Children and Young Persons Bill [Lords]

The Bill is important, and I hope that it will deliver exactly what we want. The process seems to have been long, starting from the Green Paper and then the White Paper. Throughout the process, listening to children and young people in care has been important and has informed parts of the measure. I look forward to young people continuing to be consulted as it is implemented, and to their wishes and feelings continuing to be respected. Perhaps more than on other measures, I have been aware of the dialogue with young people about the Bill. It is incredibly important. It is a sad irony that many young people come into care because of problems not of their making, and end up with their own problems because of the care system. The problems are well documented—we could go through the statistics for the poor outcomes. However, we must ask ourselves whether we have found the solutions. Throughout the process, we have tried exceedingly hard and discussed all the main issues. We have spent a lot of time talking about the importance of kinship care, early intervention and family support for both the family and the individual child. We have also been talking a lot about supporting education and ensuring continuity if there is a relationship with a social worker. I share the concerns expressed about the importance of maintaining support up to the age of 21. Perhaps that is mainly an aspiration, but we must not lose sight of it. Let me also express my regret that time constraints today have prevented us from commenting on some of the important recommendations in the United Nations report published on Friday. Finally, I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Ceredigion (Mark Williams), who brought his teaching experience to bear in Committee. I would also like to thank everyone who served on the Committee. It was a good Committee, with good responses from the Ministers. As usual, I hope that the words will be translated into regulations that will make a real difference. I welcome the idea of having a progress report each year, and thank all the Ministers and the Chairmen of the Committee.