§ 1 Clause 4, page 6, line 25, leave out ("registered") and insert ("private").
§ Lord BurlisonMy Lords, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 1. I wish to speak also to Commons 1260 Amendments Nos. 2, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. The Care Standards Act amends the definitions of residential care homes, nursing homes and registered children's homes to care homes, independent hospitals and private children's homes. In restating Section 24 of the Children Act, the Children (Leaving Care) Bill deploys at Sections 24(2)(d) and 24(2)(c) the existing definitions of such homes. It was introduced ahead of the Care Standards Bill.
Amendments updating those references were made to the Children Act in the Care Standards Act at its Committee stage in order to avoid having to table amendments to the Children (Leaving Care) Bill. Those amendments were drafted on the reasonable assumption that the amendments to the Children Act made by the Children (Leaving Care) Bill would have become law first. In the event, that did not happen. Therefore, the amendments refer to new sections of the Children Act which did not exist at the time that the Care Standards Act obtained Royal Assent.
As a consequence, the amendments have no effect. Therefore, we need to amend the Bill in order to bring into line the references to such homes and to remove the now incorrect amendments to the Care Standards Act. These amendments are technical and have no new policy implications. I commend them to the House.
Moved, That the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 1.—(Lord Burlison.)
On Question, Motion agreed to.