Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

I support the amendment of the noble Baroness, Lady Howe. Care Matters, both the Green and White Papers, had some encouraging references to the participation of children in care and included an expectation that every local authority would develop, if they had not already done so, the opportunity for children to have their voices heard and to influence the work of the authority at a high strategic level through a new children in care council. The idea is that not only are children’s voices heard about decisions relating to their own care but the voices of a range of children in care are heard in policy making, assessing the quality of the services that the local authority is delivering and putting forward ideas about how that service could be improved. We are disappointed that that provision has not been put in the Bill, despite the fact that Care Matters specifically said that every local authority would be expected to set up a children in care council in its area. If that is really to happen in every local authority, as children rightly expect it to, the legislation should make provision for it. In a recent consultation with 300 children living away from home, the Children’s Rights Director found that they thought that their right to have their say about things that mattered to them, and for that to be taken seriously at the highest level, was just about okay. That was as good as it got. The Bill is a perfect opportunity to strengthen children’s influence in strategic decision-making and service delivery. The amendment put forward by the noble Baroness, Lady Howe, would substantially strengthen the accountability of the corporate parent to children in care and ensure that the views of children were heard at the highest level. Let me say a word of support to the noble Baroness, Lady Morris. One of the most attractive elements of her amendment is transparency. Its third subsection says that the policy has to be published.