HL Deb 08 November 1989 vol 512 cc743-5

53 Clause 19, page 15, line 21, at end insert 'in other respects apart from providing accommodation for him'.

54 Page 15, line 32, leave out from 'in' to end of line 33 and insert 'a voluntary home'.

55 Page 15, line 43, at end insert 'unless he falls within subsection (3A).

(3A) A person falls within this subsection if he is —

  1. (a) a parent of the child;
  2. (b) a person who is not a parent of the child but who has parental responsibility for him; or
  3. (c) where the child is in care and there was a residence order in force with respect to him immediately before the care order was made, a person in whose favour the residence order was made.'.

56 Page 15, line 45, leave out from 'with' to end of line 2 on page 16, and insert 'a person who falls within subsection (3A)'.

57 Page 16, line 3, at end insert — '(4A) Subject to any regulations made by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this subsection, any local authority looking after a child shall make arrangements to enable him to live with —

  1. (a) a person falling within subsection (3A); or
  2. (b) a relative, friend or other person connected with him, unless that would not be reasonably practicable or consistent with his welfare'.

58 Page 16, line 8, leave out 'any' and insert 'the'.

The Lord Chancellor

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendments Nos. 53 to 58 en bloc. I shall speak at the same time to Amendments Nos. 79, 293, 295 and 296.

This group of amendments is concerned with various matters to do with the provision of accommodation for children in need. Amendments Nos. 53 and 79 are essentially drafting amendments to make clear that the maintenance of a child by a local authority includes the provision of accommodation and is not limited to other provision for him. On looking at it in consultation with some of the groups involved, it appeared that this might be a possible view of the provision as drafted. Therefore we are making it clear that it includes the provision of accommodation and is not limited to other provision for the child.

Amendment No. 79 puts right an omission in Clause 24, so that a local authority may recover expenses incurred in providing accommodation and maintenance for a child. Amendments Nos. 54 and 295 both concern provision for voluntary organisations to place children with foster parents. Amendment No. 54 would make it clear that local authorities can arrange for children to be looked after in a voluntary home run by a voluntary organisation and registered with the Secretary of State. It also ensures that if a voluntary organisation arranged a placement with a foster parent on behalf of a local authority, the placement would be treated as a local authority placement and would be governed by the foster placement regulations under that clause and paragraph 10 of Schedule 2.

Amendment No. 295 would amend the provision for regulations governing the placement of children with local authority foster parents in paragraph 10 of Part II of Schedule 2. Amendments Nos. 55, 56 and 296 are introduced in Clause 19 because, as presently drafted, it looks as though a parent or other person with parental responsibility may be a local authority foster parent under Clause 19(2)(a). This is not what is intended and these amendments make that clear.

Amendment No. 57 is one of the principal amendments in this group and is intended to give greater emphasis in the Bill to the important matter of rehabilitation. We have taken account of concerns about rehabilitation in the Bill as presently drafted, that some local authorities pursue their present duties in this field with perhaps insufficient vigour. The noble Lord, Lord Prys-Davies, raised this question of contact and returning a child to his family at Report stage in this House.

Rehabilitation with the family is dealt with in paragraph 9 of Schedule 2. This is something of a general purpose provision on rehabilitation in that it covers not only children being looked after by the local authority, but also any other child in need in the authority's area who is living apart from his family. The authority must take reasonable steps to enable him to live with his family or to promote contact between him and his family, if they consider it necessary to do so in order to safeguard or promote his welfare.

We believe, however, that it would be right to have a specific and more positive rehabilitation duty made prominent at the very front of the provisions. Accordingly, Amendment No. 57 would add a new subsection to Clause 19 requiring a local authority looking after a child to make arrangements to enable the child to live with one of the persons specified, unless this would not be reasonably practicable or consistent with his welfare. The persons specified include a parent of the child or another person or persons listed in subsection (4), as well as those listed in paragraph (b) of the amendment. The rider, unless that would not be reasonably practicable or consistent with his welfare", is necessary. We have to accept, as did the Social Services Committee in Children in Care, that for some children rehabilitation is not practicable.

The reformulated duty would be subject to any regulations made by the Secretary of State in this respect. Amendment No. 58 is a minor drafting amendment and Amendment No. 293 is a simple consequential amendment to paragraph 9 of Schedule 2, to take account of the new rehabilitation provisions proposed in Amendment No. 57. I beg to move.

Moved, That the House do agree with the Commons in the said amendments. —(The Lord Chancellor.)

Lord Prys-Davies

My Lords, again I very much welcome Amendment No. 57 with its central emphasis on the role of rehabilitation. I believe that this has been welcomed by the voluntary organisations with an interest in the field. So we welcome very much the group of amendments and support them.

On Question, Motion agreed to.