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Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

My Lords, on the specific matter of parity of treatment of children in the Immigration Service and other children in this country, I express my gratitude to noble Lords on the Front Benches for pushing so hard and consistently on this matter. I thank the Minister for the Government’s helpful and encouraging response to those concerns, which I know they very much share. I encourage the Minister to meet Mr Oppenheim, the children's champion in the Immigration Service appointed by her predecessor, the noble Baroness, Lady Ashton of Upholland, to discuss these matters further if she has not yet had the opportunity to do so. The Children's Commissioner for England recently visited Yarl's Wood family detention centre, about which he continues to have concerns, so I hope that she will be able to make the time to meet Mr Oppenheim at an early juncture. I also join in welcoming the Bill. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to have been involved in some parts of it. I do so as the joint chair of the All-Party Group on Children and Young People in Care. It is a great step forward and shows the Government’s commitment to improving the chances of these young people, who have been so regrettably let down in the past. Recent events highlight the continuing need, despite the welcome efforts made by the Government, to improve the status of social work and to support social workers. Far more still needs to be done to ensure that there is a proper professional framework in which social workers can operate in difficult circumstances and with such vulnerable children and families. I welcome the Bill.