Child Poverty Bill

I thank the Minister for that response and the noble Baronesses, Lady Meacher and Lady Walmsley, and the noble Earl, Lord Listowel, for their contributions. I am slightly baffled by all the responses because nowhere does the amendment even imply that the Secretary of State would use the power as a carte blanche not to provide funds for children or households. It is precisely placed in the strategy clause of the Bill, which requires the Secretary of State to be concerned about the drug issue when looking at the financial transfers and how they are done. I know that no one would imply that this was a cheap way of reducing the income transfers. If anyone has any thought that it is, I can categorically state that that is not the issue here. The issue is that we have roughly 1.5 million children in families where there is drug or alcohol addiction or misuse. Conventional financial support mechanisms will simply not work. That is not a small number of children. We are talking about trying to eliminate from the target number that are in poverty more or less that number from next year over the decade. We are looking at a group of children who will get potentially no benefit at all from the poverty structures that we are talking about if we do not have a specific concern to tackle this issue. It is not a small, marginal issue; it is very important. That is why I raised it in this context. I accept that the Government have had a concern with this issue. I am grateful for what the Minister said in explaining the family intervention strategies, but it is important to have a clause that reinforces the importance of this issue. Clearly, if what has been drafted is acceptable in spirit, it can be rewritten. I think that noble Lords have missed the point about the importance of this issue.