Member

The bulk of the comments of the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson, fell on Amendments 246, 246A and 248B. I am grateful to her, to the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, and indeed to my colleague Sam Carling MP, who I note is taking a keen interest in these proceedings. Those amendments seek to introduce a criminal offence and a civil sanction for those who fail to report abuse. The noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson, anticipated the arguments I will put to her, and I am not going to disappoint her, because my argument is that introducing a criminal or indeed civil sanction for failure to report risks creating a climate of fear rather than confidence among those with reporting responsibilities. The Government have focused the criminal sanctions in the Bill on those who obstruct or interfere with reporters, and as we discussed in Committee, we believe that this approach—I am happy to have this discussion with the noble Baroness—has broad support from experts in the child protection sector. We are doing that in order not to discourage people from coming forward.