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Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

I respectfully suggest that in so far as the nomination of such a target is concerned—I appreciate that it is no longer the current procedure—it seems to me that the Government must be getting very near to a most dangerous line. I totally applaud the attitude that the Government have taken generally towards adoption and I applaud the fact that they sensitively accept that in many cases the welfare of a child will be best served by being adopted rather than being in care or, indeed, in a succession of care placements over very many years. Adoption often enables a child to be fully integrated into a loving family which, with the best will in the world, may not be possible under the care system. It seems to me that the Minister is now saying that each case turns on its own facts. Given the general precepts that the Government have wisely published, if it is the case that local authorities say to the Government, ““This is the situation in our area. This is the amalgam of the situation that we are dealing with in relation to a number of cases, and this is the ultimate figure””, provided those figures move from local government to central government, rather than as a precept from central government to local government, the situation is perfectly wholesome and proper. Does the Minister agree with that?