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Children, Schools and Families Bill

My Lords, I was going to begin by saying: "Whatever the fate of the Bill, with the uncertainty of an election well in our sights,"—but the speeches so far have demonstrated that an election is well in our sights, with the issues being well set out by both sides. However, the Bill is an opportunity to debate and test a mix of provisions which contain issues of serious principle whereby whoever form the next Government will have in their heads some of the concepts that we need to look to in the future. I, too, welcome the focus on children with special needs and those excluded from school. The PSHE provisions that will help children to have a greater understanding of the social and health issues that they must contend with are also most welcome and have been sought by the noble Baroness, Lady Massey, and others over the years. I am only sorry that she is not here this evening to speak to them. I also welcome the right for children to receive the sex education appropriate to their needs, having listened in my time to hundreds of children on Childline who were totally confused as to what sex is about—with all the dangers that that brings. I only hope that alongside this focus on education we can remember that "education, education, education" works only if we remember "welfare, welfare, welfare". Unless children have their welfare cared for and unless they feel safe and understood, their learning is jeopardised. Therefore, I want talk on an issue that I know something about—not particularly education, but the aspects in the Bill that touch on social work related to the family justice system. We all know that at the moment children’s social work is at a seriously challenged pivot and that workers are under considerable stress. Local authorities fear that that the position will become more difficult. We feel the effects in the Children and Families Court Advisory and Support Service, in which I declare an interest as its chair. I therefore hope that, while we look at the needs of teachers and their licence to practise, as much thought, by whichever party is in power, will be given to the needs of social workers. I know that the Government have done much through the taskforce to take that forward. Therefore, I will not be touching on education at this Second Reading, but on issues relating to the children before the court and the local safeguarding and children’s boards. The balance between the exchange of information to keep children safe and the respect for the confidentiality of the child and their family is difficult. We get it wrong at our peril. Having been the chair of a similar board in my time and involved in safeguarding for most of my professional life, I am more than aware of the need for appropriate information sharing to keep children safe. But we can go too far. Children feel that, on the whole, their lives become an open book in which they feel they are not respected and are disfranchised. I shall tell the House of a time when I was speaking to a room of judges and policemen. I said: "Would anyone like to get up and tell me about their last sexual experiences?". I have never seen heads go down quite so quickly, but we expect children, when we ask them, to disclose what is happening to them on a whole range of issues. That is why I have anxieties also about the so-called opening up of the family courts. These provisions could make the difficult job of CAFCASS officers, who must win the confidence of children, even more difficult. Let me put this in context. Since the death of Baby Peter and the response of some local authorities which took more children through the family court system, CAFCASS saw nearly a 50 per cent increase in care applications—I repeat, a 50 per cent increase. During 2009-10, demand has continued to remain high. In June 2009, we experienced the highest ever care demand level since CAFCASS began keeping records. At the same time, demand has continued to rise for private law cases, mainly of course in the context of divorce—possibly reflecting the stress and breakdown of family life during the recession. CAFCASS has a core responsibility to represent the best interests of children and young people by ensuring that their voices are heard and their feelings expressed in all family proceedings. We therefore play a role in upholding Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that, ""the child shall in particular be provided the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child, either directly, or through a representative or an appropriate body"." We are aware that in some circumstances the facts of the cases we work with may involve the balancing of competing rights. We are also aware that the proposed legislation in the Bill under consideration involves both the right of the media to report in the public interest and the right of children and families to privacy. However, it is absolutely vital that CAFCASS practitioners are able to engage effectively with young people in order to ascertain their wishes and feelings and to communicate these to the court, along with the CAFCASS analysis and recommendations about how the court might best promote their welfare. When undertaking casework, especially involving older children and young people, it is vital to establish open dialogue. This work requires skill, care and confidence, and it takes time to complete. The anxiety about the loss of confidentiality will complicate this already complex process. In 2006, we set up a young people’s board, all of whom had experience of the courts system: young people to advise us. These young people have indicated that they hope the media would not sensationalise family proceedings in the manner prevalent in the popular press. They are fearful; after what has happened this week in the press in terms of disclosures, I suspect they will be even more fearful. Another concern is that despite the planned anonymisation of media reports, the identity of families involved in proceedings could still be apparent should the reporter publish specific incidents or case details. This would be of significant concern in close-knit and specific communities. The young people have also identified that the internet, in particular the comment sections of newspaper websites, are likely to be used for additional speculation, comment and opinions about case details that have been reported. Many young people have already voiced the concern that they do not want their wishes and feelings to be communicated to the court as they fear it may upset their parents or make them angry. Other organisations within the Interdisciplinary Alliance for Children and 11 Million endorse the view that provisions may limit the information children choose to share. Have the Government evaluated any other methods of improving transparency, such as pilot initiatives to anonymise family court judgments, which would not subject already vulnerable children to a range of further risks? There could be court open days, and family courts inspectorates with the power to review and report on consistency within the family courts. I am sure there are many other ideas. The issues around the changing of the treatment of sensitive personal information and further opening of the family courts should be specifically considered by Parliament. Changes already made to this part of the Bill may provide only weak protection, and alongside Resolution, an association of more than 5,500 lawyers, I query whether the affirmative resolution procedure is enough. When taking part in previous legislation going through this House, I have been impressed by the way the Government have adopted and protected the principle that the welfare of children should be paramount. It is what makes them enjoy life; it is what enables them to learn. However, if we listen to the children and young people involved in the research carried out by the University of Oxford for the Children’s Commissioner for England, or to the CAFCASS children’s board—young people with direct experience of these issues—or to how children tell Childline about their anxiety concerning their privacy, do the Government still hold that principle central to their Every Child Matters agenda, or have they gone by expediency to a new approach, something called transparency but which is really an unconsidered opening to the media? I ask the Minister for children to reinforce that children are central and that their privacy will be respected within the context of the courts.