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Child Poverty Bill

This is a very simple amendment. It is self-evident what it is trying to achieve. For better or for worse—and I do not expect the Minister to agree with me on this point—there has been a marked increase in the number of quangos, commissions, councils and committees under this Government. This has unavoidably led to questions of value for money, especially when it is clear to everyone that public spending must and will be cut. Of course, one would want a person of suitable qualifications to be employed in this role, but value for money must be maintained, and improving the transparency of quango funding is an important part of that. There is a read-across to our last debate. If the commission is to carry out independent research, there are questions to be answered over whether its funding is to be spent primarily on commissioning new research or analysing what is already out there. A higher level of funding would be much more acceptable for the commission if it was seen to be undertaking new studies. I beg to move.