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Children and Adoption Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 84:"Page 7, line 13, leave out ““18”” and insert ““16””" The noble Earl said: This is a simple amendment that raises a question about rights and responsibilities. It was the Prime Minister himself whom I heard on radio the other day—on 16 September, in fact—saying, and I hope that I quote him accurately:"““people have always accepted that with rights come responsibilities . . . human liberties have always been qualified by some sense of duty or responsibility””." I fully agree. One must reflect that if the legal age for sexual activity and service for the Armed Forces is 16 years-old, surely the potential responsibilities—the Government have suggested enforcement orders against a person who fails to comply with the contact order—should also be set at 16, rather than the 18 years that the Bill proposes. I simply ask the Minister to explain the thinking behind that choice of age limit and whether he has any centre of agreement with the arguments that I have advanced. I beg to move.