---

Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

I supported this amendment on a previous occasion, and it is back in Committee for very obvious reasons. I will not go into all those reasons again because almost everything has been said. However, I certainly remember the guardian ad litem days in London, which were one way of getting pretty effective independence. The critical friend role is crucial; you must be able to be independent to do that job properly for all the reasons that we have heard so far. I also very much support Amendment No. 23 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Elystan-Morgan, which ties in well. There could be a more national body that supplied the training and so on that might well be necessary.