The Government's Response
4. On 1 December we received the Government's
response to our Ninth Report in the form of a memorandum. It is
printed as an appendix to this report.
5. In our Report we made the following key conclusions
and recommendations—
- Existing arrangements for the
promotion and protection of children's rights and interests are
insufficiently independent from Government to ensure that the
rights and interests of all children in England are fully protected
and promoted at all times. That independence is the key value
that a Children's Commissioner would add to existing mechanisms.
(Paragraph 14 of the Ninth Report)
- The Government's starting point for the terms
of reference of the proposed commissioner should be that its main
function is one of investigation and reporting on matters affecting
the rights and welfare of children. These functions should be
supported by appropriate powers, and in exercising them the commissioner
should be required—
— to safeguard and promote the rights and
best interests of children and young persons;
— to give paramount consideration to the
rights of the child or young person;
— to have regard in particular to the ascertainable
wishes and feelings of the child or young person (considered in
the light of his or her age and understanding);
— to have full regard to the importance
of the role of parents and those with parental responsibilities
in the upbringing and development of their children; and
— to take into consideration any relevant
provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child. (Paragraph 36 of the Ninth Report)
- We recommended the establishment
of a children's commissioner who would be a champion for the children
of England, independent from but working closely with central
government and other agencies. The commissioner would use the
principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child as a guide
and measure in considering delivery of services to children by
government and public authorities, and would involve children
as much as was appropriate in its work. The commissioner would
pursue children's interests by promotion, advocacy and investigation.
The commissioner would carefully select issues for investigation
where it was felt these could make a difference to children, in
partnership with NGOs, experts and service providers. The commissioner
should not be empowered to investigate complaints from individual
children but would be able to work with existing advice and assistance
services maintained by other organisations to monitor policy implications
of issues raised by children. (Paragraph 44 of the Ninth Report)
- We favoured a separate, identifiable champion
for children. The work of the commissioner should be grounded
in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, but it is clear
that those who advocate the establishment of this office want
it to go wider than a purely rightsbased approach, operating
as a spur to better coordination of children's services
and an advocate within Government of the child's viewpoint. (Paragraph
45 of the Ninth Report)
6. In its response to our Report the Government gives
few details of the powers and functions it proposes for the Commissioner.
We will be examining the legislation when it is introduced. We
hope that the Government will take into account in the Bill the
recommendations that we made on the functions and powers of a
children's commissioner. We also hope that it will use the models
already in existence in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland as
a guide to the powers and duties of their English counterpart.
1 
