Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following their ratification of
the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, what plans they
have to promote children’s rights and well-being across
government departments in this Parliament.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Education ( of Oulton) (Con)
My Lords, we remain strongly committed to delivering a framework
of actions across government to promote children’s rights and
well-being. We have successfully delivered a range of measures,
including establishing a UNCRC action group and launching a
children’s rights training package and an impact assessment
template across the Civil Service. We will continue to promote
these tools during 2020, including via the action group.
(Lab)
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his reply, which I find worthy
but somewhat incomplete. Is he aware that the UN Convention on
the Rights of the Child, which the UK ratified in 1991, had its
30th anniversary last year? Is he also aware that in 2016 the
Committee on the Rights of the Child reviewed the UK’s record of
achievement in relation to the convention as regards, for
example, children in care, child mental health, youth justice and
child poverty? We were criticised for having no overall strategy
or action plan for children, as recommended in the convention.
The next review of the UK’s achievement will be in 2021. Will the
new Government take the opportunity to set up before 2021 a
committee to form an action plan and strategy for children across
government departments, with a lead Minister to oversee it, to
assess and improve our performance in helping children thrive and
achieve? There is much support and enthusiasm for such action
across the children’s sector. How will the Government respond?
of Oulton
My Lords, there is a broad range of work across government that
promotes children’s rights and well-being, which is set out in
the report that we provided to the UN in November last year at
the conference to mark the 30th anniversary of the UNCRC, as the
noble Baroness mentioned. The report summarises the work of 14
government departments. My department has strong working
relationships with other departments on children’s rights. I am
confident that these will continue in the run-up to the next
reporting cycle in 2021.
(CB)
My Lords, I declare an interest as the chair of Feeding Britain.
We recently saw new and disturbing academic research. Children in
Britain who are on free school meals are allocated £2.20 or
£2.30, depending on where the school is. It has come to light
that councils are now so broke because of the cuts that they are
taking around 50p of that allocation for their needs. When the
money then gets to the school, it is also so broke because of
budget cuts that it nicks another 50p. This is not malice but
just need. In too many instances now, the actual value of the
food that we are serving to our hungry, needy kids—as is their
right—is 82p. Can the Government assure us that they will look
into these figures and ring-fence that amount? Food is always the
bit that gets cut, either by a hungry mother or, in this case, a
hungry council.
of Oulton
I am certainly happy to look into the figures that the noble
Baroness refers to. If she has any example of a local authority
where she feels that excessive amounts are being top-sliced away
from food provision, I would be interested to hear of it. I have
not seen examples of that myself.
The Lord Bishop of Rochester
My Lords, I have two particular groups of children in mind whose
well-being is often compromised. The first are those who have a
parent or other primary carer on the cusp of going into custody.
What plans do Her Majesty’s Government have to ensure that
sentencers, including magistrates, are aware of the new guidance
from the Sentencing Council on this matter? On looked-after
children, what intentions do Her Majesty’s Government have to
further promote the vocation—it is a vocation—to become a foster
carer or an adopter?
of Oulton
On the right reverend Prelate’s first question, I will certainly
check with officials that the justice system is aware of the
provisions that he refers to. Looked-after children is an issue
of increasing priority for the Government, as was mentioned in
our recent manifesto, and I completely agree that they are one of
the most vulnerable groups in our society. One of the initiatives
that I have encouraged, for example, is the far greater use of
local authorities teaming up with boarding schools which offer
40% bursaries to encourage some of these vulnerable children to
join their institutions. We have seen evidence of a dramatic
improvement in the life chances of those children.
(LD)
My Lords, with a 28% increase in the number of children in care,
a 53% increase in the number of children on child protection
plans and, as we heard yesterday, a 70% increase in the number of
children being excluded from school, are we taking our
obligations seriously?
of Oulton
My Lords, we are committed to social care; it is one of our top
priorities. In the settlement for 2020-21, we see the largest
rise in core spending since 2015; a real-terms increase of 4.3%.
On top of that, we are investing £84 million in targeted,
evidence-based interventions to improve the support provided to
vulnerable children and their families and to enable more
children to stay at home, thriving with those families.
(Con)
My Lords, in 1996, I had the privilege of representing this
country at the congress that took place on the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child in Stockholm. We in this
country were proud of our presentation on that occasion, and we
should continue to be proud of the efforts we have made in
relation to the rights of the child, both domestically and
elsewhere. Is it not a good idea that we should perhaps have a
more comprehensive review, to make sure that we bring together in
a more co-ordinated fashion all the elements throughout our
departments which protect children?
of Oulton
I agree with my noble friend that this is a continuous effort
that needs to go across government. We know that government can
be weak across departmental initiatives, and I completely agree
that we should do everything we can to strengthen that.
(Lab)
My Lords, in view of the recent High Court judgment that the
exorbitant fees charged to children who register that they are
entitled to citizenship are unlawful because due regard was not
given to the best interests of the child, what steps are the
Government now taking to ensure that all government policy-making
gives primary consideration to the best interests of children, in
line with the UN convention?
of Oulton
My Lords, we are confident that we comply with all the main
conventions of the UNCRC. A recent CRAE report praised the work
that we are doing in government. I quote from its summary report:
“More encouragingly, the Department for Education … has taken
positive steps to raise awareness and understanding of children’s
rights across Whitehall and to encourage policy makers to take
children’s rights into account in decision-making.”
