Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

We seem to have covered quite a range of amendments, which are scattered all over the agenda, but I certainly very much support these three amendments and Amendment No. 32, which has been alluded to. The passion that has been expressed about families, which is also shown in a later amendment on the importance of grandparents, shows the extent to which we are waking up to the importance of the family. I am not talking about every single family contact, because, as we all know, some would not be remotely desirable, even if the individual was passionate about that particular person. None the less, the family is an extra resource and provides a feeling of identity. We have heard on many occasions how appalling and chaotic the lives of children in these sorts of situations are, so the more help, outside support and outside role models they can have, the better. The purpose of this probing amendment is to strengthen the duty of local authorities and encourage and facilitate sibling contact. I very much hope that the Government will accept the amendment. We have heard about the number of Acts that mention the importance of families being placed together and that say that, if they cannot be placed together and there are reasonable grounds for not doing so, visits should be facilitated and so on. But this is not just important for those reasons; the children themselves say that they want it to happen. A National Voice, for example, which is run by and for young people in care, found in a recent survey that 83 per cent of children and young people who did not live with their siblings would like to see more of them. An NSPCC survey that consulted children about their experiences of family proceedings since the 1989 Act showed that four in every 10—a huge percentage—said that they did not have enough contact with their siblings. The need to keep siblings together has been stressed absolutely by the Department for Children, Schools and Families—and I am sure that we will hear from the noble Lord the Minister or the noble Baroness that they are very much in favour of it—in the summary of responses to the Care Matters Green Paper consultation and in the recent report by Dr Roger Morgan, the Children’s Rights Director for England. Following a survey of 433 children on how to improve care standards, he made the need to keep siblings together in care proceedings his fourth main recommendation, which I think says quite a lot. Therefore, I very much support the amendments and the comments of all other noble Lords who have spoken.