Clause 3 - Duty to inform
Carers (Equal Opportunities) Bill
3:15 pm
Mr Hywel Francis (Aberavon, Labour)
Carers have told me that this clause is hugely important to them. Like my Bill, Government new clause 1 is borrowed from legislation in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
As the parent of a child with Down's syndrome, I warmly welcome the fact that parents of disabled children will be told about their rights. I have closely examined new clause 1, which does what clause 3 set out to do in a more direct and concrete way. I hope that the Committee will agree to replace clause 3 with the new clause; if it does so, parents in England and Wales, including the parents of disabled children, will be able to celebrate the fact that they enjoy the same rights as carers in other parts of the United Kingdom. That is another illustration of the success of democratic devolution in assisting the development of progressive policies throughout the United Kingdom.