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Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill

My Lords, I shall speak also to Amendments 276B, 276BA, 277, 277A and 278. We now come to the children’s services section of the Bill, where we tighten up the arrangements on co-operation to ensure children’s well-being. The first three amendments in my name in this group relate to housing. Amendment 276A would add housing as a consideration in the arrangements between local authorities and relevant partners for the improvement of children’s well-being. Amendment 276B would extend the duty to co-operate to include local housing authorities by naming them as relevant partners for children’s services authorities in England. Amendment 276BA would add registered providers of social housing to the same group as those with a duty to co-operate. I am aware that the Government believe that local housing authorities are already included in the arrangements for children’s well-being and the duty to co-operate, but I do not believe that other social housing providers are. Besides, we believe that it is not happening on the ground. There is a lot of evidence from Shelter, which briefed us, that housing can have a profound impact on the well-being and safeguarding of children and young people but that there is currently a lack of information sharing between housing and children’s services and a lack of understanding of procedures and good practice on both sides, which can result in vulnerable children slipping through the safety net. Since the Laming inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbié in 2003, priority has rightly been given to joint working. Since then, legislation and associated guidance have required local public bodies to work together through children’s trusts. There is little evidence to suggest that children’s trusts have wholly succeeded in improving outcomes for children so far and there is a substantial amount of local variation. This Bill is intended to address the existing limitations of children’s trusts by strengthening their statutory basis. In particular, the aim is to improve the co-operation of children’s services authorities with their relevant partners. That is why we want to emphasise housing. Extensive studies have shown the major impact that bad housing has on children’s life chances. Homelessness, poor housing conditions and overcrowding all have negative effects on a child’s development. For example, Shelter research has found that children living in overcrowded and unfit accommodation are almost a third more likely than other children to suffer respiratory problems. Despite the proven links between children’s well-being and housing, Shelter’s children’s service has found that there is a lack of information sharing between local authority housing departments and children’s services around preventing homelessness, mitigating the impact of temporary accommodation on children and identifying additional support needs. Given the significant connection between housing and children’s health and well-being, Shelter believes that it is vital that the new legislation specifically recognises local housing authorities as relevant partners for the improvement of children’s well-being in the establishment of children’s trust boards. We have added other social housing partners in recognition of the fact that many housing associations and housing trusts house thousands of needy children every year. Making specific mention of housing in the Bill would also give housing providers a stronger voice and more influence over the strategic arrangements of children’s trusts. This would go a long way towards ensuring that vulnerable families in difficult-to-reach circumstances are contacted by family support and outreach workers. After all, they all need housing and they will have contact with the housing department at least, or a social housing provider, even if they have no contact with social services or other children’s services. Amendments 277 and 277A relate to the children and young people’s plans, which the newly statutory children’s trust boards must set up and implement. Amendment 277 would require the CTB to produce a version of the plan in the language and format that is suitable for children to read and understand. Amendment 277A would require them to consult relevant groups when devising or revising that plan. Article 12 of the UNCRC requires that all children have the right to express their views and have them taken into account and given due weight according to their age and maturity in all matters affecting them. Clause 187 transfers the duty of preparing and implementing the children and young people’s plans from the local authority to children’s trust boards. Existing regulations require local authorities to consult such children, relevant young persons and families in the area of the authority as they prepare their plan and, of course, we welcome the Government’s commitment to transfer this duty to the children’s trust boards. But existing regulations place an obligation on the authority to publish its CYPP on its website and send the plan to its relevant partners in public libraries and so forth. While we welcome these provisions, they really are inadequate because there is no explicit requirement to make the CYPP accessible to those most affected by it—in other words, children and young people. Research has found that, while children and young people may be increasingly consulted in the preparation of the plan, they are not always informed or told about the outcome of the consultations. Therefore, the duty to consult should be accompanied with a duty to inform the participants on the outcome of the consultation. This currently occurs for parent and partner organisations, but it does not occur for children. Awareness of the plan is low among children. We believe that the benefits for children and young people for understanding local strategies would far outweigh the costs. A summary for children would ensure that they could understand what services they could access and what local service providers were doing to improve their well-being. Finally, a word about Amendment 278, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Morris of Handsworth, to which I have added my name. I will leave him to make the substantial speech on this, but I would like to thank the Bill team for the time that they have devoted to this issue. I support what the noble Lord is about to say and I look forward to the Minister’s explanation of what the Government intend to do about this issue. I beg to move.