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Lord De Mauley: My Lords, how do the Government justify having a different pensionable age for the Civil Service than for the rest of the population?
Lord Sainsbury of Turville: My Lords, the Question is about the consultation on the retirement age in 2011. The noble Lord's question relates to a different issue.
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Administration and Works Committee
3.17 pm
The Chairman of Committees (Lord Brabazon of Tara): My Lords, I beg to move the Motion standing in my name on the Order Paper.
Moved, That the Baroness Hollis of Heigham be appointed a member of the Select Committee in the place of the Lord Dixon.—(The Chairman of Committees.)
On Question, Motion agreed to.
National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 (Amendment) Regulations 2006
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): My Lords, I beg to move the Motion standing in the name of my noble friend Lady Amos on the Order Paper.
Moved, That the draft regulations be referred to a Grand Committee.—(Lord Rooker.)
On Question, Motion agreed to.
Education and Inspections Bill
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Lord Adonis): My Lords, I beg to move the Motion standing in my name on the Order Paper.
Moved, That it be an instruction to the Committee of the Whole House to which the Education and Inspections Bill has been committed that they consider the Bill in the following order: Clauses 1 to 6, Schedule 1, Clauses 7 to 17, Schedule 2, Clauses 18 to 29, Schedule 3, Clauses 30 to 35, Schedule 4, Clauses 36 to 50, Schedule 5, Clauses 51 to 63, Schedule 6, Clause 64, Schedule 7, Clauses 65 to 70, Schedule 8, Clause 71, Schedule 9, Clauses 72 to 78, Schedule 10, Clauses 79 to 104, Schedule 11, Clauses 105 to 107, Schedule 12, Clauses 108 to 141, Schedule 13,
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Clauses 142 to 148, Schedule 14, Clause 149, Schedule 15, Clauses 150 to 152, Schedule 16, Clauses 153 to 160, Schedule 17, Clauses 161 to 169, Schedule 18, Clauses 170 to 176.—(Lord Adonis.)
On Question, Motion agreed to.
Housing Corporation (Delegation) etc. Bill
Lord Davies of Oldham: My Lords, I beg to move the Motion standing in the name of my noble friend Lady Andrews on the Order Paper.
Moved, That the Bill be committed to a Committee of the Whole House.—(Lord Davies of Oldham.)
On Question, Motion agreed to.
Enterprise Act 2002 (Disqualification from Office: General) Order 2006
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville): My Lords, I beg to move.
Moved, That the draft order laid before the House on 18 April be approved [24th Report from the Joint Committee] [Considered in Grand Committee on 19 June].—(Lord Sainsbury of Turville.)
On Question, Motion agreed to.
Childcare Bill
3.19 pm
Clause 3 [Specific duties of local authority in relation to early childhood services]:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Lord Adonis) moved Amendment No. 1:
"(4A) In discharging their duties under this section, an English local authority must have regard to such information about the views of young children as is available to the local authority and appears to them to be relevant to the discharge of those duties."
The noble Lord said: My Lords, this government amendment requires local authorities to have regard to information about the views of young children when carrying out their duties under Clause 3 to develop early childhood services. We debated this issue at length in Grand Committee and again on Report. The Government have listened to the arguments of many noble Lords on all sides of the House, but particularly to those of the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, who
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has taken a keen interest in this matter. We are completely at one on the objective to promote the voice of the child. I am delighted that we have been able to frame a suitable amendment for noble Lords' consideration.
As I made clear in Grand Committee and on Report, the Government are committed to ensuring that the voices of even our youngest children are heard and are taken into account. It has always been our intention that statutory guidance should carry forward and build on the precedent already set by the current children's centre practice guidance, which sets out ways to explore what young children really think about their settings.
The amendment enables us to go further. As the House knows, our concern was to do this in a workable way. I am pleased to say that, following discussions between my department and the National Children's Bureau, we believe that with this amendment we have found an effective way forward. The amendment requires local authorities to have regard to information about the views of young children where that is relevant in carrying out their duties under Clause 3. It will encompass all aspects of the design, delivery and development of early childhood services. However, by drafting the requirement in this way, we avoid the risk that local authorities will be compelled to try to engage young children on matters where meaningful consultation is simply not possible.
I believe that this amendment strikes the right balance. We all know how easy it is for adults to make faulty assumptions about what is important to young children and what they feel. However, we also recognise that young children are much less likely to be able to understand and have views about the implications of strategic planning decisions—for example, how Jobcentre Plus or NHS services can most effectively be integrated within the delivery of early childhood services across the whole local authority area.
In seeking to ascertain the views of young children, local authorities may undertake their own surveys or research, or they may use existing mechanisms—for example, the Listening as a way of life series of leaflets published by the NCB on behalf of Sure Start. Other voluntary organisations also have significant experience in this area and will be able to help to take this forward. I hope that the House will welcome this amendment, which is very much a response to our earlier debates on the Bill. I beg to move.
Baroness Walmsley: My Lords, certainly for my part—and, I hope, on behalf of all noble Lords who have been pressing for this—I thank the Minister for listening and for his lengthy consultations with the NCB. The amendment will serve everyone's purpose and will not put unreasonable duties on local authorities. I very much welcome his confirmation that local authorities will be able to do their own research, rather than just relying on research done by other people, and his commendation of the Listening as a way of life practice developed by the NCB for Sure Start.
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I hope that the guidance will encourage local authorities to realise that there are very few areas where it would be inappropriate to consult even very young children. If they try it, they will find that they like it and that it is a very worthwhile exercise. I thank the Minister for this. It will make a big difference to the way in which local authorities view consulting young people.
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