Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

I support the two amendments dealing with the independence of the reviewing officers. It seems to be fundamentally important that they should be fully independent and that they should have no conflicts of interest. Having said that, perhaps I could ask the Minister one or two questions about how they have worked in practice up to now, and whether the Minister thinks that enough suitable people can be found to undertake this very important role. I understand that IROs have existed since the 1989 Act. In that long period, have they been able to make helpful recommendations about the breakdown of placements, which my noble friend Lord Listowel and I have talked about already this afternoon? Secondly, have they ever been asked to look into disappearances from care, which was also raised earlier today by the noble Baroness, Lady Morris of Bolton?