Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

There is an existing statutory duty on local authorities to ascertain the wishes and feelings of children whom they look after before taking any decision that affects the child and to give due consideration to those wishes and feelings. It is necessarily implicit in that duty that, where the child has a communication impairment, the local authority should ensure that those tasked with performing this duty have the necessary skills or the right support to do so and that the child is provided with the means to articulate his or her wishes and feelings. This would include the provision of communication aids in appropriate cases. The Bill builds in further safeguards in this respect. In Clause 11, for example, we are requiring all local authorities to appoint a named independent reviewing officer for each child. This IRO will enhance the personal accountability and individual responsibilities of each IRO and will build in a presumption that every child has a right to a consistent relationship with one professional who keeps his or her care plan under review. Clause 11 also imposes on the IRO an express duty to ensure that the young person’s views are given due consideration at each review of their case. We made it clear in the Care Matters White Paper that we would, as part of the greater support offered to looked-after children, introduce a requirement for IROs to spend time with each child prior to any review so that the IRO personally establishes the child’s wishes and feelings about the issues to be covered at the care planning meeting. We will ensure through statutory guidance that children with communication difficulties or complex needs are supported either by an IRO with the skills necessary to facilitate care planning and to elicit the views of children with communication difficulties or complex needs, or through an IRO who has access to specialist input from someone who has these skills to ensure that the child’s views are elicited and put forward effectively. Where a communication aid is specified in the educational provision section—part 3—of a statement of special educational needs, the local authority is obliged in law to provide it or to ensure its provision. This of course includes all looked-after children with statements. However, we recognise that this provision is not always well managed, which is why, as the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, just mentioned, we have commissioned a review of services for children with speech, language and communication needs, led by John Bercow MP, to advise the Government on how best provision can be mirrored in all areas, so that every young person up to the age of 19 gets the support that they need as early as possible. I will ensure that John Bercow sees the report of today’s debate, so that he can take full account of it. His report will come in the summer, with an initial report in March. I know that he will be very receptive to comments that Members of the Committee wish to make to him directly.