---

Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

My Lords, in the context of the Bill I will say something about adoption and then look at fostering in rather more detail. The previous Prime Minister had a sudden enthusiasm for adoption, but I do not think that changed things very much. Many suitable families wish to adopt but, because our procedures are so bureaucratic and so slow, some families are driven to seek foreign children to adopt. It would benefit our babies and adopting parents if approved adopters could do so from the moment of birth, as is possible in the United States, for example. This ensures continuity of care from the start and is likely to help with bonding. At present in this country adopters seldom receive an infant until it has reached the age of one or even more. I hope that the Bill provides a way forward in Clause 2(2)(b), which I take to mean that local authorities will be able to devolve their adoption work to registered adoption societies, of which there are quite a few. If this is not the Government’s intention, or if it will not have the effect I seek, I urge the Minister to say so. If adoption can begin from birth, I suggest that it will increase the total number of adoptions and thereby slightly decrease the number of abortions. I turn now to fostering. I have said before, and I do not hesitate to repeat it, that foster parents stand in the very front line of social care. The majority of children in the care of local authorities are fostered. Stable, lasting foster placements are worth their weight in gold. Of course some will be only short term until natural parents or family members can resume care; others, on the other hand, may last for years. At all times there has to be a sufficient pool of competent foster parents so that children do not have to be placed in institutional homes. Staff there usually have to work in shifts, they do not always have parenting experience and many may be poorly trained. Foster parents can, above all, provide continuity of affection and love. I therefore welcome all that the Minister said about stability. In order to have the right kind of fosterers, and enough of them, it is essential to provide adequate remuneration. As your Lordships will know, remuneration comes in two parts: allowances and fees. The former should cover the full cost of keeping and maintaining the child while fees reward the work done and the skills and experience of the foster parents. Fees should continue to be paid while fosterers are on standby waiting for the next child to arrive. Remuneration in fact varies considerably between authorities, and between them and the agencies involved in fostering. That is why I welcome the recent national minimum standards for rewarding foster carers. Good remuneration is obviously important but it is not everything. Foster parents may need initial training, plus in-service training and support. Practical support and respite help or care are especially necessary when the foster child or children are disturbed, educationally subnormal or suffering mental or physical disabilities. In all cases, including the most difficult ones, stable placements must be the goal. Placements that break down lead to the saddest consequences for the children involved. We all know that children, especially those with troubled histories, can be terrible liars and deeply manipulative. That is why it is essential to have effective procedures for dealing with allegations against foster parents. Such allegations may often be malicious or ill-founded. Surveys have found that around one-third of foster carers will have to face an allegation while they are on the job. They therefore deserve just as good protection as that provided for teachers and social workers. There is evidence that allegations are not being resolved as rapidly as official guidance requires. Foster carers are losing money unnecessarily and are not receiving the independent support they need until the allegation is resolved. How do the Government and local authorities propose to improve these matters in accordance with the Working Together document? I welcome the new provisions in Clauses 12 and 14 for independent reviewing officers and independent visitors for each child. However, how can the reviewing officers be truly independent if they are also officers of the local authority in question? How is the Secretary of State likely to exercise his proposed powers under Clause 12? I suggest that the first reviewers and visitors should start work on the classes of children who are most at risk: those who are privately fostered, and those who come into care as known or suspected subjects of trafficking. The latter group is at severe risk of disappearing. To these groups, one should add children who have previously run away from care. I agree with what the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, was saying about notification of private foster placements under the 2004 Act. We need to raise public awareness of this issue, if only because it can be a cover-up for child trafficking and because it can land children in situations of domestic slavery without anyone knowing. For that reason, teachers, health visitors, doctors and others who know of private fostering should check that they have in fact been notified. Once again, the best interests of the child should prevail. How does the Minister expect the situation to be improved? The history of children in care in this country is hardly an encouraging one. Their education results have been poor, as we have heard, and they provide a sadly high proportion of subsequent offenders and prisoners. If the Bill improves standards in both adoption and fostering, and if it means that best practice is followed everywhere, that will be real progress. It seems that the Minister and the Secretary of State have already convinced the Treasury to produce extra funds, but I urge them to go on arguing that investment in childcare will be repaid by savings in criminal justice and prisons.