Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 19: 19: Before Clause 7, insert the following new Clause— ““Provision of appropriate placements In section 23 of the 1989 Act (provision of accommodation and maintenance by local authority for children whom they are looking after), after subsection (2A) insert— ““(2B) A local authority must provide a sufficient and diverse provision of appropriate placements within their local area.”””” The noble Earl said: On page 48 of their White Paper, Care Matters: Time for Change, Her Majesty’s Government promised in bold, black letters that they would, "““impose a statutory duty on local authorities to secure a sufficient and diverse provision of quality placements within their local area””." Yet nowhere in the Bill can one find such a duty. The amendment would allow Her Majesty’s Government to fulfil that undertaking. I am grateful to the Fostering Network and the British Association for Adoption & Fostering for advice in preparing the amendment. At Second Reading, the Minister said that the duty was implied by the Bill. I regret to say that, unless it is made explicit, it is unlikely that it will be respected. If children are to be placed locally as far as possible, it has to follow that an explicit duty is placed on local authorities to make sufficient appropriate placements available. If there are no funds now to implement this, we should put in place the necessary empowering clause so that the duty can be introduced as soon as the resources are available. If the duty is implied in the Bill, one must ask where in the regulatory impact assessment provision is made for the huge increase in funds that would make all those new foster care places available. I am afraid that we just do not find them. How is the commitment to be fulfilled if the resources are not being made available to make it happen? As I said under a previous amendment, BAAF and the Fostering Network’s report, The Cost of Foster Care, published in 2005, made clear the situation. Commenting on the report, the chief inspector at the Commission for Social Care Inspection, David Behan, said: "““Our inspections have revealed that just under 40% of fostering providers are still not meeting the standard required on matching, which is key to achieving stability for these children. It is essential that there is an increase in the choice of foster carers for children and young people which will lead to a real improvement in outcomes, with the right placement for the right child at the right time””." The report highlighted a shortfall of 10,000 foster carers across the UK. Robert Tapsfield, chief executive of the Fostering Network, said that it was a call to the UK Government to invest a further £748 million in foster care each year. Rather than the £500 million that I mentioned, £748 million should be invested in foster care each year. This call is reinforced by a report from the Children’s Rights Director, which states: "““A very common message from children is that when they’re being moved, there should be a choice of at least two alternative suitable placements and the child should have a real say in the choice between them””." Perhaps I may also quote some foster carers: "““There is a lot of pressure put on foster carers to accommodate children not on their approval status and to take in more children than their quota … Fostering is a very stressful occupation but foster carers are expected to carry on regardless of situations they find themselves in ... It is not just a need to recruit more foster carers, there is a need to keep them””." Another foster carer says: "““There is often an air of desperation that surrounds placements. No efforts are made to ensure suitability and/or compatibility. Three years ago, I accepted a child on an emergency basis. The child remains in our family. I am now being pressurised to take the child’s siblings, which I have declined because the child does not want this. I am so disenchanted with my situation, I would give it up tomorrow were it not for the commitment I have made to this young child””." The Government are to be congratulated on meeting some of the needs identified by that report. They have now set minimum allowances for foster carers and, I believe, are considering minimum fees for them. The Bill, even unchanged, will contribute to improving the situation, yet we remain far behind as regards the incentives offered to foster carers by our continental neighbours. I recognise that some of your Lordships may blanch at the idea of paying a large sum per child to each foster carer, but the situation clearly demands such an approach, given the shortage of foster carers. I have already discussed the impact statement relating to the Bill. Funding to local authorities for social services is not ring-fenced, as was said previously. There are many conflicting pressures on local authority budgets, and currently local authorities are facing huge, unexpected expenditure on payments to women who in the past have not received equal pay for equal work. Care for the elderly will be an ever increasing expenditure, and there will always be the public’s and the local electorate’s abiding priorities of roads and waste to consider. Unless an explicit duty is laid on local authorities, some will inevitably raid their social service budgets to meet other priorities. I hope that the Minister will think about this matter and that he can accept the amendment. I look forward to his response. I beg to move.