---

Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

My Lords, I do not know whether the Minister remembers the proverb in Welsh, ““Nid da lle ellir gwell””, which means, ““Nothing is good that can be improved upon””. That is exactly what has happened with this Bill, which was a good, gallant and noble Bill when it first came to this House but has been greatly improved. I, too, join in congratulating the noble Baroness, Lady Morris of Bolton, on her sterling efforts in that connection. Without going into detail, I am very conscious that the improvements contained in these amendments show a greater sense of trusteeship and commitment on the part of the Government towards children in need. The reaction has been imaginative; the duty at every possible opportunity to seek out and identify need is at the heart, core and kernel of the answer to this problem. Whatever our efforts are, even our noblest efforts will fall short of the needs of these children, but a great deal of progress has been made and a great deal of further progress set in train by this amendment.