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Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

I, too, welcome these amendments and I commend the Minister for his careful perusal of the detail that we went through in Grand Committee. I have just two points to make. First, some years ago we spent a lot of time trying to introduce the concept of well-being into legislation. I recall the noble Baroness on the Liberal Benches—the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, rather than her colleague the noble Baroness, Lady Sharp of Guildford—pressing for this kind of phraseology in another Bill. We therefore warmly welcome it, although I am not sure that we know what the definition is and what it will mean in practice, a point that I shall come back to. I wish that the new clause were being inserted not before Clause 7 but before Clause 1. That would put into proportion the whole of this part of the legislation and take the heat out of the debate among social workers about practices in childcare. It would also give a whole-concept framework for children in terms of the 1989 Act and following through. I know that one of the Minister’s hopes is that he can latch these two pieces of legislation together more fundamentally, so that well-being is then the central core. My second question concerns the wide range of duties on the Secretary of State and how those duties will link in with the local authority. The noble Baroness, Lady Sharp, referred to a long list of issues raised by Barnardo’s and other groups. I shall not repeat them but they are practice issues—not necessarily policy issues—which will have to be implemented by the local authority. I am sure that inspections will bring to the fore some of the issues and I should be interested to know how Ofsted might develop a more rounded approach towards helping those who are attempting to change practice as well as bringing the necessary criticisms to the fore. One of the difficulties is that, unless the regulator takes a rounded approach, there is a blame culture rather than a development culture. I shall be interested in the interrelationship between the Secretary of State’s new duties, which I welcome, and the practice issues that have to be carried out by the local authority. My third point relates to finances. We have heard a great deal about the way in which the finances will be put together. However, as it is not yet clear in my mind, I ask the Minister what funding will be ring-fenced to ensure that this work can move forward. What will be left for the local authority to set its priorities, alongside its many other priorities, in order to ensure that children generally, and in particular children in care, receive the services that we are working towards?