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Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

I apologise to the noble Baroness, Lady Morris of Bolton, for not being here at the beginning of her remarks. I think that she knows why, although I am not sure that that exonerates me. I do not know why she sits on the Benches that she sits on, because this is a characteristically enlightened and progressive amendment and I support her in it. It seems to me that, however you look at it, the case for the amendment is self-evident. First, I adhere very strongly to the old precept that justice should not only be done but should be seen to be done. Therefore, from the standpoint of reassuring everybody, it is good that somebody should be seen not to be involved with the body that is being reviewed. That seems self-evident. It is the same issue that has arisen in the past with the police, the prisons and all the rest. It is awfully misguided of those who will be reviewed to resist a measure of this kind. I understand it psychologically because there is always the possibility that there is an inherent threat in this and that the person is somehow going to be hostile, but I do not think that experience demonstrates that that is the case. Independent reviewers can be extremely helpful because they bring a different perspective and a free-standing judgment on what is happening and how the situation can be helped. Having said that, I want to put a qualification on my own commitment: we have to face up to one cultural difficulty that has developed. I hope my noble friend will forgive my making the allusion, but it seems to me that we have got into a culture of passing and failing in reviewing. Taking the example of the old HM Inspectors of Schools, whom I deeply respected as one of the best things in Britain, that was not their approach at all; their approach was to help the school succeed. We would have to be very certain that, whoever does the reviewing, the task is to help people make a success of it, not to pass or fail or to play into the hands of the Sun, the Daily Mail or whatever—to call a spade a spade. With that proviso, the case for having independent judgment is powerful. I hope that my noble friend will be able to respond positively.