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Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

My Lords, I spoke in support of this amendment in Grand Committee. The transition stage is crucial and, in a lifetime of uncertainty, help should not be abandoned when it is most needed. I was, however, reassured by the Minister’s answer that there is already provision under the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000, which imposes a duty on local authorities to allocate a personal adviser and to keep in touch with all former relevant children until they are 21 years old, and in some cases 25 years old. In Grand Committee, I asked the Minister for the number of people aged 18 to 25 who may be eligible under the amendment, but he was unable to give me an answer. I wonder whether he has managed to find that out. If he does not know today, I am more than happy for him to write to me. While we are talking about independent visitors, perhaps I may also take this opportunity to ask about mentors. Does the Minister envisage mentoring schemes coming under this clause? I am a huge fan of mentoring because it brings the stability and continuity for which we are searching and it is a constant when other things, such as the professionals involved with a young person in care, change. As the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, said, they are the anchors in the young person’s life. Bolton Lads and Girls Club, with which I used to be very involved, was at the forefront of mentoring many years ago and it has had remarkable success. It is running a scheme training employees of Bolton Council to mentor looked-after children. Rainer is providing the finance and the club is delighted with the progress that is being made. The trouble is that, like all these things, funding is always on a short-term basis. It would be sad if, after establishing good relationships, the scheme had to stop. It would be especially cruel for those young people who, probably more than anyone, need those anchor points in their lives. Perhaps the Minister would comment on that.