Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 4: 4: Clause 3, page 3, line 33, leave out ““which is”” and insert ““if the act is one”” The noble Lord said: Amendments Nos. 4, 8, 57, 91 and 99 are minor and technical drafting amendments, but are important to the clarity of the Bill. I shall say a few brief words about each of them. On Amendment No. 4, providers of social work services will exercise functions of a public nature and will therefore be functional public authorities, as I have just set out, under Section 6(3)(b) of the Human Rights Act. Section 6(5) of that Act provides that, in relation to a particular act, a person is not a public authority by virtue of Section 6(3)(b) if the nature of the act is private. We have realised that the words ““of a private nature”” in Clause 3(2)(b) might be taken as referring to the provider of social work services rather than to the act in question. This amendment puts the matter beyond doubt by making it clear that the reference is to acts of a private nature, as in Section 6(5) of the Human Rights Act. On Amendment No. 8, in Clause 5 we intend the power of a local authority to enter into arrangements with a provider of social work services to be a social services function for the purposes of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970. This means that the Secretary of State would be able to issue guidance and direction to local authorities under that Act about the exercise of that power. Clause 5 covers making arrangements for the discharge of social services functions in relation to certain children and young people, whereas Clause 1 permits arrangements to be made only in relation to ““relevant care functions””, which means those relating to looked-after children and care leavers. It is more appropriate for Clause 5 to reflect the definition in Clause 1. Amendment No. 57 is necessary as it enables different commencement arrangements to apply to new Sections 25A and 25B on the one hand and new Section 25C on the other. All these sections are set out in Clause 11 and relate to independent reviewing officers. New Sections 25A and 25B deal with matters that are entirely devolved and will be commenced by Welsh Ministers without reference to Westminster, in line with the devolution settlement. This amendment combined with Amendment No. 104 will provide for different commencement arrangements for the provisions in Section 25C, since the power to extend functions regarding the officers of CAFCASS in relation to Wales is not devolved and is exercisable only by the Lord Chancellor. On Amendment No. 91, the Children Act 2004 established local safeguarding children boards in England and Wales. Section 13 relates to them being established in England and Section 31 relates to their establishment in Wales. By removing the reference to Section 13 in this clause, it will apply to both England and Wales without further amendment. Finally, Amendment No. 99 is a minor technical amendment to correct the terminology used in Clause 30(7) so that it is consistent with the terminology used in Section 12 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 and not with the terminology in Clause 29(3), although the effect is the same. I beg to move. On Question, amendment agreed to.