Child Poverty Bill

My Lords, I reiterate that the Bill does not create any rights for children individually to pursue a Secretary of State if they consider that they are left in socio-economic disadvantage. The noble Lord missed a part of Clause 8(2)(b), which says, ""for the purpose of ensuring as far as possible that children in the United Kingdom do not experience socio-economic disadvantage"." I am sure that the noble Lord understands the thrust of that. It seeks to ensure that all children get the same opportunities, that they are not income-deprived, that they have the opportunity, through education, to gain skills and knowledge, to enjoy life and to engage with others. I suppose we could write an essay on that. I do not think it is very helpful to try to pin down a very narrow legal definition. However, that is what the noble Lord is doing with his amendments, and that is why we object to them.