House of Commons Public Bill Committee Proceedings

House of Commons

Session 2008 - 09
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Other Bills before Parliament

19

House of Commons

Tuesday 3 November 2009

Public Bill Committee Proceedings

Child Poverty Bill

[Ninth and Tenth Sittings]

Ms Sally Keeble

Withdrawn  69

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

Clause Agreed to.

Mr David Gauke

Andrew Selous

Mr John Baron

Withdrawn  3

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

Mr Graham Stuart

Negatived on division  62

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

‘(i)
a Mental Health Trust.’.

Ms Karen Buck

Not called  73

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

‘(i)
a Regional Development Agency,

(j)
Learning and Skills Council.’.

Clause Agreed to.

Public Bill Committee Proceedings: 3 November 2009
20

Child Poverty Bill, continued

Mr David Gauke

Andrew Selous

Mr John Baron

Negatived on division  4

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

Mr David Gauke

Andrew Selous

Mr John Baron

Not called  5

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

Mr David Gauke

Andrew Selous

Mr John Baron

Withdrawn  6

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

Clause Agreed to.

Mr David Gauke

Andrew Selous

Mr John Baron

Withdrawn  7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

Not called  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

Not called  66

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

children living with family and friends carers.’.

Ms Karen Buck

Not called  72

Clause  21,  page  12,  line  26,  at end insert ‘including the levels of benefit and tax

credit take up among the eligible populations’.

Clause Agreed to.

Public Bill Committee Proceedings: 3 November 2009
21

Child Poverty Bill, continued

Steve Webb

John Barrett

Not called  57

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

Clause Agreed to.

Clause 23 Agreed to.

John Howell

Withdrawn  63

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

Clause Agreed to.

Steve Webb

John Barrett

Negatived on division  32

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

Steve Webb

John Barrett

Not called  31

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

Clause Agreed to.

Clauses 26 to 29 Agreed to.

Mr David Gauke

Andrew Selous

Mr John Baron

Not called  8

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

Clause Agreed to.

Public Bill Committee Proceedings: 3 November 2009
22

Child Poverty Bill, continued

New ClauseS

2010 poverty target

Mr David Gauke

Andrew Selous

Mr John Baron

Question, that the Clause be added, negatived on division  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

Withdrawn  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

Not called  NC3

To move the following Clause:—

‘(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;

Public Bill Committee Proceedings: 3 November 2009
23

Child Poverty Bill, continued

(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

Steve Webb

Not called  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

Not selected  11

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

Mr David Gauke

Andrew Selous

Mr John Baron

Not selected  12

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

Mr Stephen Timms

Agreed to

That certain written evidence already reported to the House be appended to the

proceedings of the Committee.

Bill, as amended, to be reported.