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Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

My Lords, I am grateful for the welcome given to the new provisions by both noble Baronesses. The reason for specifying 2011 is that for the first two years of the investment that I set out, we are building up pathfinder programmes. We recently announced the 21 short break pathfinder areas, and based on the experience of those areas we will introduce national coverage in short break provision in the third year of the Comprehensive Spending Review, which is 2010-11. It is on the basis of the provision that we are able to make in that third year that the regulations will be framed. So there is a reason for 2011; we are not dragging our feet but until we have seen those pathfinders through, we will not be in a position to know what it is appropriate to specify in the regulations. Those pathfinder authorities will pilot and seek to develop a range of different sorts of short break provision meeting the whole spectrum of the needs of parents with disabled children, including those groups mentioned by the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley. We are mindful of the fact that there is a wide diversity of needs in the disabled children community, and we want to see how those needs can best be met before we either make the national rollout in 2010-11 or specify the regulations under which all local authorities will then be obliged to act. On Question, amendment agreed to.