National Assembly for Wales (Legislative Competence) (Social Welfare) Order 2008

My Lords, I shall be brief and fly just above sea level. I welcome the statutory instrument, especially after the persuasive remarks of my noble friend the Minister. As the noble Lord, Lord Livsey, implied, the face of this instrument is impressive enough in itself. Under the headings, ““Constitutional Law””, ““Devolution, Wales””, is its title, the National Assembly for Wales (Legislative Competence) (Social Welfare) Order 2008. Here is contemporary constitutional history written out before us, which is some procedure. I quote from the 2008 spring issue of Play for Wales, the magazine that represents Chwarae Cymru/Play Wales, because it is relevant to these orders. The article is headed, ““Proposed Vulnerable Children Legislative Competence Order (LCO) Committee Report””, and it says: "““A Legislative Competence Order (LCO) describes an area in which the National Assembly for Wales is competent to make legislation—the implication being that it will be able to turn this into law for Wales in future. This LCO relates to Social Welfare—Vulnerable Children and Child Poverty.""““Play Wales strongly advocated the inclusion of the word ‘play’ within the interpretation of ‘well-being’, which currently relates to ‘education, training and recreation’—and our call was heard and acted upon.""““It may seem strange to celebrate the inclusion of one word in potential legislation, but play is so often overlooked as being a vital part of children’s lives that to find it included in the LCO meant we jumped up and down whooping with joy in our office””." This statement by Play Wales evidences one happy customer of Her Majesty’s Government in the consultation process, on orders at least. Play Wales/Chwarae Cymru is an all-Wales organisation that works in tandem with the Welsh Assembly Government. It is a successful organisation with a dedicated leadership. It surely stands ready to advance the good intent of this order. Dysfunctional families and unhappy children are not rare. Recently, the Dewsbury case of Shannon Matthews came to national prominence. As a commentator wrote, it was a tale of childhood misery in Britain. One hopes that the order will enable the Welsh Assembly Government to reach out into the counties of Wales to make life better for all the people of Wales, but especially for every vulnerable child.