect and admiration, thought that the legislation itself, rather than the intent, was designed to be non-prescriptive and innovative in changing our adoption arrangements. Of course, that is not quite true. I have no doubt that the Minister’s intention is to bring about the changes through consent and persuasion, but obviously if he was 100% confident of achieving that and 100% confident that he could bring us to such an outcome, he would not be seeking the powers in the first place.

We are being asked to give extensive powers to the Minister—to the Minister of the day—but Ministers come and Ministers go, so we can have no guarantee that the present incumbent’s successor would necessarily take a similarly benign view of such matters. The Minister himself, when we were at an event together shortly after the election, told the audience that he had calculated the probability of his remaining in his present post—strangely enough, the odds were not outstanding. Ministers come and Ministers go.

[The Minister for Children and Families (Edward Timpson)]

Foiled them again.

[Steve McCabe]

Yes, the Minister certainly has foiled them again—that is good. I wish him well and hope that he will continue in his post for quite some time. As we all know, reshuffles are fickle affairs, a bit like a Boris bus—one can never be too sure when the next one will turn up.

I tabled the amendment for two reasons. First, it provides me with the opportunity to query whether it is right that the Minister should have such unconstrained power as back-up, after setting out to convince us that it is not necessary and that he hopes never to use it. Mr Chope, in another parliamentary guise you are only too aware of the dangers of too much unnecessary legislation. Many is the Friday I have listened to you wax lyrical on such dangers, warning us that we have far too much legislation and should only legislate when it is absolutely necessary. That is the situation today with clause 13 and the power that would be afforded to the Minister to give directions under proposed new section 3ZA(1).

If the situation changed and if the Minister’s optimism and persuasive charm relating to achieving consensus evaporated, and he or a successor found himself or herself driven to use coercive powers to make changes in our adoption system, those powers should have been acquired by parliamentary order, subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

--- Later in debate ---

[Bill Esterson]

My hon. Friend is right. Every effort should be made to ensure that existing good arrangements are kept in place and are not disturbed, that any changes are an improvement on existing arrangements and in particular that good practice—there is much good practice around the country and internationally—is shared so far as is possible. Through that, we can keep in mind what I am sure everyone on the Committee and in the sector is committed to: doing the right thing for the children who come into the care system, whether that is adoption or other forms of permanence.

[Edward Timpson]

I think it is a stroke of luck that we once again find you, Mr Chope, chairing an important Bill on children and families, as you did in the previous Parliament. I am grateful to Opposition Members, particularly those who have spoken and who have put their names to amendments. The amendments in this group would require the Secretary of State to seek approval from both Houses of Parliament on any proposal for joint arrangements.

Before I get into the meat of the issue, I acknowledge the role that the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak played in the previous Parliament in scrutinising legislation on adoption and children in care. I am grateful for the constructive and helpful way in which he went about his business, which helped improve that legislation. I am sure that the way he approaches this Bill will have a similar effect.

It is true that I looked at the theory of Freakonomics and discovered that I had a less than 10% chance of finding myself in exactly this position again. Be that as it may, I intend to make the most of the opportunity that I have been afforded, starting with the Bill before us.

Before I speak to the amendments, I will briefly outline the thinking behind clause 13, because the hon. Member for Sefton Central has asked why it is needed. I will also outline the approach to implementing regionalisation in adoption. It is right to point out at the outset that the clause was in the Conservative manifesto, which the Government were elected on, and we intend to fulfil its contents. After much effort by myself and others, the creation of regional adoption agencies found its way into the final draft of the Bill.

[Steve McCabe]

I am sorry to intervene on the Minister so early, but will he clarify something? He says that the clause was in the Conservative manifesto, but presumably he means that it contained the intention to set up regional adoption agencies, rather than the intention to take the powers of direction specified in the clause.

[Edward Timpson]

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman has read the Conservative manifesto from cover to cover, so he will be familiar with the content on our intent to set up regional adoption agencies. The issue now is how we put them into practice and provide the underpinning to ensure that we fulfil that intent in this Parliament, which is why we are discussing the clause. The existing adoption system is highly fragmented, with around 180 agencies recruiting and matching adopters for only 5,000 children a year. Many agencies are operating on a very small scale, which, as well as being inefficient, leads to too much ineffective practice across the system.

The hon. Member for Sefton Central—I thank him for his kind words and continued interest and deep involvement on these issues—asked why we need the clause if there is already good practice in place. I remind him of what Carol Homden of Coram told the Committee on Tuesday:

“There is huge variation in performance between different agencies across the country, which results in a postcode lottery for children. It is important that we bring together the agencies and organisations in the pursuit of excellence and best practice for all children.”––[Official Report, Education and Adoption Public Bill Committee, 30 June 2015; c. 43, Q106.]

That is exactly what we are seeking to achieve through regional adoption agencies—to help address those issues.

[Bill Esterson]

I agree with the Minister—there is wide variation and we clearly need to improve quality. How often does he envisage applying the clause? Earlier, he said that it was not his intention to use it very much at all, so will he give us a sense of how often he thinks he will use it?

[Edward Timpson]

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will appreciate that our approach to this issue is to ensure that there is local development of regional adoption agencies, based on those working on the ground and their knowledge and experience of how best to meet the challenge. We do not want to presuppose the amount of intervention that may be required to ensure consistency across the country. If we were to do so, as Sir Martin Narey made clear in evidence to the Committee, there is the danger of a top-down approach that would not bring about the best organisation of the different agencies. If those agencies are organised in the right way, we know that that will improve the three issues that the clause addresses, namely recruitment, matching and support. I will discuss those issues later on in my remarks, so the hon. Gentleman will have to be patient and learn more about the work that is already going on with local authorities and voluntary adoption agencies so that they can provide solutions themselves rather than being dictated to from the centre.

I will address each of the three issues—matching, recruitment and support—in turn. There is still an average of eight months between placement order and match. That is far too long. Research on family finding and matching by Professor Elaine Farmer found that in 30% of the cases looked at the delay was associated with an unwillingness to seek a family outside a local authority’s own group of approved adopters. Successful matching relies on looking at a wide range of potential adopters from the very beginning.

Despite impressive increases in the numbers of recruited adopters, there are still too few who are willing and able to adopt harder-to-place children. Recruitment from a wider geographical base than an individual local authority, taking account of the needs of children across a number of local authorities in a regional recruitment strategy, could lead to fewer children waiting.

At the moment, we know that the special support that many adopted children need is simply not available in their area because the number of adopted children is too low. Assessment and commissioning of specialist support on a regional scale will allow providers to expand their services and provide better value for money for the taxpayer, while also helping to ensure that all adoptive families receive a consistently high quality of assessment and provision.

To realise each of those improvements, we want to support local authorities and voluntary adoption agencies in delivering regional adoption agencies. We are absolutely committed to working closely with them to achieve just that. That is why we are providing £4.5 million of support in 2015-16; we wish to help early adopters of the regional adoption agency model accelerate their development and early implementation.

To answer the question put by the hon. Member for Sefton Central, we are confident that councils will step up and grasp the opportunity to improve their adoption services. As Sir Martin Narey said on Tuesday,

“I have yet to meet an adoption manager or director of children’s services who does not think that this is something that could make things better.”––[Official Report, Education and Adoption Public Bill Committee, 30 June 2015; c. 44, Q107.]

However, we recognise that we cannot be totally sure that all local authorities will voluntarily move to regional adoption agencies. That is why we introduced the clause, which gives the Secretary of State the power to direct local authorities to have certain adoption functions carried out on their behalf.

[Steve McCabe]

I am curious to know what the Minister’s last remark is based on. Which local authorities have suggested that they do not want to co-operate with his plans? Does he have evidence from Ofsted inspections or other sources that a number of local authorities are determined to thwart his plans? Is that the basis on which he is seeking these powers?

[Edward Timpson]

This is not the forum for naming individual local authorities that wish to co-operate or otherwise. To do so would damage the negotiations that are taking place. It is clear that where arrangements have been made to bring together local authorities’ adoption services and voluntary adoption agencies, there have been different levels of interest, intent and commitment. That is why we cannot be totally sure, despite the strong, positive signals from the sector and the work of the Adoption Leadership Board, that every one of the 152 local authorities will be involved in some way, shape or form within our timeframe for regional adoption agencies to be up and running across the country.

I can see what Opposition Members are driving at with their amendments, and I sympathise with their desire to ensure that decisions, particularly ones of this importance, are transparent and scrutinised properly. However, I am concerned about the suggestion that all proposals for joint arrangements should be approved by both Houses of Parliament. Before I explain why, I assure hon. Members that our decision making on this matter will be open, the process will be fair and we will involve all interested parties in the right way. The hon. Members for Birmingham, Selly Oak and for Cardiff West both made a challenge about transparency and scrutiny.

The Secretary of State’s decision to use the power will be made following extensive discussions with all the agencies involved, and it will be proportionate and reasonable. Agencies will have ample opportunity to design their own arrangements before any directions are considered. That is one of the reasons why we made it clear in the clause that local authorities could, through a direction, determine the shape of their regional adoption agency.

The Secretary of State does not need the permission of Parliament when she exercises her powers of intervention in respect of failure in local authorities’ children’s social care services. When the Doncaster trust and the Slough trust were created recently, the whole of those authorities’ children’s services were moved to a trust model without the permission of Parliament being sought in the way that the amendments set out. Those powers would sit legally uncomfortably with the group of amendments, should they be accepted.

A more appropriate and proportionate approach than returning to Parliament is to work closely with all those involved—the individual local authority and voluntary agencies, the Adoption Leadership Board and the regional adoption boards. This collaborative way of doing things is crucial, and it is a core tenet of our approach. The sector has the expertise and the local knowledge required to inform the decision.

I will reflect on the suggestion made by the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak that we should be required to send a letter to any local authorities we are minded to direct with an invitation to respond. I will come back to him on Report with my decision.

[Kevin Brennan]

I am grateful for the Minister’s remarks, and I am sure that my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak is, too. A letter would be a useful addition to what is on offer. The Minister said that our proposal would sit legally uncomfortably, but is it not different to the Secretary of State’s other powers, to which the Minister referred? Those powers are used where children are genuinely at risk. Does he envisage that he will introduce such arrangements because children are at risk, and therefore, in an emergency situation, or because it would be a better administrative arrangement? That would make a difference to the way in which the power could be exercised by the Secretary of State.

[Edward Timpson]

Of course, a failing local authority could be directed to arrange for another agency to carry out all its children’s services functions on its behalf even if its adoption function was not inadequate. The adoption services would still be moved as part of such a direction, so I do not see the differentiation. It is an interesting point, which we need to think through. In terms of the proportionality of what we are doing in the Bill, given the seriousness of removing all of a local authority’s children’s services functions and giving them to another body, if it is not the case with the latter, it should not be the case with the former. However, I have made it clear that the process needs to be very transparent and I am willing to reflect on some of the issues that the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak has raised. In view of that, I hope that he feels reassured enough to withdraw the amendment.

[Steve McCabe]

I am grateful for the Minister’s comments, but we are none the wiser now as to how often he might be tempted to use the powers. I hoped to clarify that in discussing the amendment. I notice that he stressed in his comments that matching was a key element, and he drew on the evidence given to the Committee by the chief executive of the Thomas Coram Foundation. However, in giving evidence, Andy Leary-May from Adoption Link said of the joint arrangements that matching was not the biggest issue, and that quite a lot of progress was being made. He said that the biggest issue was support, which we will come to later in the clause and which the Government seem to have overlooked in the construction of the proposals.

The other thing that has become apparent this morning is that the Minister cannot—or will not—say whether there is evidence of recalcitrant local authorities out there. We do not know why he has been advised to put the clause and powers into the Bill. He is unable to say. I cannot believe that he woke up one morning and, after reading through the Conservative manifesto again, thought, “Hey, that’s a good idea! I’ll just insert this into a Bill.” I assume that he has some basis for the proposals, but we have no idea of the scale of the problem. So my earlier point was that the power of direction will apply to the entire sector and be subject to no further parliamentary scrutiny. This is not a case of not any proposals, but relates only to proposals that are ordered by the Minister. He says that if we were to accept the amendment, we would be intervening on any proposals, but proposals that happen voluntarily are not affected. The amendment would affect only proposals that the Minister wants to order.

The Minister’s colleague might want to assist, but I was not persuaded by the parallel drawn by the Minister with the powers already available to the Secretary of State. I am more inclined to share the view of my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff West about a power that is normally used to intervene in a failing authority or agency. It is a power that is exercised when there is evidence that something is going wrong, but the intention of this measure is to give the Minister the power to intervene if he feels that he is not getting his own way. That is what it is about—consent, but only on his terms. If authorities come up with valid reasons for not wanting to go down the route that the Minister indicates, they will be subject to his powers of direction and there will be no further scrutiny. I am not sure that that is the right way to proceed.

I said at the outset that I have a great deal of respect and admiration for the Minister. I am grateful to him for his offer to reflect on our suggestion of a letter of intent. It is a bit of a crumb, but one is always grateful. Having listened to the Minister and the concerns that those in the sector and hon. Members have expressed and having looked at the extent of the powers, I am not persuaded by what the Minister says today. The decision is a fundamental one; it is about whether Parliament scrutinises powers and has the final say or whether powers are subject to the whim of a Minister, which is not what we are looking for. I would like to push the amendment to a Division.

Question put, That the amendment be made.