Schedule 1
Child Poverty Bill
6:15 pm
David Gauke (Shadow Minister, Treasury; South West Hertfordshire, Conservative)
As I said, the amendment was drafted and submitted before the summer recess and recent events. My hon. Friend brings some relevant experience to the matter. The drafting of the amendment could be improved, and perhaps would need to be strengthened. I had assumed that Parliament and the Executive would be able to work co-operatively on such matters. Perhaps I was being na誰ve, or perhaps the recent events have been exceptional and future Secretaries of State would not act in such a way—I do not know; I am speculating. The row over the appointment of the Children’s Commissioner at least highlighted the fact that Parliament wishes to have its voice heard on some of these major public appointments. Perhaps when creating new appointment procedures, we should bear in mind the need to involve Parliament. It is good that Parliament can be independent in these areas.
That brings me to the second argument in favour of the proposals in amendment 9: they would provide greater credibility to the position of chair of the commission. That might not necessarily be the right approach, however. I would like to press the Minister on a wider question about the chair and the child poverty commission that arises from our previous debate. The commission will be an advisory body that has to deal with a complex set of indicators and potential policy levers. Is it right that it is an outside body? I support the independence of the Bank of England, and the Monetary Policy Committee has, by and large, worked but, as the Minister says, it is one tool that deals with one particular target. Child poverty targets are more complicated, and there is a question as to whether it is right to have a strong advisory body that is independent of the Government. If we are to have such a body, the proposal in the amendment would strengthen it. We could have hearings in front of Select Committees. There would be votes in Parliament and the opportunity to debate the appointment and scrutinise the qualities of the chair to a greater extent. That route would be more likely to result in the chair having a higher profile and being a more substantial figure in public life, which would strengthen the profile and credibility of the child poverty commission.
As I said, I have a slight reservation about the need for a separate body when developing policy, but if we are to have one, why not make it as strong and powerful as possible? Amendment 9 would be helpful in achieving that, as well as strengthening Parliament’s position in that area.