Public Bill Committee: 27 October 2009

54

Child Poverty Bill, continued

Mr Stephen Timms

36

Clause  11,  page  7,  line  3,  leave out ‘relevant Northern Ireland department intends’

and insert ‘Northern Ireland departments intend’.

Member’s explanatory statement

See Member’s explanatory statement for amendment 34.

Mr Stephen Timms

37

Clause  11,  page  7,  line  7,  leave out ‘relevant Northern Ireland department intends’

and insert ‘Northern Ireland departments intend’.

Member’s explanatory statement

See Member’s explanatory statement for amendment 34.

Mr Stephen Timms

38

Clause  11,  page  7,  line  12,  leave out ‘relevant Northern Ireland department’ and

insert ‘Northern Ireland departments’.

Member’s explanatory statement

See Member’s explanatory statement for amendment 34.

Mr Stephen Timms

39

Clause  11,  page  7,  line  19,  at end insert—

‘( )	The relevant Northern Ireland department must, on or before each report date

relating to a Northern Ireland strategy, lay before the Northern Ireland Assembly

a report which—

(a)	describes the measures taken by the Northern Ireland departments in

accordance with the Northern Ireland strategy,

(b)	describes the effect of those measures in contributing to the meeting of

the targets in sections 2 to 5, and

(c)	describes other effects of those measures that contribute to the

achievement of the purpose mentioned in subsection (2)(b).

( )	The report dates relating to a Northern Ireland strategy are each anniversary of the

day on which it was laid before the Northern Ireland Assembly, other than an

anniversary which falls—

(a)	on or after the date on which a subsequent Northern Ireland strategy is so

laid, or

(b)	after the end of the target year.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment requires the relevant Northern Ireland department to lay before the Northern

Ireland Assembly an annual report describing how measures taken in accordance with the current

Northern Ireland strategy have contributed to meeting the targets and to ensuring that children in

Northern Ireland do not experience socio-economic disadvantage.

Mr Stephen Timms

40

Clause  13,  page  8,  line  3,  leave out from beginning to ‘lay’ and insert ‘The

Secretary of State must, on or before each report date relating to a UK strategy’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment (with amendments 41, 42, 43 and 45) clarifies the wording of clause 13. The

Public Bill Committee: 27 October 2009

55

Child Poverty Bill, continued

laying of each UK strategy triggers an obligation to lay annual reports on the implementation of

that strategy, until either the next strategy is laid or the end of the target year is reached.

Mr Stephen Timms

41

Clause  13,  page  8,  line  7,  leave out ‘current’.

Member’s explanatory statement

See Member’s explanatory statement for amendment 40.

Mr Stephen Timms

42

Clause  13,  page  8,  line  8,  leave out subsection (2) and insert—

‘(2)	The report dates relating to a UK strategy are each anniversary of the day on

which it was laid before Parliament, other than an anniversary which falls—

(a)	on or after the date on which a subsequent UK strategy is so laid, or

(b)	after the end of the target year.’

Member’s explanatory statement

See Member’s explanatory statement for amendment 40.

Mr Stephen Timms

43

Clause  13,  page  8,  line  15,  leave out ‘most recent’.

Member’s explanatory statement

See Member’s explanatory statement for amendment 40.

Mr Stephen Timms

44

Clause  13,  page  8,  line  17,  leave out ‘relevant Northern Ireland department’ and

insert ‘Northern Ireland departments’.

Member’s explanatory statement

See Member’s explanatory statement for amendment 34.

Mr Stephen Timms

45

Clause  13,  page  8,  line  23,  leave out ‘most recent’.

Member’s explanatory statement

See Member’s explanatory statement for amendment 40.

Steve Webb

John Barrett

Ms Karen Buck

54

Clause  14,  page  9,  line  2,  at end insert—

‘(2)	The report under section 13 (3) must include a statement on the numbers and the

percentage of children living with family and friends carers in qualifying

households, including:

(a)	the percentage of these households that fell within the relevant income

group for the purpose of section 2;

Public Bill Committee: 27 October 2009

56

Child Poverty Bill, continued

(b)	the percentage who for the purposes of section 3 are living in households

that fell within the relevant income group and experiencing material

deprivation;

(c)	the percentage of these households that fell within the relevant income

group for the purposes of section 4;

(d)	the percentage of these households during the survey years (as defined by

section 5 (2)) which relate to the target year who have lived in households

that fell within the relevant income group for the purposes of section 5 in

at least 3 of the survey years.’.

Mr Graham Stuart

61

Clause  15,  page  9,  line  21,  at end insert ‘including with regard to any statutory duty

to reduce public borrowing’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The Fiscal Responsibility Bill proposed in the Prime Minister’s Party Conference speech of 29

September 2009 will impose a legally binding obligation on the Government to reduce public

borrowing. The amendment seeks clarification as to whether the Secretary of State, in preparing

a UK strategy, and the Commission, in considering advice, will need to take into account this

obligation.

Mr Stephen Timms

46

Clause  15,  page  9,  line  24,  leave out ‘them’ and insert ‘the Scottish Ministers or, as

the case may be, to the Northern Ireland departments’.

Member’s explanatory statement

The effect of this amendment is that, in relation to Northern Ireland, clause 15(3)(a) refers to the

Northern Ireland departments in general, rather than to the Office of the First Minister and Deputy

First Minister. See Member’s explanatory statement for amendment 34.

Steve Webb

John Barrett

29

Page  9,  line  11,  leave out Clause 15.

Steve Webb

John Barrett

53

Clause  17,  page  9,  line  33,  at end insert—

‘ “family and friends carer” means a person who is raising a child (who is

not living with his or her parents) and is related to the child or otherwise

connected to them.’.

Public Bill Committee: 27 October 2009

57

Child Poverty Bill, continued

Ms Karen Buck

65

Clause  17,  page  10,  line  6,  at end add ‘A “family and friends carer” means a person

who is raising a child (who is not living with his parents) and is related to the child or

otherwise connected to them.’.

Ms Sally Keeble

69

Clause  18,  page  10,  line  22,  leave out from ‘England’ to end of Clause.

Mr David Gauke

Andrew Selous

Mr John Baron

3

Clause  19,  page  10,  leave out lines 38 and 39.

Mr Graham Stuart

62

Clause  19,  page  11,  line  3,  at end add—

‘(i)	a Mental Health Trust.’.

Mr David Gauke

Andrew Selous

Mr John Baron

4

Clause  20,  page  11,  line  45,  leave out ‘each’ and insert ‘those’.

Mr David Gauke

Andrew Selous

Mr John Baron

5

Clause  20,  page  11,  line  45,  after ‘authorities’, insert ‘as the authority thinks fit’.

Mr David Gauke

Andrew Selous

Mr John Baron

6

Clause  20,  page  12,  line  5,  leave out subsection (4).

Public Bill Committee: 27 October 2009

58

Child Poverty Bill, continued

Mr David Gauke

Andrew Selous

Mr John Baron

7

Clause  21,  page  12,  line  26,  after ‘assessment’, insert ‘including an assessment

of—

(i)	job creation, and

(ii)	family resilience’.

Steve Webb

John Barrett

55

Clause  21,  page  12,  line  26,  at end insert ‘including the number and needs of

children living with family and friends carers;’.

Ms Karen Buck

66

Clause  21,  page  12,  line  26,  at end insert ‘including the number of, and needs of,

children living with family and friends carers.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This aims to ensure that regulations setting out what local authority child poverty needs

assessment covers includes children who are being raised by family and friends carers.

Steve Webb

John Barrett

57

Clause  22,  page  13,  line  14,  leave out ‘or’ and insert ‘and’.

John Howell

63

Clause  24,  page  14,  line  7,  leave out from ‘of’ to ‘section’ in line 8.

Steve Webb

John Barrett

32

Clause  25,  page  14,  line  21,  leave out ‘16’ and insert ‘18’.

Steve Webb

John Barrett

31

Clause  25,  page  14,  leave out lines 22 to 25.

Public Bill Committee: 27 October 2009

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Child Poverty Bill, continued

Mr David Gauke

Andrew Selous

Mr John Baron

8

Clause  30,  page  15,  line  25,  after ‘Child’, insert ‘and Family’.

New ClauseS

2010 poverty target

Mr David Gauke

Andrew Selous

Mr John Baron

NC1

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)	The Secretary of State must, before the end of the period of three months

beginning with the day on which the Act is passed, publish and lay before

Parliament a report setting out an assessment of progress made towards meeting

the 2010 target.

(2)	The 2010 target is that in the financial year beginning with 1 April 2010, fewer

than 1.7 million children live in households that fall within the relevant income

group as defined by section 2(2).’.

Benefit levels

Steve Webb

John Barrett

NC2

To move the following Clause:—

‘The Secretary of State shall ensure that a household wholly dependent on tax

credits or social security benefits has an income at, or above, the relative low

income target in section 2 (the relative low income target).’.

The reductions in the causes of poverty targets

Mr David Gauke

Andrew Selous

Mr John Baron

NC3

To move the following Clause:—

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60

Child Poverty Bill, continued

‘(1)	The Secretary of State shall make regulations setting out the causes of poverty

targets.

(2)	Such targets may include, but are not limited to:

(a)	low educational attainment and erratic school performance;

(b)	school leavers not in education, employment or training;

(c)	registrations on the Child Protection Plan;

(d)	teenage smoking and obesity;

(e)	teenage pregnancy;

(f)	children in homes with drug and alcohol addiction;

(g)	children growing up in jobless households;

(h)	serious personal debt.’.

Minimum income standards

Mr Graham Stuart

NC4

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)	In the exercise of his duties, the Secretary of State shall have regard to minimum

income standards.

(2)	It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to commission research into the

minimum levels of household incomes necessary to sustain a healthy diet, other

necessities, safety and wellbeing for children (in this Act referred to as

“Minimum Income Standards”).’.

Mr David Gauke

Andrew Selous

Mr John Baron

11

Title,  line  1,  after ‘child’, insert ‘and family’.

Mr David Gauke

Andrew Selous

Mr John Baron

12

Title,  line  2,  leave out ‘child’ and insert ‘parental’.

---

Revised 27 October 2009