The Lord Bishop of Derby

My Lords, I welcome this Bill and the Government’s commitment to improve children’s lives and their outcomes. My faith teaches me that, in this work, we echo Jesus’s commitment to place children at the heart of God’s transforming work— “of such is the kingdom of God”. As Nelson Mandela said: “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children”. I declare an interest as the chair of the board of trustees of the Children’s Society. I register my support for the calls for better data sharing to protect children, including with and from faith communities. As we await publication of the child poverty strategy, I commend provisions to reduce the cost of school uniforms and to expand the availability of sustainable, healthy and accessible free school breakfasts. Poverty is a primary factor in the well-being of children. I am pleased to hear that the noble Lord, Lord Bird, who cannot be in his place today, will be tabling an amendment seeking to introduce a new clause to place a new duty on the Government to set targets for the reduction of child poverty. I add my voice in support of the Our Wellbeing, Our Voice coalition in its calls for the establishment of a national well-being measurement programme to offer demonstrably, evidenced-based data to shape and track holistic interventions to improve childhood well-being. We know that schools across England are already engaged in excellent anti-poverty, anti-racist and anti-neglect work, for example. As we have heard, some are already benefitting from collecting and monitoring well-being data to inform their interventions. I trust we can agree that there is value in equipping schools with a comprehensive picture of the well-being of their students. I seek reassurance from the Minister that this recommendation will be reviewed. I welcome the intention of the Bill to cap profits for children’s homes providers and independent fostering agencies. I ask that this oversight be extended to the secure estate, such as secure schools and children’s homes, so that their profit does not replace the best interests of some of our most vulnerable children. I commend the intention of my right reverend friend the Bishop of Lincoln, who cannot be in his place today, to support the Traveller Movement’s proposal to mandate the reporting and recording of racist incidents in school settings and any subsequent actions taken. I suggest that children themselves are best placed to advise us of the challenges they face and of what would make life better. I conclude with the words of a care-experienced young person, as quoted in the Love Matters report from the Archbishops’ Commission on Families and Households, published in 2023. They said: “Give us the right support and help us to help others and we will surprise you and help you do better for children and young people”.