Vulnerable Children
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Selkirk of Douglas
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I acknowledge the point that the noble Lord has made. The figure that I have is that 580,000 children are supported or accommodated by the state, a figure that is clearly of great concern, but it provides an extremely good start on a very difficult, entrenched problem—that at last we have statistics that we can base actions on. This has not happened before, and we should applaud the work that the Children’s Commissioner has done. As she says herself, the figures are not particularly robust, but it is a start and part of her long-term review of the issue.
Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Con)
Will my noble friend the Minister accept that, whatever the circumstances, the interests of the child should be paramount?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
Yes, indeed. In this House, in a number of other Questions and debates, the issue of focusing on children from an early age, right through to the age of 18 and beyond, is very important. There is a whole range of things that we are looking at.