Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 15: 15: Before Clause 7, insert the following new Clause— ““Local care commitments Local authority charter (1) Local authorities must prepare a charter of aims, standards and practices for child care services in their area. (2) In preparing the charter the local authority must consult with children in care and care-leavers. (3) The local authority must publish the charter and take all reasonable steps to ensure its wide availability to the public.”” The noble Baroness said: This amendment would place a duty on local authorities to produce a charter of aims, standards and practices that constituted their particular approach to the care of looked-after children in their area. We developed the amendment following discussions with the What Makes the Difference project, which has been supporting Warwickshire County Council in developing a pledge to all the children and young people in the county who are in care or are care leavers. This has formed part of the partnership between What Makes the Difference and Warwickshire in taking forward a corporate parenting agenda. The development of the pledge was a joint venture between elected members, officers and children and young people. Particular consideration was given to how all parties could work together on an equal footing and without children and young people being disempowered in the process. This is an excellent example of good practice and should, we feel, be extended to all children in the care of the state. Among the benefits of this proposal is increased transparency. The idea is to promote a wider understanding of what children and young people who are in care or who are care leavers can expect from their local authority and to detail services and support that meet their specific needs, rather than an unspecified statement of values and principles. Local authority charters could also have the knock-on effect of raising awareness of a social service that is often not understood or is neglected in the wider community. Local authority charters institutionalise good practice, and successful authorities can draw on their experience to set standards to ensure that that continues. Similarly, the process of developing a charter forces those local authorities that are underperforming to identify priorities. It makes it easier to see what is going wrong and what needs to be done to deliver effective outcomes. I want to take a moment to underscore the importance of the local aspect of these charters. This is not a top-down mandate. The idea is that these are developed locally and with sensitivity to the priorities of particular areas. The needs of local authorities and the challenges that they face vary, because of a multitude of factors, from demography to geography. Thus it is important that charters are developed locally and by those who best understand the priorities of looked-after children in the area and their specific requirements and goals. Highlighting the local aspect of the development of these charters is not an attempt to shirk national minimum standards. The underlying assumption of the amendment is that the aims, standards and practices developed organically and tailored by local authorities are more likely to be effective than a top-down approach. Another point that needs to be mentioned is that the amendment would require local authorities in preparing the charter to, "““consult with children in care and care-leavers””." That would lend the charter an added sense of legitimacy. Not only would the charter arise from the professionals engaged in providing care but it would come out of those with the experience of being in care. Essentially, this is a way of giving more power, freedom and flexibility to local authorities while maintaining an emphasis on robust standards of care. I beg to move.