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LETTER TO MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT CONCERNING
CHILDREN'S RIGHTS COMMISSIONER
28 June 2000
To **** MP
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA
Dear Mr/Ms ****,
I am writing on behalf of Social Services North West to urge you to support the appointment of a Children's Rights
Commissioner for England.
Social Services North West (formerly known as NWASSA - the North West Association of Social Services Authorities)
is the member-level body which represents the local authorities in the North West of England which have responsibility
for the personal social services. We work with our members and others to promote high quality services in the North
West.
For some years, NWASSA had been urging Government to establish an Office of Children's Rights Commissioner in each
of the UK countries, and helped secure this also as a policy of the Local Government Association. The urgent need
for this development was highlighted by the Waterhouse report on the scandal in North Wales children's homes, and
we note that the Welsh Assembly has responded to this by securing the commitment of the UK Government to the appointment
of a fully fledged Children's Rights Commissioner for Wales.
We also noted that in the Commons debate on 17 March 2000, many MPs of all parties expressed support for such a
development in England, rather than the limited role of Children's Rights Director which the Government intends
to incorporate in the Care Standards Bill currently before Parliament. We could further argue that, since the number
of children in the North West substantially exceeds that in Wales, the appointment of a North West Commissioner
as one of a number of Commissioners for England, would be fully justified.
The role of the Children's Rights Commissioner should include:
· promoting the awareness of the rights of children and highlighting the ways that current law, policy and practice fail to respect those rights;
· ensuring that they have an effective means of redress when their rights are disregarded;
· conducting formal investigations where breaches are considered to have occurred;
· analysing and commenting on proposed new legislation or policy;
· undertaking, commissioning and/or publishing research and information relevant to the pursuit of children's rights and interests.
Their powers could include:
· investigation of breaches of rights and undertaking public enquiries;
· taking legal action as appropriate should a child not be able to do so on their own behalf:
· issuing regular reports on their work and the state of children's rights;
· requiring that the office is consulted by Government and other bodies, with Child Impact Statements accompanying proposed changes in policy and legislation.
We wrote to the Secretary of State setting out our position in detail, but the reply from the Department indicated
that he is still only minded to enact the more limited role of a Children's Rights Director.
Social Services North West urges Parliamentarians, when considering the Commissioner for Children Bill currently
before Parliament, to ensure that the remit of the Commissioner for England, as well as Wales, will be sufficiently
wide to ensure that the wishes and best interests of children can be safeguarded and promoted.
If you would like more information about Social Services North West, please do not hesitate to contact me through
our office address below.
Yours sincerely,
Councillor Cliff Morris
Chair, Social Services North West
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