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Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill

My Lords, I agree with some of the sentiments behind the amendments but I do not think that this is an appropriate Bill for introducing them. Something of a regular theme of mine is encouraging various departments to speak to each other and encouraging the various bits of government to join up. As is often the case, the sentiments that are expressed in relation to one part of legislation are probably best carried out elsewhere. We probably all agree with the sentiment behind the amendment. The arguments about a nanny state and so on loom large, and people fall on different sides of the argument on different occasions, but I suggest that this is the wrong Bill and the wrong vehicle for this type of support. Here, we are telling people that they should put their hand in their pocket when they have not done so in the past, and we are promoting a greater awareness of responsibility in parenting, but I suggest that this is the wrong place to start. However, I think it is right that we get an idea of how the other services tie in together. If we are not creating the right vehicle here, how do the rest of the issues tie in? This may be an appropriate point for the Minister to give us an idea of how other services are being brought in to help in these objectives.