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Debate on the Address

My Lords, like other noble Lords, I thank the Minister for his opening speech, especially the way in which he outlined the Government's plans for children in care, which is what I would like to focus on. First, I declare a few interests. My comments are informed by briefings from the NSPCC and the NCH. I am also a patron of the Post-Adoption Centre, which has been helpful in these matters. I should also state that although it was many years ago, I was closely connected with children in care and the challenges of living and working in the system. The Minister pointed to some of the dreadful statistics relating to this group, as has my noble friend Lord Ramsbotham. I am most grateful to my noble friend for mentioning the arts. It is usually me who brings up that subject. It is particularly important in this context, especially in terms of raising levels of self-esteem and enabling children and young people to be told ““Well done; you have done something that is worth noting and you are worth something””. Children in care particularly need to hear that. I return to some of the statistics. Three times as many children in care are cautioned or convicted for an offence as children of the general population of that age group. There is a very low likelihood of their achieving A-levels, given the appalling rates of achievement at GCSE level, and therefore a very low chance indeed of their going to university. In addition, care leavers are more likely to end up homeless and/or suffering from mental ill health—and, as my noble friend Lord Ramsbotham stated, in prison. With about 60,000 children in the care of local authorities, those facts represent a serious failure to enable thousands of young people to fulfil their potential. Sadly, the progress that has been made over the years since I was directly involved in the sector seems to have been minimal. I am therefore pleased to note the Government's stated intention to, "““reform the statutory framework around the care system to enable children and young people to achieve high quality care and support and drive improvements in the delivery of services focused on the needs of the child””." Surely few would disagree with that statement; so how is it to be made real? The intention to place the role of the designated teacher on a statutory footing and to ensure that children in care do not move school in years 10 and 11 unless there are exceptional circumstances are two measures that I very much support and welcome. A designated teacher can provide the continuity and encouragement to achieve that is so often lacking from the lives of those young people. Our educational system, with its focus on frequent testing, presents children with opportunities to excel and to experience academic achievement. For many looked-after children, however, bearing in mind the disadvantages resulting from their status, those become more opportunities to reinforce their sense of failure. Years 10 and 11 are crucial years academically, but, in my view, keeping children in care in the same school if they are happy there should be an aim throughout their education, not just in those years. It is disruptive for any child to move school, but if school friends and teachers are the only people consistently present in your life, it is all the more crucial for those relationships to be sustained. If a child in care demonstrates an aptitude for academic work—to be fair, that is not the be-all and end-all of education—what facilities and resources, both physical and human, are available to support and encourage him or her? What impact will raising the school leaving age to 18 have on young people in care? How will their specific needs be addressed? What kind of training and continuing professional development will be available for designated teachers to ensure that their skills and experience are up to scratch for that most vulnerable group? If such a young person manages to overcome all the obstacles and achieve the grades to go to university, where does that young person go during vacations if they are based in halls of residence? Who will be around to advise and mentor them and keep them going if they feel like giving up? Another government aim is placement stability, which again is crucial, and ensuring more consistency for children in care. That affects their educational and life chances. In 2005-06, 65 per cent of the 23,000 young people under 16 who had been looked after for two and a half years or more had been in the same placement for at least two years or were being placed through adoption. The target for 2008 is that that 65 per cent should rise to 80 per cent of young people experiencing that level of stability. Is the care system on track to achieve that figure? The NSPCC argues that: "““Despite the acknowledged increase in Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) funding, resources at all tiers of provision remain stretched, and the associated thresholds for assessment too high. Children in the care system do not, typically, receive access to therapeutic help from CAMHS unless they are diagnosed with a mental health disorder. This is not necessarily an appropriate measurement when assessing a child's need for therapeutic support””." That is an important point and I look forward to hearing more in response to that statement. The chances of anti-social behaviour, self harm and a lack of self-confidence are much higher for children in care. They are also more likely to be bullied in school. I am inclined to think that therapeutic support ought to be more widely available for looked-after children. I do not want to give the impression that I see children in care as hapless victims of an uncaring state. On the contrary, many of those whom I have met are resourceful, intelligent and very good at seeing through platitudes and noticing adults who treat them with condescension. They want to be consulted in a meaningful way. They want to have some control over their destiny, not be consulted at the end of a process, when their views will be used as window dressing for proposals that have already been determined. We should therefore make strong efforts to enable young people in care to voice their opinions and perspectives on the key issues that affect them and open up the possibilities for a genuinely child-focused approach. I hope that the Government listen to those young people and take note of what they say both through their advocates and in an unmediated form. Children in the care of local authorities, whether in a children's home or in foster care, are likely to experience feelings of abandonment; to feel that no one loves them for what they are; to suffer from low self-esteem; and to feel that they do not belong. Legislation cannot make a child feel loved, but it can help to create the best chances of a child recovering from the devastation of being in care, for whatever reason.