Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 55A: 55A: Clause 11, page 8, line 21, at end insert— ““( ) A local authority must ensure that the independent reviewing officer appointed under this section is sufficiently independent. ( ) In this section ““sufficiently independent”” means— (a) having minimal connection to the local authority in question; (b) having not worked for the local authority in question in the last ten years; (c) being previously unconnected to the particular child in question; and (d) having no conflict of interest.”” The noble Baroness said: The Bill makes welcome provision for independent reviewing officers to review the cases of looked-after children in a particular local authority. This is a step in the right direction. Independent review of individual cases is an important way of ensuring that children and young people are receiving the care provision they need. Our only concern is that in order for this to be as effective as the Minister intends, we need assurances that reviewing officers will be truly independent. Our amendment defines ““independent”” as having minimal connection to the local authority, including not having recently worked for that authority or having any connection with the child whose case is being reviewed. As it stands, the Bill does not have sufficient provision to ensure independence. While seeking to provide a robust appointment procedure for IROs, we feel that Amendment No. 59 is too rigid in specifying who must be consulted, including trades unions and local authority associations. If we want IROs to work, local authorities will need some flexibility. I beg to move.