Child Poverty Bill

My Lords, obviously, if the important duties set out and placed on the Secretary of State in Clause 1(1) are to be more than aspirations, it is important that they should be enforceable. Indeed, it has been accepted and acknowledged that the Bill and the duty under Clause 1 are legally enforceable in the courts of the United Kingdom by way of judicial review. In a letter to the Law Society of Scotland on 24 February this year, the Minister confirmed this, saying: ""The duty in section 1 is legally enforceable by anyone in the United Kingdom"." He went on to say: ""It is true that because of differences between the two legal systems, it might be more difficult for an interest to bring a judicial review in Scotland than in England and Wales"." The main interest in tabling this amendment is not only to ensure that the fact that the duty is enforceable is stated in the Bill, but also to address the problem that could arise with regard to efforts to enforce that duty in Scotland. In Scotland, judicial reviews do not tend to run in the name of a special interest group, unless that group is an association involving members who have title and interest in the particular case. Also, an individual will have such title to sue only if he or she is a party to some legal relationship giving him or her a right that has been infringed or denied. Of course, while the Bill imposes a duty on the Secretary of State, it does not confer any direct benefit on an individual. Therefore, it would be for the Scottish courts to determine whether a pursuer had title and interest in the circumstances of a particular case. Importing this amendment into the Bill would make it clear that the duty referred to was justiciable in the Scottish courts. The Minister also indicated in his letter to the Law Society of Scotland: ""Even if the organisation operates only in Scotland, a challenge could be brought against the Secretary of State in the English courts. The group would have to show standing in the same way as a UK-wide or England-only interest group would"." As a statement of the law, I do not dispute that—I think that it is right—but it does beg some important questions, which I know that the Minister has had flagged up to him by the Law Society of Scotland. For example, would an organisation that operates only in Scotland have a title and interest to sue in the English courts? Would such an organisation operating only in Scotland qualify for legal aid from the Legal Services Commission? Would the cost of raising an action in the English courts not create a barrier to a Scottish organisation if it were not funded by legal aid? The kinds of organisation that would have an interest in raising an action to enforce the duty of the Secretary of State would be, almost by their very nature, less likely to have access to substantial funds. If the duty is to be enforceable in all parts of the United Kingdom, it is important that people should have access to the courts where they live and should not have to travel to find somewhere where they could raise an action. It was to the credit of the Government back in 1998 when, with the Human Rights Act, they brought rights home and made rights that had previously been enforceable only in the court in Strasbourg enforceable in our own domestic courts. It would be regrettable if, at the end of their period of office, they were to bring about a situation whereby a duty could not be enforced in the domestic courts in Scotland, so that interest groups from Scotland would have to go south of the border in order to enforce the duty on the Secretary of State. That said, one would hope that this would all be academic; we hope that the duty will be fulfilled and the targets will be met. Just in case they are not, though, some reassurances from the Minister would be welcome. I beg to move.