Clause 7 - Co-operation to improve well-being

Part of Children Bill [Lords] – in a Public Bill Committee at 3:45 pm on 14 October 2004.

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Photo of Stephen Ladyman Stephen Ladyman Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department of Health 3:45, 14 October 2004

I welcome you to the Chair, Dame Marion. I am confident in saying that you and I never attended the same school, and equally confident in saying that none of the schools that I attended have ever put up my picture.

I also say to the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham that, since I am dealing with the clause, he is right not to be optimistic. However, I agree with him about the importance of voluntary organisations: they are vital if we are to deliver on this agenda. They need to be involved not just as providers of services but in commissioning and developing strategy and policy. However, we cannot support the amendment, because to include voluntary organisations in the Bill would be to treat them as a cohesive group, which they are not. If we expected the partners to treat them as such, they would have to choose between them and would find that difficult. In addition, the Bill is a two-way street. It imposes responsibilities as well as rights on the partners.

Under the amendment, voluntary organisations would be expected to fulfil certain duties, but many would not be able to fulfil their part of the bargain, even though they could still make a valuable contribution as part of the overall strategy. That is why subsection (1)(c) provides for the inclusion of voluntary organisations in a sustainable way. We support such involvement and have undertaken to produce guidance that will say clearly that voluntary organisations should be part of the co-operative partnership that we are trying to create. With those assurances, I hope that the hon. Gentleman will withdraw the amendment.