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Education and Inspections Bill

I shall speak to Amendment No. 248CA, which would have been spoken to by my noble friend Lord Listowel, but, as the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, mentioned,he is unwell. I would have put my name to this amendment, but I was uncertain whether I would be here when we reached this point. I shall also speak briefly to other amendments in this group. My noble friend Lord Listowel secured a debate in this House on 13 October last year on the joint chief inspectors’ report, Safeguarding Children. During that debate, I said that I was not convinced that the protection of vulnerable children would not be put at risk as a result of the proposals to take responsibility for children’s social care out of the Commission for Social Care Inspection and put it into Ofsted, as proposed in the Bill. In response, the noble Lord, Lord Adonis, arranged for me to meet the chief inspector of Ofsted in order to be persuaded of its commitment to children’s social care. I met the inspector and received some reassurance, and I think that we are now on the way to that end. Together with others, I will do what I can to make sure that the end is positive. However, Amendment No. 248CA is very simple to accede to, and I hope the Minister will look at it positively. The joint chief inspectors’ excellent report, Safeguarding Children, is a precedent and an example, so I am not suggesting something new. It seems vitally important to continue that activity, which sets a benchmark regarding safeguarding arrangements, in particular for disabled children, children living away from home and children in health and secure settings. That links neatly with the points being made by the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, about ensuring that we know where we are in relation to those children. By placing a duty on Ofsted to report on safeguarding children at least once every three years—which is not an onerous task—the new inspectorate will have a clear responsibility to ensure that safeguarding children issues are clearly part of its remit. It will reassure this Committee and the children’s social care community that Ofsted is serious about looked-after and vulnerable children. This duty is not intended to bind the hands of Ofsted, but will demonstrate a clear commitment to some of the most vulnerable children in our society and to working together, because Safeguarding Children shows the partnership with many other inspectorates. I look forward to the Minister’s consideration. I shall briefly mention Amendment No. 248C, which states: "““The Children’s Rights Director has a duty to co-operate with the Children’s Commissioner for England””." I hope that would be a mutual duty to co-operate, rather than one with another, recognising that the duties of the children’s rights director are different from those of the commissioner and that he has to carry them out in his own right within Ofsted.