Children and Young Persons Bill [Lords]
10:30 am
Annette Brooke (Shadow Minister (Children, Young People and Families), Children, Schools and Families; Mid Dorset and North Poole, Liberal Democrat)
This is the first time that I have served under your chairmanship, Mr. Pope, and it is a pleasure. I am pleased that the Minister is leading for the Government, as we have met before in other Committees. I would also like to pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Ceredigion, because not only does he bring valuable experience of schools, which relates to an important aspect of the Bill, but we feel that there should be some Welsh input from the opposition parties, as most of the Bill will apply to Wales. I am looking forward to the Committee’s proceedings and hope that they meet my expectations, because we are primarily in agreement that we need to do much better for vulnerable children. Having the opportunity to make a positive contribution to young peoples’ lives is a privilege, so I hope that all of our debates will be in that spirit.
We made a number of points on Second Reading that we want to take forward and in relation to which we want to have more detailed debate. Many of our concerns require clarification and pushing further. On Second Reading, I said that so much is dealt with in guidance and regulation that Committee is the only chance for us to get in there and ensure that the guidance and regulations will be implemented. Implementation will be the key to all of this. We can have all of our grand words, but unless we get it right and get the messages out to the wider world, we will not make the difference that I am sure we all wish to achieve.