Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

And on the basis that local authorities would themselves have to undertake the commissioning. So this would not be a step imposed on local authorities by the Government; it would be in response to local authorities being persuaded that it was a sensible course. The potential gains from social work practices—I stress potential gains, because the whole purpose of piloting is to see whether those gains can be realised—are set out at length in Chapter 5 of Consistent Care Matters. They are gains which, if they could be secured, would be valuable in the support offered to looked-after children. The potential gains relate to enhancement of continuity, of professionalisation and of relationships between children. They have been recognised by a number of experts as gains which, if they could indeed be secured by social work practices, would be valuable, which is why the Children’s Commissioner, Professor Al Ainsley Green, has said that he supports careful piloting and evaluation of a social care practice model, and why other organisations, including the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, have also welcomed our approach to piloting of social work practices.