---

Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill

The noble Lord, Lord Skelmersdale, referred to the Minister being lonely. My spies tell me that he has been moved from having responsibility for this subject and actually has nothing to do with this amendment. That is annoying. His 15 months are obviously up; he is just beginning to get hold of this important subject at a key time, and now some other Minister is doing it. That is completely bad timing and no reward for merit, competence or any damn thing. If that is true, the Committee commiserates with him. If it is anything to do with Mr James Purnell, who used to serve under me on a Select Committee in another place, if I find him in the House of Commons locker room and he is to blame, I will wait until he is in his Marks and Spencer’s best, and I will poke him in the ribs and complain because I cannot think who else to complain to. If the Minister has been moved, that is not at all helpful for the Committee, the policy or anything else, and I commiserate with him, but perhaps he has better things to do with his time. That was a diversion, and I am probably completely out of order. How do we know when voluntary arrangements are appropriate? We are coming on to talk about definitions in a moment. The two parents will get access to the information and guidance, and we hope that will be as good as it can be, but they will go out of the door. What happens then? How do we know what goes on outside in the street, or down the pub, or back in the drawing room? They may never be seen again. I do not understand. The idea of a register is appealing because at least we will have some confidence that we will get some handle, even on a pilot basis. The statistics are difficult enough. I understand the case that is being made, but the noble Baroness’s point continues to obtain until the Government can find some way of giving us assurance. I fear that they will lose control and will not be able to monitor the situation in the way that enables us to take account of the policy objectives in the long term.