Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Bill (Hansard, 27 June 1986)

HL Deb 27 June 1986 vol 477 cc573-8 573

§ 2.4.P.m.

§ Report received.

574

§ Clause 1 [Appointment of authorised representatives of disabled persons ]:

§ Baroness Trumpington moved Amendment No. 1: Page 1, line 12, leave out ("provide—") and insert ("make provision with respect to the appointment of persons to act as the authorised representatives of disabled persons, including provisions—")

§ The noble Baroness said: My Lords, in moving this amendment, I speak at the same time to Amendment No. 2.

§ This Government amendment is designed to ensure that the position of disabled children in local authority care is adequately covered in the part of the Bill relating to the appointment of representatives. It has been tabled with the agreement of the noble Baroness, Lady Masham.

§ Subsection (3)(a) of Clause 1 envisages that in general the parents or guardians of disabled children should be able to appoint representatives for them. Parents could appoint themselves as representatives if they wished to do so. In some cases appointment of a representative by the parent would still be appropriate even if the child is in local authority care. But in other cases it would be wholly inappropriate, and indeed contrary to the child's best interests, to allow the parent of a child in care to appoint a representative, or for a representative appointed by the parent—who could be the parent himself—to have physical access to the child under the provision of Clause 2(5). Indeed, as I need hardly spell out to your Lordships, the reason for the child being taken into care in the first place will often be to protect him from his parents.

§ Nevertheless, it would in our view be wrong not to let a child in this position have a representative at all. The amendment would accordingly provide that, in circumstances which would be carefully set out in the regulations, it will be for the local authority to appoint a representative for a child in their care. We would propose to consult further on the exact circumstances in which these provisions would apply. The aim would be to cover all the situations where it would not be in the interests of the child to allow the natural parent to appoint a representative himself or herself. I beg to move.

§ Baroness Masham of Ilton
My Lords, I welcome the principle of this amendment; but I realise the complexities of how it might operate in practice. I am pleased that the Minister, the noble Baroness, Lady Trumpington, has said that some of the outstanding issues will be examined in detail by the Government in their proposals for the new child care legislation. The noble Baroness said that on the last stage of the Bill.
The officers of the department have been working very hard to make this amendment as helpful as possible for children. I thank them and also my two advisers, Peter Mitchell of RADAR and John Healey of MIND, for all the work done and the advice given.

§ Lord Ennals
My Lords, may I also say a word of thanks to the noble Baroness? Though she did not say so, I suspect that this amendment must have resulted from consultation that took place following four 575 amendments at Committee stage—one of which I tabled and three of which I spoke to. I am extremely grateful to the noble Baroness for going into this question. I am glad also that she said that she would consult further about this matter as regards the regulations, and I hope that she will consult with organisations such as the Family Rights Group and others who have taken a special interest in this Bill in order that we can make quite certain that finally it is right. I am most grateful to her and I support the amendment.

§ Lord Swinfen
My Lords, I also welcome this amendment. I should like to ask my noble friend the Minister to bear in mind the need to ensure that the disabled person's representative is someone who can understand and communicate with a disabled person, who may find difficulty in communication. As I have said before, very often disabled people are able to communicate through only one or two people, and it is very important that that channel of communication be used.
With regard to children perhaps I may also say that as they grow older they often do not want their parents to be their representatives because, like able-bodied children, they are trying to leave the nest. It is sometimes difficult enough for able-bodied children to leave the family home and get away to become independent. It is even more difficult for a disabled person to do so, and sometimes parents and relatives can be a hindrance rather than a help.

§ Baroness Trumpington
My Lords, I thank both the noble Lord, Lord Ennals, and my noble friend, Lord Swinfen for their welcome to this amendment. I should like to assure them both that what they have said this afternoon will be very carefully noted and will form part of the consultation process.