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Child Poverty Bill

Perhaps I may just interpose a couple of questions. I understand the reason for the amendment. I listened carefully to the way that the noble Lord, Lord Freud, deployed his argument and I can see the case that he is making. Contrary to his view of things, I am nervous about the tone of the amendment; it may diminish the independence of the commission. As it stands, the clause means that the Secretary of State has to stand up and take what he gets. The amendment seems to turn that around and to say that he can give the commission guidance, and the commission must have regard to it. I do not want the commission to be that at all; I want it to be free-wheeling, to think laterally and to be the grit in the oyster. I want it occasionally—although not deliberately or for the sake of it—to embarrass the Government, if it feels that that is necessary. The territory that the amendment takes us towards suggests that there is a line of communication that indicates clearly that this is top-down, not bottom-up. I may be wrong about that, and perhaps there is a difference in perception about what the commission might do. It may be that if I were the noble Lord I would take the view that he is taking, as he might have to work with the commission in circumstances that we may face in future, but we need to make this clear. I want the commission to be able to think for itself. I want it to be brave and to say things that might be quite difficult for a Government. If the noble Lord’s amendment seeks to put a cap on that ability, I would be nervous about supporting it.