You are here:
WorldLII >>
Databases >>
United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child - States Parties Reports >>
2014 >>
[2014] UNCRCSPR 9
Database Search
| Name Search
| Recent Documents
| Noteup
| LawCite
| Download
| Help
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 44 of the Convention: Fifth Periodic Report [2014] UNCRCSPR 9; CRC/C/GBR/5 (1 May 2014)
The Fifth Periodic Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the
Child
May 2014
United Kingdom
Contents
Introduction3
Chapter I: General
Measures of Implementation7
Introduction
- The
UK Government is proud to present this review of progress in implementing the
UNCRC across the United Kingdom (UK) since 2008.
It is not possible in such a
short space to do full justice to the many important developments that have
taken place in England,
Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as in the
British Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. We hope, however,
that
it will demonstrate our firm commitment to the progressive implementation of
children’s rights under the UNCRC. We look
forward to presenting the UN
Committee with further information during the course of the review.
Overall progress
2. Our prime aim is to
help all children achieve their potential, but we are also committed to
narrowing gaps between the most disadvantaged
and their peers. We have used a
variety of data and independent sources to assess our progress.
Key data
3. There have been significant improvements in children’s outcomes in
the following areas:
- Deaths of
children aged under 19 in England and Wales fell by 15.3% between 2007 and
2012;
- The infant
mortality rate fell by 10.6% in England and Wales, 12.7% in Scotland and
12.2% in N. Ireland between 2007 and 2011;
- The under-18
conception rate fell by 32.9% in England and Wales and 12.6% in Scotland
between 2007 and 2012. The number of live births to under-18s in N.
Ireland fell
by 27% between 2008 and 2012;
- The proportion
of children in England aged 11-15 who had taken drugs in the previous
year fell from 15% in 2008 to 12% in 2012;
- The proportion
of children in England aged 11-15 who had drunk alcohol in the previous
week fell from 18% in 2008 to 10% in 2012;
- Children’s
educational attainment is improving. In England, the percentage attaining
5 GCSEs at grades A*-C increased from 65.3% in 2007/8, to 81.8% in 2011/12;
those
achieving 5 GCSEs including both English and Maths increased from 47.6% in
2007/8, to 59.4% in 2011/12. Pass rates in Scotland increased
for all major
qualifications including final year of results in Standard Grades. Higher pass
rates were up from 72.9 per cent in
2006 to 77.4% in 2013;
- The number of
children permanently excluded from school fell by 36% in England and by
58% in Wales between 2007/8 and 2011/12. Exclusion from Scottish schools
decreased by 40%;
- 3,980
children were adopted in 2012-13, up 15% from 2012 and the highest number
of adoptions since the current data collections began in 1992;
- The number of
first time entrants to the criminal justice system in England and Wales fell
by 63% between 2008 and 2012. The number of under-18s convicted in Scottish
courts fell by 53%;
- The average
number of children in custody fell by 33% in England and Wales; and by 42%
in Scotland between 2007/08 and 2011/12;
- The number of
Scottish children referred to the Children’s Reporter has dropped
by 33.1% since 2008/09 and is at its lowest level since
2002/03.
4. The above represents good progress in some key areas.
However, we are concerned about other data which show significant differences
in
the outcomes of children from different backgrounds, or which appear to show
that aspects of children’s lives have got worse.
For example:
- The number of
children in England who were subject to a child protection plan increased
by 47% between 2008 and 2012; and numbers of children on child protection
registers increased in Wales (+17.5%), Scotland
(+23%) and N. Ireland (+2.7%).
These increases may be due to better identification of children at risk, rather
than because more
children are being harmed;
- There remain
significant gaps in educational attainment: in England only 36.8% of
children eligible for free school meals achieved 5 GCSEs (including English and
Maths) at A*-C grades in
2011/12, compared to 63% of all other children. The
comparable figures for N. Ireland were 34.1% and 67.9%;
- A significant
proportion (4.5%) of 16 and 17 year olds across the UK were not in education,
employment or training in Oct-Dec 2013 – although this has fallen from
6.2% in Apr-June 2012; and 4.9% in Apr-Jun 2013.
UNICEF Report
cards: 2007 and 2013
5. In the 2007 Innocenti report card, the UK was
ranked 21st out of 21 countries and was bottom of the rankings
in assessments of the quality of family and peer relationships, the extent to
which children
engaged in risky behaviours, and children’s subjective
well-being.
6. In the 2013 report, the UK was ranked 16th
out of 29 countries overall. This was partly due to the inclusion of a new
aspect of children’s well-being (Housing and Environment),
on which the UK
was ranked 10th out of 29 countries, but also reflects better scores
on material well-being, risks and behaviours and subjective well-being,
including
children’s self-assessment of their overall life satisfaction.
Despite these improvements, the report card highlights long-standing
challenges
in relation to the UK’s low post-16 participation rate and high proportion
of young people not in education, employment
or training (NEETs), which we are
determined to address. A more detailed account of progress in each of the UNICEF
well-being domains
is attached at Appendix 2.
Office for
National Statistics: Measuring National Well-Being Programme
- In
2011, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) led a national debate on the
wellbeing of the population. Nearly nine out of ten
children aged 10 to 15 who
subsequently took part in the UK Household Longitudinal Study said that they
were relatively happy with
their lives overall and only 4% reported being
relatively unhappy. Children were most positive about their friends (96%
relatively
happy) and family (95% relatively happy).
Children’s Rights Director (CRD Survey)
- In
late 2013, the CRD consulted children in England in care, receiving social care
services or living away from home on their experience
in relation to key
Articles of the UNCRC. 2,424 children submitted their views. The
percentages of those who are enjoying their rights all of the time or usually
were as follows:
- the right to the
education they need (93.5%)
- the right to be
healthy and to get treatment if they need it (92.6%)
- the right to a
decent standard of living (90.1%)
- the right to be
kept safe from all sorts of harm (such as being injured, neglected, sexually
abused, or treated violently) (89.7%)
- the right to
play and do fun activities (89.4%)
- the right to the
care you need (87.8%)
- the right to
join in with other children and young people, as long as this isn’t
harming anyone (85.0%)
- the right to
your own opinions and your own religion, as long as you aren’t harming
anyone else (82.8%)
- the right to
privacy – for yourself, and for your letters or messages to other people
(81.2%)
- the right to say
what you really think, as long as this isn’t harmful to other people
(76.9%)
- (if you are old
enough to understand the issue) the right to give your views on anything that
affects you (76.3%)
- (if you are old
enough to understand the issue), the right to have your views taken into account
by people making decisions about
you (70.6%)
- the right that
every decision should be made in your best interests (73.2%)
- the right not to
have people attacking your reputation (72.1%)
- the right to
find out things you want to know
(71.6%)
Legislation
9. Several pieces of
legislation since 2008 have introduced significant rights-enhancing measures.
Appendix 3 provides a summary.
They include new duties on Ministers in Wales
and Scotland to take account of children’s rights when carrying out their
functions.
The UK Government has introduced a Child Poverty Act to underpin the
Government’s aim to end child poverty. The Children and
Families Act 2014
puts the best interests of children at the heart of the family justice and
alternative care systems and in arrangements
to support children with special
educational needs.
New challenges in a changing
world
10. There have been enormous changes around the world and in the UK since the
last periodic review. The world economic crisis had
a huge impact on the fiscal
strength of the UK economy and put intense pressure on public finances. By
taking the difficult decisions
needed to reduce the budget deficit, the
Government has sought to secure the economic stability of the UK in the future.
This rigorous
approach to bearing down on public expenditure will reduce the
threat of the UK experiencing further recession, and help to protect
children’s rights in the future. Despite having to make difficult choices
about public spending, the UNCRC has been a key
point of reference for the
Government in determining how it will approach these challenges. In particular,
despite the significant
funding pressures that have existed, the Government has
protected levels of funding on areas of spending that are central to
children’s
lives, including education and health.
11. Globalisation, the movement of families across international borders,
developments in information technology and social media
and the increasing
diversity of family structures and cultural backgrounds have led to a growing
complexity of new challenges, especially
in relation to:
- internet safety;
- cyber
bullying;
- the increased
sexualisation of children;
- the impact of
the recession on disadvantaged families; and
- a growing
awareness of trafficking and exploitation among both adults and children.
12. Our commentary on specific issues and policy developments are
covered in more detail in the individual chapters in this report.
These focus
on specific clusters of UNCRC articles and respond to the UN Committee’s
Concluding Observations from 2008.
Chapter I: General Measures of Implementation
Introduction
- There
have been significant developments in each of the four nations that will help to
embed the UNCRC within policies, legislation
and the way services to children
are delivered.
Reservations and declarations to the Convention and the Optional
Protocols
2. The UK signed the UNCRC in 1990 and ratified it in 1991. The State Party
has no reservations or declarations in respect of the
Convention.
3. The UK signed the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in
armed conflict in September 2000 and ratified it in June 2003. At the time
of signing, and upon ratification, the UK Government made a declaration
stating
that it would take all feasible measures to ensure that members of its armed
forces who have not attained the age of 18 years
do not take a direct part in
hostilities (see appendix 1 for more detail).
4. The UK signed the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child
Prostitution and Child Pornography in September 2000 and ratified it in
February 2009. The State Party has no reservations or declarations in respect
of this Optional
Protocol. In 2011, the UK submitted its first periodic report
on progress the UK had made in implementing the provisions of the
Optional
Protocol. There is a preference in the UK to use the term indecent images of
children or child abuse imagery in place of
the term ‘child
pornography’ and we would therefore urge the UN to use the phrase
‘indecent images of children’
rather than ‘child
pornography’.
5. The UK has not signed the Optional Protocol on a Communication
Procedure. The UK already has strong and effective laws under which
individuals may seek enforceable remedies in the courts or tribunals if
they
feel that their rights have been breached. Nonetheless, the Government
recognises that ratifying the Optional Protocol may add
further protection for
children in respect of their rights and will continue to keep this under review
in light of emerging information
about procedures and practice.
Bill of Rights (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 11)
6. The UN recommended the State Party should develop a British Bill of Rights
and a Bill of Rights in Northern Ireland incorporating
the Convention’s
principles and provisions. The Government did not accept the
recommendation on a British Bill of Rights but
as part of its own
policy work established a Commission in March 2011 to investigate a UK Bill of
Rights. The Commission submitted
its final report in December
2012[[1]]. The Government accepted the
Commission’s central conclusion that the time was not right to proceed
with a Bill of Rights because
of the way our human rights framework is tied into
the devolution settlements and the forthcoming referendum in Scotland. With
regard
to a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, the UK Government which retains
responsibility in this area would like to see the issue
resolved on the basis of
consensus between the political parties in Northern Ireland.
Measures to bring domestic legislation in line with the provisions of
the Convention (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 11)
7. As a general principle, the State Party does not incorporate international
treaties directly into domestic law. Alternative steps
have been taken within
each jurisdiction to ensure that all aspects of law and practice are compliant
with the UNCRC.
England[1]
8. The UK Government has undertaken a detailed analysis of how the rights and
obligations set out in each of the Articles in the UNCRC
are protected by
legislation and case law. This was published in March
2010.[2] All legislation introduced
to Parliament is assessed to ensure it is compatible with individuals’
human rights, as set out
in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR); and
compatible with our obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child, and child rights impact assessments undertaken where appropriate for the
key legislative proposals affecting children.
9. The UK Government reaffirmed its commitment to give due consideration to
the UNCRC in policy and legislation through a Ministerial
statement to
Parliament in December 2010.[3]
Northern Ireland
10. Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 created an equality duty.
Departments and other public authorities must consider
the impact of their
policies, programmes and projects on nine section 75 groups. Age is one of the
nine groups so the impact of any
policy on children and young people must be
screened. If there is potential for major impact, particularly an adverse
impact, then
a full equality impact assessment (EQIA) must be carried out. The
Equality Commission for Northern Ireland sets the guidelines for
how EQIAs
should be completed.
Scotland
11. The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, was passed by the
Scottish Parliament in February 2014. The Act places a new
duty on Scottish
Ministers to: keep under review whether there are steps they might take to
strengthen their approach to implementation
of the UNCRC; take actions which
they believe to be appropriate in response and be prepared to justify the impact
of those actions.
It also places a duty on Scottish Ministers to promote
awareness and understanding of the UNCRC and introduces new reporting
requirements
designed to support increased scrutiny of the entire public
sector’s approach to implementing the Convention.
Wales
- In
2011, Wales incorporated children’s rights into domestic law through the
introduction of the Rights of Children and
Young Persons (Wales) Measure
2011.[4]
Since 1 May 2012, the Measure has required Welsh Ministers to have due
regard to the articles of the UNCRC and its Optional Protocols
when developing
new or amending existing policies and/or legislation. From May 2014, the Measure
will be extended to require Welsh
Ministers to have due regard to
children’s rights whenever they exercise any of their functions. The
Measure also confers a
power on Welsh Ministers to make an Order amending other
legislation or prerogative instruments if they conclude that it would be
desirable to do so to give further or better effect to the rights and
obligations in the UNCRC or its Optional Protocols.
13. The
Measure also requires Welsh Ministers to produce a Children’s Rights
Scheme which defines the roles and responsibilities
of both individuals and
groups within the Welsh Government and sets out how the duty will be
implemented. The Children’s
Rights Scheme has been approved by the National Assembly for
Wales.
UNCRC strategies and plans (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para.
15)
14. In 2009, the State Party published a joint, UK-wide strategy, Working
together, achieving more, which set out how the four nations would work
together to implement the UNCRC. This document set out the underlying
principles which
determine the UK’s broad approach to UNCRC implementation
and was underpinned by individual action plans for each nation.
England[5]
15. In 2009, the then Government’s Priorities for Action, set
out proposals to address the UN Committee’s recommendations following the
last periodic review. The Coalition Government
has taken a less centralised
approach and given local decision-makers greater discretion to plan and deliver
children’s services.
It has, however, underlined its commitment to UNCRC
implementation through: introducing reforms through the Children and Families
Act 2014; and issuing statutory guidance to all local Directors of
Children’s Services which requires them to have regard to
the general
principles of the UNCRC and to ensure that children and young people are
involved in the development and delivery of
local services.
Northern Ireland
16. The Children and Young People’s Ten Year Strategy provides the
strategic direction for improving outcomes for children
and young people in
Northern Ireland. A Child Rights Indicator Framework links progress on the
outcomes in the Strategy directly
to implementation of the UNCRC and informs
both the development of policy and the delivery of children’s
services.
Scotland
17. Following the UN Committee’s 2008 concluding observations, the
Scottish Government published a detailed action plan, Do the Right Thing,
setting out its priorities for implementing the UNCRC over the medium to long
term. A progress report was published in May 2012.
Wales
18. Following publication of the UN’s concluding
observations in 2008, the Welsh Government consulted with a wide range of
stakeholders on how best to take the recommendations forward. This resulted in
the Getting it Right Action Plan 2009. The Welsh Government plans to
refresh the action plan and consult on the new version.
Coordination (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 13)
19. The UK State Party and the devolved governments each have Ministers who
are responsible for coordinating UNCRC implementation
across the relevant
jurisdiction. The five Ministers[6]
liaise on areas of common concern and interest. There are also regular meetings
between officials in the four jurisdictions to share
progress and ideas about
UNCRC implementation.
Resources to support UNCRC implementation (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para.
19)
20. Identifying the proportion of Government spending which is allocated to
children is difficult for a number of reasons:
- The UK
Government has a policy of devolving resources to the front line, where they are
spent on locally determined priorities;
- At national
level, some funding supports all age groups and is not disaggregated for
children;
- It is difficult
to ascertain how Government support paid to families is used for the benefit of
children within the households.
21. There is no doubt, however,
that the UK’s investment in children is substantial and wide-ranging (see
Appendix 4). Despite
the worldwide recession and its impact on the UK economy,
real levels of expenditure on children have been broadly maintained over
the
five years of the review period. This is at least partly due to the protection
of some of the most important budgets for children,
but it also reflects local
prioritisation of resources for children. As a proportion of GDP, expenditure
on children also appears
to have been maintained.
22. We recognise that the
distribution of resources between children is as important as the overall
quantum. There are many examples
of central Government using differential
funding to create fairness and opportunities for all. For example, by 2014-15
the UK Government
will be spending £2.5 billion on the Pupil Premium which
provides additional support for disadvantaged pupils in schools, in
order to
close the attainment gap between them and their peers.
Provision of international assistance and aid
23. The UK treats its obligations towards less wealthy countries very
seriously. Our aid programme has supported children in overseas
countries in a
range of ways, from improving the conditions that threaten children, providing
water and sanitation and supporting
better health and education. Funding that
has benefitted children in particular includes:
- a pledge to
support 9 million children in primary education and 2 million children in
secondary education around the world by 2015;
and to help train 190,000 teachers
to improve the quality of learning;
- funding of
£220m to provide immunisation against vaccine-preventable diseases and to
conduct research into new vaccines. In 2011/12,
the UK Government’s direct
funding helped to vaccinate at least 84 million children;
- support to
prevent 12.9 million children and pregnant women from going hungry, and to
ensure that 1.6 million births take place safely;
- £9.75
million for a five year programme from 2013-17 to help prevent trafficking of
women and girls from South Asia, including
specific support to 9,000 girls under
16 who will be supported to stay in school so that they are not compelled to
migrate for domestic
work.
24. In addition, the UK Government has
supported the Overseas Territories (OTs) to improve child safeguarding since
2005, helping
to raise awareness at the highest levels of government and in
civil society in participating OTs. A new £1.8m child safeguarding
project (launched in March 2014) will strengthen the evidence base on child
abuse prevalence in the OTs, including sexual abuse and
exploitation. In
addition, the Government will continue to support child safeguarding service
delivery in the aided Overseas Territories
(St Helena, Montserrat and Pitcairn)
through annual budget aid settlements.
Independent monitoring structures (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para.
17)
The Children’s Commissioners
25. The UK has Children’s Commissioners in each of the four nations of
the UK, who are an established part of the framework
of UNCRC monitoring and
implementation. They meet regularly with the Irish Commissioner as members of
the British and Irish Network
of Ombudsmen and Children’s Commissioners
(BINOCC). The Commissioners have developed an operational protocol to ensure
that
they work together to maximum effect.
26. In England, following an independent review and extensive
consultation with NGOs and children, the UK Government has legislated to change
the
primary role of the Commissioner to one of promoting and protecting
children’s rights. The Children and Families Act 2014
also extended the
Commissioner’s remit and powers and reinforced the Commissioner’s
independence from Government.
27. The Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People
has the power to receive and to respond to individual requests from children and
their
representatives.
28. Scotland’s Children’s Commissioner is appointed by the
Scottish Parliament. Through the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act, the
Scottish
Parliament extended the role of the Commissioner, enabling them to
undertake investigations in relation to the experience of individual
children.
These new powers are due to take effect from 2016.
29. In Wales, the Children’s Commissioner acts as an
independent champion for children and young people, and has a statutory role to
safeguard
and promote the rights of children and young people in Wales, having
regard to the UNCRC. The Children’s Commissioner for Wales’s
legislation affords powers of review and examination of public bodies and
enables investigation of individual cases and provision
of advice and support.
Equality and Human Rights Commission
30. In addition to the bodies above, whose focus is specifically on
children, the Equality Act 2006 established the Equality and
Human Rights
Commission to support the rights of children and adults in GB. Northern
Ireland has an Equality Commission and a Human Rights Commission established
under the NI Act 1998.
Dissemination, training and awareness-raising (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para.
21)
31. Following a review of the National Curriculum in England, the
Government issued a revised Citizenship programme of study in September 2013
which makes it clear that maintained secondary
schools should develop
pupils’ understanding of democracy, government and the rights and
responsibilities of citizens; and
includes a requirement that pupils should be
taught about the United Kingdom’s relations with the UN.
32. Awareness raising sessions on the UNCRC have been arranged for officials
working on policy or legislation which may affect children.
The UNCRC is also a
key element of training and guidance for frontline staff working with children,
such as those at border controls
or working in youth custody.
33. In Northern Ireland, copies of the UNCRC have been sent to pupils
in all schools and further education colleges and to almost 4,000 civil
servants.
Initial teacher training includes provision related to UNCRC.
Since 2009/10, all children between Year 1 and Year 12 have undertaken
Citizenship Education which seeks to develop their capacity to participate
positively and effectively in society. Pupils have opportunities
to learn
about the key principles outlined in the UNCRC and the European Convention on
Human Rights (ECHR).
34. Action in Scotland includes: a three year programme to increase
awareness and understanding of children’s rights in every school and a
minimum
set of common core skills, knowledge, understanding and values
(cross-referenced to the UNCRC) which every worker (paid or unpaid)
should have
if they work with children, young people and families. The Children and Young
People (Scotland) Act placed a duty on
Ministers to promote public awareness and
understanding of the UNCRC.
35. In Wales, the Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure
2011 placed a duty on Welsh Ministers to promote knowledge and understanding
among the public (including children) of the Convention and its protocols.
Actions to promote the UNCRC include: a dedicated website
providing resources
for children, young people and adults working with children; resources to help
officials gain a better understanding
of the UNCRC; and systematic training of
all professional groups working for and with children.
36. Between 2008 and 2010 the UK Government provided £521,000 of pump
priming funding to help UNICEF establish the Rights Respecting
Schools (RRS)
programme. Over 1,000 schools across the UK have gained RRS status. The Rights
Respecting Schools Award (RRSA) recognises
schools’ achievements in
putting the UNCRC at the heart of planning, policies, practice and ethos.
Cooperation with civil society (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 23)
37. In England Ministers have held twice-yearly meetings with key
NGOs and an NGO reference group has helped to plan the process and to act as
‘critical
friends’ in the drafting of this submission. In
Northern Ireland, the Executive took part in a series of engagements with
children and young people hosted by children’s organisations. The
Scottish Government supports ‘Together’, an independent
alliance of non-government organisations, to publish an annual State of
Children’s Rights report, monitoring the progress made to implement
the UNCRC in Scotland. The Scottish Children’s Rights Implementation
Monitoring
Group meets three times each year to monitor progress with
implementation of the UNCRC. The Welsh Government convenes the
‘Getting it right support network’ to allow groups and organisations
that support children and young people
to advise on addressing the concluding
observations. ‘The Wales UNCRC monitoring group’ also scrutinise
compliance to
the UNCRC.
Chapter II: General Principle (Articles 2, 3, 6 and 12)
Introduction
1. Progress has been made towards delivering the general principles since the
last review, not least through the Equality Act 2010,
which consolidates
anti-discrimination law; and through numerous consultations with children and
young people to inform the development
of policy and legislation (see Appendix
5).
Promoting the best interests of the child (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para.
27)
2. The principle of the best interests of the child is enshrined in
legislation, policy and practice across the UK. In England Section 1 of
the Children Act 1989 (CA 1989) provides that, in any proceedings relating to
the upbringing of a child or the administration
of the child's property or
application of any income arising from it, the child's welfare is the paramount
consideration. This applies
to both private family law proceedings under Part 2
of the CA 1989 and public law proceedings – emergency protection orders,
care orders and supervision orders.
3. New measures introduced through the Children and Families Act 2014 to
strengthen arrangements for adoption, promote family life
and reform support for
children with special educational needs, are all predicated on the assumption
that decisions affecting children
should be in their best interests and take
account of their views, wishes and feelings.
Respect for the views of the child (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4:
Para.33)
4. The UK fully endorses and promotes the principle that children and young
people should have opportunities to express their opinion
in matters that affect
their lives. This applies to national or local policy making and to decisions
affecting individual children.
The UK Government provided funding of
£366,000 in 2013/14 and £300,000 for 2014/15 to the British Youth
Council (BYC) to
strengthen and maintain the UK Youth Parliament and deliver the
Youth Voice programme, which has created a range of opportunities
for children
and young people to participate in decision-making:
- The UK Youth
Parliament has 600 elected Members of the Youth Parliament (MYPs) aged 11-18. It
provides opportunities for young people
to use their voice in creative ways to
bring about social change. A quarter of a million young people voted to
select the issues debated at the Parliament’s annual Commons sitting on
23rd November
2012; and nearly half a million for the sitting held on 15
November 2013.
- The Youth Select
Committee (11 members aged 15-18) - launched in April 2012 with support from the
UK Parliament - has given young
people opportunities to hold inquiries into
issues that young people care about. The first inquiry in July 2012 looked at
Transport.
The second inquiry, in 2013, looked at education and the national
curriculum. The third inquiry looking at lowering the voting age
to 16 is
underway.
- The National
Scrutiny Group has allowed children and young people to have two-three meetings
per year with Ministers and government
officials. The BYC has facilitated
regional workshops with young people, for example, in 2013 on UNCRC Articles
(12, 15 and 42)
for the Department for Education and a workshop on HealthWatch
for the Department of Health.
- In
England, almost 20,000 children aged between 11 and 17 have volunteered to
represent their peers through Local Youth Councils (LYCs) which
influence local
decision-making and help to shape local services.
5. Between 2007
and 2012, the Northern Ireland Executive funded the Participation Network
to enable Government departments and agencies to engage proactively with
children and
young people when developing policy.
6. In Scotland, the Scottish Youth Parliament has 150 members and
three national sittings each year. It undertakes two national campaigns
annually
and delivers a range of peer education and outreach programmes to
engage and involve young people across Scotland in the democratic
process.
7. In Wales, the Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 places a
duty on local authorities, working with their partners, to promote and
facilitate
participation by children and young people in decisions that might
affect them. The Children and Young People’s Assembly for
Wales, Funky
Dragon, enables children’s views to be heard at a national level, through
their elected representatives.
Tackling the negative portrayal of children and young people in the
media (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 25 (a))
8. Freedom of expression is an important principle in the UK. This
makes it difficult and inconsistent for the Government to impose
restrictions on
how young people are portrayed in the press and broadcast media. Ofcom is
the independent, statutory regulator for
broadcast media in the UK, and sets out
clear guidelines on the protection of under-18s in section one of its
Broadcasting Code.
9. In England, positive images of young people have been promoted
through the Government’s Positive for Youth document, published in
December 2011, which recognised that 99% of young people are responsible and
hard-working, want to make the
most of their lives and want to make the world a
better place. The UK Government has also supported initiatives allowing children
to engage in local social action projects or to become involved in local
decision-making. These include ‘Step Up to Serve’,
which aims to
double the number of young people participating in social action to by 2020;
National Citizen Service which over 70,000
young people have undertaken since
2011 and the Children’s Commissioner’s ‘Takeover Day’,
which allows many
thousands of children and young people to work with adult
decision-makers for the day.
10. In Northern Ireland, the Executive supported a scheme to remove
inter-generational barriers and tackle negative perceptions. Funding for 14
projects
has led to positive reports about children and young people in local
and social media.
11. In Scotland, the ‘Young Scot's Truth About Youth’
project has challenged negative perceptions and changed attitudes towards young
people. It has used inter-generational workshops and events, an online blogging
and video website, and partnership with Scotland’s
Sunday Mail newspaper,
to share young people’s stories about the positive contributions they make
to society. Impact statistics
(June 2013) found that 73% of participants were
more positive about young people as a result.
12. In Wales, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the
UNCRC being adopted, the Welsh Government launched Tell it Like it is - a
media toolkit for those working with children and young people, including advice
on how to promote positive images and stories.
The Children’s Commissioner
in Wales has run a campaign See Me/Dyma Fi to encourage the use of
responsible and balanced imagery and language when portraying children and young
people.
Protecting children and young people from discrimination
(CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 25 (b))
13. Under the Equality Act 2010,
schools must have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance
equal opportunity and
foster good relations between children.
14. Romany
Gypsies and Irish Travellers groups are fully protected by the
anti-discrimination provisions in the Equality Act 2010.
In England a
Ministerial working group report, published in April 2012, set out measures to
improve outcomes for the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller
communities. These included:
piloting a virtual head teacher to champion the interests of Gypsy, Roma and
Traveller pupils across
their local authority and measures to address the high
levels of school exclusion amongst Gypsy and Traveller children.
15. In
Northern Ireland the Race Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (as
amended) provides protection to minority ethnic groups including Irish
Travellers.
The Racial Equality Strategy (2005-2010) and the new Racial Equality
Strategy (currently scheduled to go out for consultation in
Spring 2014),
reflect a strong commitment to the mainstreaming and promotion of racial
equality and good race relations. These objectives
are supported by a Minority
Ethnic Development Fund which disbursed funds of £1.1m in 2012/13 to
minority ethnic integration
activities.
16. In Scotland, the Scottish Government is investing nearly £6m
during 2012-15 in organisations which aim to tackle racism and religious
intolerance
and improve the lives of minority ethnic and religious communities.
In April 2012, the Welsh Government launched its Strategic Equality
Plan (SEP)[7] and equality
objectives; as well as a Framework for Hate Crime in the summer of 2013,
which focuses on hate crime based on race, religion, disability, sexual
orientation and gender identity.
Right to life, survival and development (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para.
29)
17. In England and Wales, infant mortality rates are improving
with 4.2 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2011 - the lowest rate on record
(Data annex
table F2.1). This compares with 11.1 deaths per 1,000 in 1981, a 62%
decrease. There has been a steady decline in the number of under-19
deaths
during the reporting period.
18. In England, statutory procedures must be followed if a child dies.
Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) are required by law to collect
and
analyse information about each death with a view to identifying: any case which
meets the criteria for a Serious Case Review
(SCR); any matters of concern
affecting the safety and welfare of children in the local authority; and any
wider public health or
safety concerns arising from a particular death or from a
pattern of deaths.
19. In Wales, a new Child Practice
Reviews[8] framework was
introduced which will help improve the culture of learning by reviewing child
protection cases to identify common and
preventable factors. Wales has also
developed a National Action Plan to Reduce Suicide and Self
Harm[9].
20. Every unexpected child death or serious injury which occurs in police
custody in England and Wales is subject to investigation either by the
police or by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. There is also a
Coroner’s
Inquest before a jury. This is held in public, and the family
are able to attend and question witnesses.
21. Serious Case Reviews (SCRs) are carried out in cases where abuse or
neglect is known or suspected and a child dies or is seriously
harmed and there
are concerns about how organisations or professionals worked together to protect
the child. SCRs are also commissioned
if a child dies in custody. The UK
Government has taken steps to strengthen arrangements for SCRs so that lessons
from serious incidents
can be learned more effectively. Final reports of all
SCRs must be published on the LSCB’s website.
22. In Northern Ireland a statutory Regional Safeguarding Board for
Northern Ireland (SBNI) was established in September 2012. The SBNI has a
statutory duty
to undertake Case Management Reviews (CMRs) in circumstances
where a child has died or been significantly harmed and specific criteria
are
met.
23. In Scotland, the Scottish Government does not require automatic
reviews of child deaths or significant incidents but is taking action to
strengthen
the current approach. All future incidents will be reviewed by the
Care Inspectorate, which is responsible for inspecting children’s
services.
Access to Justice
Legal Aid
- The
UK Government promotes early dispute resolution and other alternatives to
litigation. However, Legal Aid is available to support
those people, including
children, who really need it. For civil legal aid, this includes cases where
life or liberty is at stake,
if a person is at risk of serious physical harm or
immediate loss of home, or where their children may be taken into
care. Legal
aid can also be made available if there is a risk of an
individual's ECHR rights being breached and to meet EU
obligations.
- In
2013, the UK Government consulted on reforms to the legal aid system to withhold
criminal legal aid from individuals in custody
where there is an alternative
means of redress. Complaints systems are in place in Young Offender Institutions
(YOIs), Secure Training
Centres (STCs) and Secure Children’s Homes (SCHs)
in England and Wales to enable young people to resolve issues relating to
their
detention. Advocacy services are also provided in YOIs, STCs and SCHs to assist
young people in navigating the complaints,
grievance or disciplinary systems. If
a young person is not satisfied with the outcome of a complaint they are able to
refer the
issue to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (in YOIs and STCs),
statutory Monitor (in STCs) or to Local Authorities (in SCHs).
- The
UK Government also consulted on a residence test for entitlement to civil legal
aid. We concluded that a number of categories
of people should not have to
satisfy the test, including: asylum seekers and serving members of UK Armed
Forces and their immediate
families, and cases involving vulnerable people
or child protection issues. We also concluded that children under 12 months
old would
not be required to have 12 months of previous lawful residence, and
other categories of refugee who never make a claim for asylum
in the UK, but are
resettled or transferred here will not have to satisfy the residence test until
12 months after they arrive in
the UK. In reaching these conclusions, we took
account of the views raised by consultees, including children's rights NGOs, and
are
satisfied that they are compatible with the
UNCRC.
Chapter III: Civil Rights and Freedoms (Articles 7, 8, 13-17 and
37(a))
Introduction
1. The UK has a long history of promoting civil rights and freedoms. The
Human Rights Act[10] 1998 made
rights from the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights
(ECHR)[11] enforceable in UK courts.
Several civil rights and freedoms protected by the UNCRC are also provided for
in the ECHR and are consequently
directly enforceable in UK courts and
tribunals. The rights to freedom of expression (article 13 UNCRC, article 10
ECHR) and freedom
of thought, conscience and religion (article 14 UNCRC, article
9 ECHR) are afforded special statutory protection in the Human Rights
Act 1998
and UK courts and tribunals must have particular regard to their importance.
Freedom of peaceful assembly (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 35)
2. Children in the UK have opportunities to take part in a variety of
organised group activities, linked to their school or local
community. They also
have opportunities to meet in various informal settings such as in youth clubs
or parks.
Use of mosquito devices
3. The UK Government has repeatedly emphasised our opposition to the
discriminatory use of mosquito devices. Our Positive for Youth document
encouraged young people “to challenge the discriminatory and inappropriate
use of ‘mosquito’ devices”
and provided examples of where this
has been done successfully, leading to the banning of mosquito devices from all
publicly owned
premises within several local authority
areas.[12]
4. During 2011 and
2012, the Scottish Parliament debated the use of such devices following a
petition on behalf of the Scottish Youth
Parliament and subsequently secured a
commitment from the inventor of the device that all future devices sold to
organisations in
Scotland would include clear signage to show where the device
is in use. Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People
continues to consider this issue and is due to report his findings in summer
2014.
Stop and Search
- On
30 April 2014 the Home Secretary announced the Government’s response to an
extensive public consultation on stop and search
powers, which includes a
comprehensive package for reform of the use of stop and search. The
measures are designed to ensure that
the police use all stop and search powers
lawfully, in a targeted and intelligence-led way; and local communities must be
able to
hold the police to account for their use of the powers. The
Government believes that these measures will contribute to a significant
reduction in the overall use of stop and search, better and more
intelligence-led stop and search and improved stop-to-arrest ratios.
Protection of privacy (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para.
37)
Data protection
- The
Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 has brought in several positive reforms to put
an end to unnecessary scrutiny of individuals and
address infringements of
children’s privacy rights. The Act sets out a new framework for police
retention of fingerprints and
DNA data. Adults or under-18s without
convictions will no longer have their DNA profiles and fingerprints retained
indefinitely.
Under-18s who have one conviction for a minor offence will have
their DNA profiles and fingerprints deleted after 5 years (plus the
length of
any custodial sentence); and they must be destroyed straightaway if the
individual was arrested unlawfully. The Act also
requires schools and colleges
to obtain parental consent before acquiring and processing biometric information
for under 18s. A
child also has the right to stop the processing of their
biometric information regardless of any parental
consent.
Protecting children in the media and taking part in
public performances
- Children
in the UK are protected from press intrusion through a Code of
Practice[13] administered by the
Press Complaints Commission (PCC). In Northern Ireland, journalists
helped to develop Guidance for Media Reporting on Child Abuse and Neglect
(launched November 2012). Broadcasters operate
a similar Code, which requires
them to take reasonable steps to protect under-18s, through the appropriate
scheduling of material
that is unsuitable for them.
- Child
performances and appearances in broadcasts are subject to regulation and
oversight designed to ensure the well-being and safety
of child performers and
that their education does not suffer as a result. Reviews of the arrangements
are currently underway in
England and Scotland, with the aim of
streamlining them, and enhancing children’s opportunities to perform while
continuing to ensure they are safe
and that the performance is in their best
interests.
Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
(CRC/C/GB/CO/4:
Para. 39)
- The
use of restraint in custodial settings, foster placements and children’s
homes is very tightly regulated and monitored.
The UK Government’s Use
of Restraint framework, which covers custodial settings in England
and Wales, sets out that restraint should only ever be used against young
people as a last resort. It also states that physical intervention
should never
be used as a punishment.
- A
new system of “Managing and Minimising Physical Restraint” which has
been independently assessed by child medical and
behavioural experts is
currently being rolled out in under-18 Young Offender Institutions and Secure
Training Centres across England and Wales. Staff using restraint measures
are expected to be trained in the use of safe techniques. The Independent
Restraint Advisory Panel
(IRAP) has been monitoring the implementation of the
new system of restraint as well as assessing the systems of restraint
commissioned
for use in Secure Children’s Homes.
Corporal punishment (CRC/C/GB/CO/4: Para 42)
- The
UK Government does not condone any violence towards children and has clear laws
to deal with it. Our view is that a mild smack
does not constitute violence and
that parents should not be criminalised for giving a mild
smack.
- All
schools in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and
Wales are banned by law from using any form of corporal punishment. There
are some unregistered independent settings, providing part-time
education, that
are not covered by this ban. However, work is underway to develop a code of
practice which will send a clear message
about the expected standards that
all settings should meet, and to highlight that assault of children is
unlawful in any setting. Physical punishment has also been banned
in child
minding, other early years provision, local authority foster care and
children’s homes, either by statute or through
codes of
conduct.
- The
UK is taking a variety of action to promote positive parenting and caring
relationships. Examples are included in Northern Ireland’s
Families Matter Strategy, Scotland’s National Parenting
Strategy and the Help at Hand; A Positive Approach to Parenting
publication in Wales.
Chapter IV: Family Environment and Alternative Care
(Articles 5, 9-11, 18 paragraphs 1 and 2, 19-21, 25, 27 paragraphs 4, and
39)
Introduction
- The
UK recognises that family relationships have the single biggest impact on
children’s well-being, development and prospects.
We have taken steps to
improve the guidance and support available for parents, helping them to carry
out their role effectively
and make the right choices for their children. We are
also improving the quality of alternative care for children for whom living
with
their parents is not the best option.
Support for parents and families (CRC/C/GB/CO/4: Para 45
(a))
Early years and childcare reforms
- The
UK has introduced a range of measures to improve access to childcare, to help
parents combine work and family life successfully
and support children’s
development.
- In
England, the number of free hours of early education for 3 and 4 year
olds has increased to 15 hours a week. This entitlement is being extended
to the
most disadvantaged 2 year olds - over 90,000 children are already benefiting and
the target is to reach 40% of 2 year olds
(around 260,000 children) from
September 2014. Additional funding has been made available to support all
families eligible for Universal
Credit, who will benefit from additional
childcare support at 85%, rather than 70%. From autumn 2015, working families
not receiving
tax credits or Universal Credit will be eligible for a new
Tax-Free Childcare scheme. Once fully rolled out, nearly 2 million families
will
be eligible to receive 20% support on childcare costs up to £10,000 per
child each year.
- The
Government is committing £50m of additional funding in 2015-16 for a new
pupil premium for disadvantaged three and four year
olds. The Early Years Pupil
Premium (EYPP) will provide nurseries, schools and other providers of government
funded early education
with extra money allocated to the disadvantaged three or
four year olds they provide childcare to. We are also improving parents’
access to information about childcare options and maintaining a national network
of Sure Start Children's Centres which enable children
aged 0-5 and their
families to access integrated services.
- On
25 September 2013, the Northern Ireland Executive launched the first
phase of Bright Start – the Executive’s programme for
developing affordable and integrated childcare. A Childcare Strategy is
due to be published later in 2014.
- In
Scotland the Children and Young People Act (passed in February 2014) will
deliver increased and more flexible early learning and childcare
of 600 hours
per annum for 3 and 4 year olds; and, for around 15% of the most vulnerable 2
year olds from August 2014. From August
2015, this will be expanded to 27% of 2
year olds based on free school meal eligibility.
- In
2012-2013 the Welsh Government invested more than £150m in early
education and childcare through the Building a Brighter Future: Early Years
and Childcare Plan. Flying Start is the Welsh Government’s
flagship early years programme, which targets the most disadvantaged communities
with higher concentrations
of children under the age of four living in income
benefit households. The Welsh Government is committed to doubling the number of
children benefiting from the programme from 18,000 to 36,000 meaning that almost
a quarter of children in Wales, under the age of
4, will be receiving services
through the programme by 2016. The programme provides free, quality,
part-time child care for 2-3 year olds, enhanced health visiting, parenting
support and support
for early language development for families.
Improving parenting skills and support
- The
UK recognises the importance of strong and confident parenting and has taken
steps to help all families access and benefit from
parenting classes, creating a
culture in which learning good parenting skills and seeking professional help
when necessary becomes
the norm.
- In
England, funding has been provided to third sector organisations to
deliver family support services online or through helplines, providing
advice on
relationships, employment, education and benefits and specialist advice for
parents whose children are disabled, have special
educational needs, or
behaviour problems. Parent Support Advisers are employed either by local
authorities or schools, providing
face-to-face support and advice for parents
experiencing social, health or emotional problems. During 2008-2011,
£102.5 million
was made available to expand Parent Support Advisor work
across all local authorities; and between 2011 and 2015, £30 million
is
being provided to strengthen relationship support services.
- Northern
Ireland’s family and parenting strategy, Families Matter, gives
priority to early intervention and prevention in family support services. Family
Support Hubs based on coalitions of agencies
provide local early intervention
services for children and families.
- In
Scotland, the National Parenting Strategy, published in October 2012,
champions the importance of parenting, strengthening the support on
offer to
parents and making it easier for them to access this support. The strategy
provides £18 million to create high quality,
co-ordinated and accessible
family support informed by engagement with parents.
- In
Wales the Families First programme focuses on prevention and early
intervention and is designed to improve outcomes for children, young people and
families.
The programme is a key part of the Welsh Government’s Child
Poverty Strategy and the Tackling Poverty Action Plan. A total
of nearly
£89 million has been allocated to the programme for the two-year period
2012-14.
Family Law
- The
Children and Families Act 2014 includes new measures in England and Wales
to ensure the needs of children remain at the centre of the family law system.
Attendance at a Mediation, Information and Assessment
Meeting (MIAM) will be a
requirement (with exemptions) for adults applying to court in certain types of
family proceedings, with
the aim of encouraging parents to reach agreement
between themselves (out of court) wherever possible. When cases do go to court,
the introduction of a new ‘child arrangements order’ will help to
ensure that the main focus is on the needs and interests
of the child. The most
recent statistics (July-Sept 2013) show that the average time taken for a care
or supervision order to be
determined in the family courts is now 35.8 weeks,
down from 54.6 weeks when the Family Justice Review reported in November
2011.
- Scotland
has well established arrangements for the courts to make decisions, when
necessary, on matters such as parental responsibilities
and rights, where a
child should live and how much contact a non-resident parent should have. The
wellbeing of the child is central
in all such cases.
Troubled Families
- In
England, the Government has invested nearly £450m to turn around the
lives of 120,000 troubled families by 2015. The Troubled Families
programme
aims to get children back into school, reduce youth crime and anti-social
behaviour, put adults on a path back to work,
and reduce the high costs these
families place on the public sector each year. Local authorities reported in
October 2013 that they
had successfully turned around the lives of 22,000
troubled families. The Government has agreed to increase its investment in
the
troubled families programme from 2015/16, so that it can provide intensive
help for 400,000 more families.
- In
Wales, the Integrated Family Support Services programme is rolling out
new models of delivering services to vulnerable children and families
who have
complex needs, through intense integrated support from highly skilled
professionals.
Young Carers
- The
UK is committed to preventing young carers from undertaking inappropriate or
excessive caring roles by ensuring that the person
they care for is adequately
supported. In England the Children and Families Act 2014 places an
enhanced duty on local authorities to assess the needs and circumstances of
young carers,
as part of a ‘whole family’ approach to assessment and
support. In Scotland, the 2010 Getting it Right for Young Carers
strategy set out steps to improve young carer identification and support within
schools, colleges and the health service. A progress
report linked to the
Strategy was published in May 2013. In Wales, the Carers Strategy for
Wales, published in June 2013, identifies young carers as a key
priority. The strategy provides a framework for agencies to work together to
deliver services and
support to carers.
Violence, abuse
and neglect (CRC/C/GB/CO/4: Para. 51)
- The
UK is committed to protecting all children from abuse and neglect. Our child
protection systems aim to identify children at risk
of abuse or neglect early,
and ensure they get the services and support needed to promote their welfare and
protect them from harm
based on an assessment of their individual needs.
- In
England there is a duty[14]
on local authorities and their partners (including schools and colleges, the
police, health service providers and the youth justice
system) to co-operate to
safeguard and promote the wellbeing of children and young people in their area.
The Disclosure and Barring
Scheme aims to prevent unsuitable individuals from
working with children and young people.
- The
Government is implementing a comprehensive series of reforms based on the Munro
review (2011), which concluded that the child
protection system had become too
focused on compliance and regulation and had lost sight of what matters most -
the views and experiences
of the individual child. Key new measures include:
- a new inspection
framework for services to safeguard children, which takes account of the
feelings and experiences of children;
- revised
statutory guidance, Working Together To Safeguard Children, 2013, which
provides a clear framework for professionals to work together and take action to
protect children from abuse and neglect;
- a
children’s guide to Working Together, which helps children to
understand their rights in respect of child protection;
- improved
accountability in the system by strengthening the role and responsibilities of
Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards
(LSCBs);
- new guidance on
the role of Directors of Children’s Services and Lead Members on their
duties and role in relation to vulnerable
children and young people; and
- clarifying the
legal duty on local authorities to ascertain the child’s
wishes and feelings and to take account of them when planning the provision of
services.
- In
2012-13, there were 593,500 referrals, a decrease of 1.9% from the previous
year. The number of children dying as a result of
abuse and neglect has
remained relatively static at around 50 each year.
- The
process of Serious Case Reviews (SCRs) allows professionals to learn the lessons
from serious incidents and child deaths. In July
2013, the Government set up a
National Panel to challenge LSCBs on decisions to initiate SCRs and as a result
more reviews have been
carried out and published. In 2011, the Government
established Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) on a statutory basis in England and
Wales. In 2013, following a public consultation, the Government changed the
definition of domestic violence and abuse so it applies
to 16 and 17 year olds
and includes coercive and controlling behaviour.
- In
Northern Ireland, the key children’s safeguarding policy guidance,
Co-operating to Safeguard Children is being updated to reflect changes in
legislation, guidance, policies and procedures since it was published in
2003.
- Getting
it right for every child is Scotland’s holistic approach to
supporting children. Once fully implemented, every child in Scotland will have
a named person who will receive
training in supporting children and responding
to their needs. Getting it right has been one of the key drivers for the
significant reduction in the number of children referred to the Scottish
Children’s
Reporter.
Child Protection training and
development for professionals
- In
England the Government has taken steps to strengthen the professionalism
of social workers and improve their skills and capabilities. In
September
2013 we appointed a chief social worker for children and families to bring focus
and challenge to the profession; and have
encouraged local areas to do the same
by appointing a Principal Child and Family Social Worker. Our “Step
Up to Social Work”
and “Frontline” programmes have helped
raise the calibre of social work entrants. The Narey review (February 2014) will
lead to further improvements, including clear expectations of what newly
qualified children’s social workers need to understand
and be able to
do.
- The
Royal College of Nursing, working with other health professional bodies, has
updated the intercollegiate framework Safeguarding Children and Young People:
roles and competences for health care staff. Additional training resources
have also been made available to health care professionals to increase awareness
of different forms
of abuse and of the impact of domestic violence on
children.
- In
Wales, following three reviews carried out in 2009, the Welsh
Safeguarding Children Forum was established to ensure that safeguarding was
achieved at a national, regional, and local level. In 2012 the Scottish
Government published a common core of the skills, knowledge and
understanding and values every worker (paid or unpaid) should have as a minimum
if they work with children, young people and
families.
Alternative Care (CRC/C/GB/CO/4:
Para. 45 (b))
Placing children in Care
- In
the UK there is a general presumption that children should remain with their
families unless they are at risk of significant harm
or neglect. Local
authorities are required to consider a hierarchy of placement options, starting
with rehabilitation with parents.
Where this is not possible or inappropriate,
the next option is to seek placement with a relative, friend or connected person
who
is a local authority foster carer, on the grounds that a child will benefit
from living with someone they already know and trust,
rather than with a
stranger. Only if these options are not possible does a local authority seek a
placement with a foster carer
who is not a relative or in a children’s
home or other setting. As shown in the data annex (table E2.1) the number of
children
looked after by local authorities is growing, mainly due to the
increasing intervention in cases of abuse and neglect or family
dysfunction
- In
England, the Government is funding 70 local authorities to deliver
evidence-based interventions and therapies to help children in care, on
the edge
of care or in custody to remain with their families. Through the Children and
Families Act 2014 the Government is introducing
a maximum 26 week time limit to
tackle delays in resolving care and supervision orders, using expert evidence
when necessary to resolve
proceedings justly and focusing the court’s
consideration of a care plan on the key issues. In Oct - Dec 2013 48% of care
and
supervision order applications were completed within 26 weeks, up from 26%
in October- Dec 2012.
- In
May 2012, the Government announced a programme of work to improve fostering
services through six strands of work looking at: recruitment
and retention,
assessment and approval, delegation of authority and training and support of
foster carers, long term foster placements
and children’s return home.
The Government is also undertaking a comprehensive programme of reforms to the
children’s
home sector, including changes to the legislative framework, so
that local authorities only place children in homes with the capacity
and
stability needed to prepare them properly for the next stage in their lives.
31. In Northern Ireland, a major review of residential care provision
has been completed. Key proposals include: a reduction in the size of
children’s
homes to allow a stronger focus on the individual child
including individually tailored plans; and the development of specialist
fostering and /or edge of care services to prevent young people from entering
residential care.
32. Scotland has well established arrangements for
the courts to make decisions, when necessary, on matters such as parental
responsibilities
and rights, where a child should live and how much contact a
non-resident parent should have. The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 Act
provides
that the welfare of the child should be paramount in these decisions. Children
and young people subject to compulsory measures
of care and removed from their
families have decisions taken about their care at a Children’s Hearing.
Any decision should
be reviewed at least annually although this can occur
earlier where it is considered necessary by the local authority, the child
or
their family.
Preparing children in care for adult life (CRC/C/GB/CO/4: Para. 45
(h))
33. The UK has put in place arrangements to help young people
stay in their care arrangements until they are ready and properly prepared
for
independent adult life.
34. In England the Government has
strengthened the regulations and statutory guidance for local authorities in
relation to supporting looked after
children and care leavers as they approach
18 and beyond. Local authorities must provide consistent personal support to
care leavers
and keep their needs under review up to age 21, or 25 where they
are in education or training. New rules will ensure that more 16
and 17 year old
care leavers will remain in care until their 18th birthday. From
April 2014, these arrangements will be strengthened by a new duty on local
authorities to support every care leaver
who wants to stay with their former
foster parents until their 21st birthday (“staying put”
arrangements). £40million
is being made available over the next three years
to support implementation.
35. Over 111 (out of 152) local authorities
in England have signed up to the Care Leaver’s Charter, pledging to
support care leavers up until they reach age 25. Many Local Authorities have
committed to giving Care Leavers at least
£2,000 towards setting up their
own home; and more than 30,000 Junior Independent Savings Accounts, covering
three quarters
of eligible children, have been set up with a £200 deposit
funded by Government and voluntary contributions.
36. In Wales, data show that local authorities were in touch with 93%
of 19 year-old care leavers, 47% of whom were in education, training or
employment. In Northern Ireland a range of schemes have been introduced
to help prepare children living in care to get ready for adult life, including
the Going
the Extra Mile (GEM) scheme to promote continuity of living
arrangements for young people aged 18-21.
37. In Scotland the Children
and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 introduces a suite of new measures on
continuing care. Starting in 2015 all 16
year olds in foster, residential and
kinship care will be entitled to stay in their current care setting until the
age of 21 before
going on to receive appropriate aftercare support.
Strengthening the voice of children in care
38. The UK is firmly committed to the principle that the voice of the child
should be at the heart of the care system.
39. In England, the Government expects every local authority to have a
Children in Care Council (CiCC), which enables children and young people
in care
to meet with the Director of Children's Services and lead council member for
Children's Services to discuss and share their
views. CiCCs were, for example,
instrumental in getting the vast majority of local authorities to sign up to the
Charter for Care
Leavers; and were prominent in discussions that led to the
increase in the minimum ‘setting up home’ allowance to
£2,000.
40. All children who are looked after by a local authority must
have a care plan which sets out the child’s needs and how they
will be
met, including how the child or young person will be found a permanent home. The
care plan must be reviewed regularly, including
whenever a "significant change"
is proposed. We have given children a new right to request a review of their
care/pathway plan when
they have concerns about how they are being supported.
All children in care have an Independent Reviewing Officer who chairs
reviews
of the child’s care plan and has a legal duty to make sure it
takes the child’s wishes and feelings into account. In
2011 we
strengthened the legislative framework for children in care, including the right
to be supported by an
advocate.
41. Cafcass[15]
Special Guardians are independent advocates for children and young people who
are going through care or adoption proceedings. Their
job is to be the voice of
children in the family courts and to ensure that children’s welfare is put
first during proceedings.
42. In Scotland, decisions about
supporting children and young people who are removed from their families are
taken through the Children’s
Hearings System, Scotland’s system for
supporting all children under 16 who may need some form of compulsory
intervention.
Steps were taken through the Children’s Hearings (Scotland)
Act 2011 to strengthen the voice of the child in that system.
Children with disabilities in long-term care (CRC/C/GB/CO/4: Para. 45
(f))
43. Of the 68,110 children in care in March 2013, 2,260 (3%) started to be
looked after because of the child’s disability.
In England, the
statutory care planning framework requires local authorities to ensure that
their placement is suitable to their particular
needs. The Government has
developed a core service specification to support commissioners in ensuring
high-quality care and support
for children with learning disabilities who are in
care (and their families).[16]
Contact proceedings for all children separated from their parents and
siblings (CRC/C/GB/CO/4: Para. 45 (g))
44. Maintaining contact with siblings is reported by children to be one of
their highest priorities. In England, a child’s care plan must
include arrangements for maintaining contact with brothers and sisters. Social
workers are required
to facilitate such contact to support the development of
healthy sibling relationships between children who are not able to live
together. Arrangements will be monitored through the new Ofsted inspection
framework for children’s services to be introduced
in November 2014.
Monitoring of children in care (CRC/C/GB/CO/4: Para. 45
(e))
45. In England, the authority which has responsibility for a
child’s care must appoint a representative to visit the child wherever he
or
she is living. The frequency of visits is set out in regulations and
statutory guidance and varies according to the type of placement.
In
Scotland, children who have been taken into care have their care
arrangements reviewed at least annually at a ‘Children’s
Hearing’.
Reviews can be held earlier if the local authority, child or
family consider it necessary.
Children who have a parent in prison (CRC/C/GB/CO/4: Para. 45
(d))
46. Most children who have a parent in prison will not be placed in care, but
are generally supported by the other parent or another
relative. If a child is
taken into care, the relevant local authority has a duty to promote contact
between the child and their parents
and wider family unless this is not
appropriate or practicable. This could be meetings but contact can also be
promoted in other
ways, for example, through letters and photographs.
Scotland has established minimum standards for family support within the
Scottish Prison Service so that all children affected by parental
imprisonment
are supported in a way that is timely, appropriate and proportionate to their
needs.
Adoption (CRC/C/GB/CO/4: Para. 47)
Domestic adoption arrangements
47. The UK agrees with the UN
recommendation and has taken action to speed up the process of adoption for
those groups of children
that have historically taken longer to place, in
particular Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) children. In England, the
Children and Families Act 2014 has removed the requirement on professionals to
take a separate account of ethnicity. Instead
they will be required to consider
this along with other aspects of a child’s background when matching a
child to prospective
adopters. The Government is providing £200m to local
authorities over 2013-15 through the Adoption Reform Grant, principally
to
increase the supply of adopters, especially those able to provide homes for
harder to place children such as BME children, sibling
groups and those with
additional needs. In 2012-13, 3,980 children were adopted: up 15% from 2012 and
the highest number of adoptions
since the current data collections began in
1992.
48. Further changes introduced through the Children and Families
Act 2014 will: reduce unnecessary delays: improve the quality and
timeliness of
adoption services and strengthen the support for adopters. The Secretary of
State for Education will have new powers
to require local authorities to
commission adopter recruitment services from one or more other adoption agencies
and to consider
placing children in ‘Fostering for Adoption’
placements. Prospective adopters will have a more active role in identifying
possible matches with children. Children adopted from care are also given
priority in admissions to school and early years care,
and their schools are
able to claim an enhanced “pupil premium” to support their
needs.
49. Northern Ireland plans to introduce an Adoption and
Children Bill in early 2015 so that the adoption framework is more consistent
with the principles
and provisions of the Children (NI) Order
1995.
50. In Scotland, the number of adoptions has almost doubled
since 2008 and Local Authority Adoption Service Plans have highlighted that a
number
of local authorities are taking steps to improve permanence planning.
Scotland’s Adoption Register, established in August 2011,
was placed on a
statutory footing through the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act
2014.
51. In Wales, the Social Service and Well Being (Wales) Bill
proposes to place a duty on local authorities to come together to establish a
single
adoption agency. The Government is funding research looking into the
reasons for adoption breakdown.
Inter-country adoption
52. As a result of an Order laid before Parliament, the Adoption
(Recognition of Overseas Adoptions) Order 2013, adoption orders
made in an
Overseas Territory, after 3 January 2014 will not be recognised unless the Hague
Convention on Inter-country Adoption
has been extended to that Territory.
Chapter V: Basic Health and Welfare
(Articles 6, 18 paragraph 3, 23, 24, 26 and 27 paragraphs 1-3)
- This
chapter provides information on a range of measures designed to promote
children’s health and welfare.
Health Services
(CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 55)
- In
England the Government has prioritised health and protected the NHS
budget despite unprecedented pressure on public finances. We are committed
to
better health and well-being for all and reduced health inequalities. A
widespread consultation, including with children and young
people, led to a
system-wide pledge[17] published in
February 2013, to improve children’s health outcomes so that they become
among the best in the world. The Pledge
is based on shared ambitions that:
- children, young
people and their families will be at the heart of decision-making;
- services will be
high quality and evidence-based and safe;
- early
intervention will be as important as caring for those who become unwell;
- services will be
integrated and care coordinated around the individual;
- there will be
clear leadership and accountability with organisations working in partnership.
- Specific
actions to support children include:
- improvements to
the child immunisation programme;
- an increase of
4,200 community-based health visitors;
- doubling the
number of families who will benefit from the Family Nurse Partnership Programme
by 2015;
- improvements to
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), including improved access
to therapies for children;
- a new national
Children and Young People’s Health Outcomes Board, led by the Chief
Medical Officer, to establish a multi-agency
approach to improving
children’s health outcomes for both physical and mental health;
- new health
outcomes measures for children to help drive improvement for both physical and
mental health.
- An
updated Public Health Strategic framework for Northern Ireland is
under development. Consultation on the draft framework involved meetings with
two groups of young people and young offenders.
- In
Scotland, a Ministerial Task Force on health inequalities, established in
2007, ensures a cross-government approach to addressing the inequalities
in
health between the most and least affluent areas. Scottish Ministers are
committed to implementing the Family Nurse Partnership
Programme - an
intensive, preventive, home visiting programme for first-time, teenage parents -
across Scotland.
- In
Wales, through the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013,
a duty has been placed on local authorities to provide independent
counselling services for children in their area. The Welsh Government
has
ensured that each secondary school in Wales has a school nurse who works in
partnership with educators, parents and carers, to
promote a healthy environment
for groups of pupils, and looks after the needs of individual young people.
Early identification programmes (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 53 (b))
- The
Government is aware of the clear evidence that pregnancy and the earliest years
are critical to the future health and wellbeing
of children and adults and that
evidence-based early interventions can have significant short and longer term
positive impacts. Smoking,
alcohol, poor nutrition, and stress or the absence of
a warm loving relationship can have significant negative impacts on all areas
of
a young person’s life including their attainment levels and mental
wellbeing.
- Good
quality healthcare and early intervention act to improve resilience in children
and young people. Healthy behaviours in childhood
and the teenage years set
patterns for later life and support for improved health of children and young
people can mean reducing
inequalities and passing on the benefits to successive
more resilient generations who are healthier, happier and enjoy improved life
chances. In England, there are important work programmes to reduce
stillbirths, low birth weight, reduce maternal smoking and improve the quality
and
safety of maternity services which will have a direct impact on infant
mortality and morbidity and a child’s right to good
health.
- In
England, the Healthy Child programme is the key universal service for
improving the health and well-being of children, through health and
development
reviews, health promotion, parenting support, and screening and immunisation
programmes. Reviews at ages 2 to 2 ½
are part of the Public Health Outcomes
Framework and allow parents to raise any concerns, prepare for the next stage of
their child’s
development and access additional support if necessary.
- The
Healthy Child Programme (0-5) is led by health visitors and delivered by them
and other healthcare professionals; the 5-19 element
is coordinated by school
nursing services. The Government is committed to increasing the health visitor
workforce by 4,200 (over
50%) by 2015. Getting it right for children, young
people and family (March 2012) provides a service vision and model to
strengthen health services for school-aged children and young people and to
promote
optimal health and wellbeing.
- The
number of places on the Family Nurse Partnership programme is also being
increased to 16,000 by 2015. The programme supports teenage
first-time mothers
and their babies, through a structured programme of intensive support during
pregnancy and the first two years
of their baby’s life. School nurses also
work with key partners to deliver a universal service for all school-aged
children.
- Scotland’s
Early Years Collaborative, aims to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities for
all children in Scotland, in particular in relation
to reducing rates of infant
mortality and achievement of early development milestones.
- In
Northern Ireland a review of health visiting and school nursing
resulted in the publication of Healthy Futures 2010-2015: The Contribution of
Health Visitors and School Nurses (March 2010) which reinforces the
importance of integrated working and focusing on prevention and early
intervention through universal
services for all children and families.
Breastfeeding (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 59)
- In
England the Government’s Public Health Outcomes Framework published
in 2012 highlights the importance of “Breastfeeding initiation
and
prevalence of breastfeeding at 6-8 weeks after birth”. The National Infant
Feeding Survey conducted every five years since
the late 1950s shows a
continuous increase in breastfeeding initiation rates. The latest survey
published in November 2012 reported
an increase from 76% in 2005 to 81% in 2010
(Data annex table F2.16).
- Scotland’s
Improving Maternal and Infant Nutrition: A Framework for Action,
published in January 2011 sets out what NHS Boards, local authorities and others
need to do to improve the nutrition of pregnant
women, babies and young children
and supports and promotes the benefits of breastfeeding. The Scottish
Government fund UNICEF to
deliver Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) accreditation
in maternity hospitals and in community settings in Scotland. 80% of babies
in
Scotland are now born in a BFI accredited unit with the aim of increasing this
to 100% by 2015.
Supporting children with specific needs
Children with disabilities (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 53 (a))
- Children
with disabilities are protected against discrimination by the Equality Act 2010.
The Act requires schools to make adjustments
in practices, procedures and
policies so as not to discriminate against disabled pupils in relation to their
access to education
and associated services.
- The
Children and Families Act 2014 introduced a new statutory framework. The key
principles are to: place the views and interests
of children and young people at
the heart of decision making; avoid children being subjected to multiple and
repetitive interventions;
and improve awareness of the support and services
available. Local authorities and health commissioners will be required to assess
the overall education, health and social care needs in their locality and make
joint arrangements for commissioning provision to
meet them.
- Local
authorities will be required to publish a ‘local offer’ providing
details of the services they expect to be available
for local disabled children
and those with SEN across education, health and social care. They must provide
children with SEN and
disabilities and their parents with advice and
information, and involve them in developing and reviewing the offer. Local
authorities
must publish comments from them about the local offer, including
comments them about any gaps in local provision, and publish the
action they
intend to take in response to those comments.
- Children
and young people with more complex SEN who require support from an Education,
Health and Care assessment and plan will also
benefit from changes that
will:
- include
children, parents and young people in the assessment process and introduce a
legal right to request a personal budget to cover
their support needs;
- ensure
assessments and plans cover from birth to age 25;
- give parents a
greater choice of school and give parents and community groups the power to set
up special free schools.
- Introduction
of the new arrangements will be supported by £30 million which will be
available to recruit and train a pool of
‘independent supporters’ to
help the families of children and young people with special educational needs
(SEN) through
the new process and a £70m SEN and Disability Reform Grant to
help local authorities prepare for implementation of the reforms.
A Disability
E-Learning Portal is being developed by a consortium led by the Royal College of
Paediatrics and Child Health to provide
training material for disability workers
from all sectors, who work with children and young adults from 0-25 years across
the full
spectrum of disabilities.
- In
Scotland, the Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013
will make a number of improvements to the realisation of children’s
rights. The Act concentrates on the provision of choice to children and families
during their social care assessment. It provides
a variety of options for the
provision of support and it requires the statutory body to ‘give
effect’ to the child or
family’s choice. Scotland is taking forward
a programme of work implementing policy for disabled children and young people
in line with Getting it right for every child. This includes participation work
with young disabled people to increase their capacity
to identify and influence
decisions around self-directed support. In Northern Ireland, the
Executive’s new disability strategy is being delivered through the
Delivering Social Change (DSC) framework.
Children with
mental health needs (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 57)
- The
Government Action Plan, Closing the Gap: priorities for essential change in
mental health, highlights the importance of transition from CAMHS to AMHS
(Adult Mental Health Services) or other appropriate services, and support
for
schools in identifying mental health issues sooner. In England the UK
Government’s Pledge for Improving Children and Young People’s Health
Outcomes has, as one of its aims, improving
children’s mental health
through promoting resilience and mental wellbeing, and providing early and
effective evidence based
treatment for those who need it. Actions to achieve
this include:
- £54 million
2011-12 to 2014-15 to fund the Children and Young People’s Improving
Access to Psychological Therapies (CYP
IAPT) programme;
- development of
interactive e-learning programmes on mental health to extend the skills of those
working with children in universal
settings;
- £1.6
million per year (since 2007-8) to support the implementation of targeted Child
Adolescent and Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
within the HM Prison Service young
person’s estate (under 18s).
- Action
within the devolved administrations includes:
- In Northern
Ireland, investment in CAMHS has increased from £9.5 million in 2006 to
£19 million in 2013 including the development of a new
33-bed purpose built
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Inpatient Unit and developments in services
for eating disorders and crisis
intervention.
- In
Scotland a new mental health strategy was launched in 2012 which
identified child and adolescent mental health as one of its four Key Change
Areas. This work builds on the significant progress which has been made over the
last three years to improve access to specialist
CAMHS.
- In Wales,
the Mental Health (Wales) Measure
2010[18] ensures that there is
appropriate care in place across Wales and focuses on people’s mental
health needs, regardless of age.
Supporting
Vulnerable Young People: Health services in the secure estate
- In
England, following an investigation by the Children’s Commissioner,
responsibility for commissioning all healthcare services in the
nine Secure
Children’s Homes transferred to NHS England from April 2013. The Royal
College of Paediatrics and Child Health
published new standards in June
2013[19] reflecting the views of a
wide range of stakeholders, including children and young people in secure
settings. A new Comprehensive Health Assessment Tool (CHAT) for use with
under-18s is being introduced across the secure estate and will be
fully
implemented during 2014. A version for use in the community has also been
developed, piloted and validated. The Children and
Families Act 2014 makes
provision for health care for children and young people with Education, Health
and Care plans to be provided
in custody.
Adolescent Health (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 61)
Reproductive health education
- Under-18
conception rates are now at their lowest level for over 40 years. In England
and Wales the under-18 conception rate was 27.9 per 1,000 women aged 15-17
in 2012, a fall of 32.9% from 2007. Work continues to build upon
this progress
and reduce rates still further.
- In
England, the Government’s A Framework for Sexual Health
Improvement published in March 2013 aims to improve the sexual health of
young people through:
- all children
receiving good quality sex and relationship education at home, at school, and in
the community;
- all children
knowing how to ask for help, and being able to access confidential advice and
support about wellbeing, relationships
and sexual health;
- improving
understanding of sexual consent and issues around abusive relationships; and
- giving young
people the confidence and emotional resilience to understand the benefits of
loving healthy relationships and delaying
early sex.
- Similar
initiatives are taking place in Northern Ireland, Scotland and
Wales. The Welsh Government has funded a pilot scheme run by Public
Health Wales (PHW) during 2010-13. This aims to improve SRE in schools.
In
Scotland, children are provided with SRE in school and parents are given
support to discuss relationships and sexual health with their
children.
Preventing uptake of smoking amongst children and
young people – new measures
- The
Children and Families Act 2014 contains new tobacco control measures intended to
protect children from the harm caused by second
hand smoke and to reduce the
uptake of smoking amongst children and young people. These include making it an
offence to smoke in
a private vehicle when children are present, or to buy
– or attempt to buy – cigarettes or electronic cigarettes on behalf
of a person aged under 18. The Act also includes powers to make regulations to
prohibit the sale of electronic cigarettes (and potentially
other nicotine
products) to children and young people under the age of 18. The Act also allows
the Government to standardise tobacco
packaging if it is considered that this
will help in reducing the risk of harm to the health or welfare of children and
young people.
- These
new measures build upon action already taken by the Government to reduce the
availability and desirability of tobacco to children
and young people by ending
the sale of tobacco from vending machines from 1 October 2011 and ending the
display of eye-catching tobacco
products in supermarkets from 6 April 2012. The
measures on display of tobacco products will extend to small shops (and any
other
business selling tobacco) from 6 April 2015.
Substance
Misuse (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 63 (c))
- The
number of young people in England in 2012-13 who needed help for drug and
alcohol use fell for the third year running. Either cannabis or alcohol were
the primary
problem of 92% of the 20,032 who received specialist support. In
2012/13 the average wait for a young person to start getting help
was under two
days. The proportion of young people who left specialist services having
successfully completed their programme rose
to 79% in 2012–13 from 57%
five years ago. It should be noted that successful completions is taken as a
proportion of the young
people who left treatment in the year and not all
young people in treatment.
- The
Government’s Alcohol Strategy sets out measures to support its commitment
to reducing underage drinking. These include:
doubling the fine for persistently
selling alcohol to children; educating young people on the risks associated with
alcohol; and
addressing factors that can influence young people’s attitude
to alcohol, such as parental drinking and exposure to alcohol
advertising.
- The
Government’s Drug Strategy confirms our commitment to provide accurate
information to young people, and their parents/carers,
about drugs and alcohol
through education and the FRANK service.
- There
are 24-hour drugs and information helplines in Scotland ‘Know the
Score’ and in Wales ‘DAN 24/7’. Young people in
Northern Ireland have access to the National Drugs Helpline through the
FRANK service. Drug taking among young people in Scotland is now the
lowest it has been in a decade, with substance misuse education now being
delivered in schools across Scotland through
the national Curriculum for
Excellence. Substance misuse education in Wales is delivered through
the All Wales Schools Liaison Cre Programme. The Welsh Government invests
£50 million annually to support
Working Together to Reduce Harm, a
ten year strategy for tackling the harm associated with the misuse of drugs,
alcohol and other substances, supported by a three
year Substance misuse
delivery plan, published in February 2013.
Standard of living (CRC/C/GB/CO/4: Para. 65)
Tackling child poverty
- The
UK Government is committed to implementing the Child Poverty Act 2010 and
maintaining the goal of ending child poverty by 2020.
A draft of the Child
Poverty Strategy 2014-17 was published for consultation in February 2014. It
sets out how the Government will
improve the life chances of poor children
by:
- raising the
incomes of poor children’s families by helping them get into work and by
making work pay;
- supporting the
living standards of low-income families; and
- raising the
educational outcomes of poor children.
- The
evidence is clear that work remains the best route out of poverty - children are
around three times as likely to be in poverty
if they live in a workless family.
The Strategy outlines action to raise the incomes of poor children’s
families by helping
them get into work and by making work pay. These include
cutting tax for millions of people through increases to the personal tax
allowance, reforming the welfare system through Universal Credit, which will
lift up to 300,000 children out of poverty, and increasing
the National Minimum
Wage to £6.50 per hour from October.
- The
Government is also committed to supporting the living standards of poor families
by reducing costs of living, for example, by
reducing the typical energy bill
next year by around £50 on average, by tackling rising housing costs and by
increasing access
to affordable credit through expanding credit unions and
toughening up rules on pay-day lending.
- The
evidence also shows that poor children are four times as likely to become poor
adults as other children. The Government is breaking
the cycle of
intergeneration poverty through increasing poor children’s educational
attainment. This is being achieved through
the Pupil Premium, which will be
worth £2.5 billion by 2014-15, providing free school meals for all infant
school children from
September 2014, meaning an additional 100,000 poor children
will benefit, improving teacher quality, and extending 15 hours of free
education a week to 260,000 two year olds from low income
families.
- Based
on the latest statistics (2011/12) the number of children in relative income
poverty has fallen by 300,000 since 2010/11 and
is at its lowest level since the
mid-1980s. Although the number of children in absolute poverty increased by
300,000 over the same
period, combined low income and material deprivation has
remained about the same. This shows that families with children have not
reported a reduction in their capacity to buy goods and services.
- Local
Authorities are required by the Child Poverty Act 2010 to assess the needs of
children in poverty in their area and to produce
strategies to address those
needs. We believe that local people are best placed to understand the
needs of children in poverty in
their areas and to be able to develop innovative
ways of tackling these problems.
- Each
of the devolved administrations published Child Poverty Strategies in 2011. The
Northern Ireland Executive published Child Poverty reports in 2012 and
2013. A Child Poverty Outcomes Framework was published in October 2013 and they
intend
to publish a new Child Poverty Strategy in Spring 2014. The Scottish
Government published annual Child Poverty reports in 2012 and 2013 and a new
Strategy on 10 March 2014. The Welsh Government published a Child Poverty
Progress Report in 2013.
Sites for Traveller families
(CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 65(d))
- In
England, the UK Government’s Planning Policy for Traveller
Sites[20] expects local councils to
identify a five-year supply of suitable sites for travellers to meet objectively
assessed local needs and
£60 million in Traveller Pitch Funding has been
allocated, as part of the Affordable Housing
Programme[21] to help build new
traveller pitches and refurbish existing ones. The number of traveller
caravans on authorised sites[22] in
England has continued to increase from 15,750 (80%) in January 2010 to
16,000 (85.5%) in January 2013 and on unauthorised sites has decreased
from
3,600 (20%) in January 2010 to 2,700 (14.5%) in January 2013.
- In
Wales, the number of authorised Gypsy and Traveller sites has
increased since 2008; an increasing number of projects (41 in total) have
refurbished
sites and the total number of reported authorised sites as at July
2013 was 91. The Welsh Government has committed £3.25 million
to support
the development or refurbishment of Gypsy and Traveller sites, including
construction of a new local authority site, in
2013/14.
Chapter VI: Education, Leisure and Cultural Activities
(Articles 28, 29 and 31)
Introduction
- The
UK’s vision is for a highly-educated society in which all children have
the opportunity to do well, regardless of their
background or family
circumstances.
- In
England, the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage
(EYFS) 2012 sets the standards that all early years providers must
meet to
ensure that children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. It
promotes teaching and learning to ensure children
are ready for school and have
the knowledge and skills that will allow them to progress through school and
life. Measures to improve
quality in the early years include: reforming
early years qualifications, introducing new Early Years Educators and Early
Years Teachers;
and strengthening inspection.
- Schools
have the option to become academies, which encourages local innovation and gives
teachers greater freedom. We are also setting
up free schools to allow parents
and communities to develop new schools in response to parental demand, to
improve choice and drive
up standards. At September 2013, 174 free schools had
opened and another 116 had been approved to open in 2014 and beyond. Other
key
measures to improve the quality of schools and education include:
- School funding
has been reformed through the introduction of a pupil premium which focuses
resources on the most disadvantaged children
(see below);
- Teachers have
been given stronger powers to ensure good order in the classroom and address
poor behaviour at an early stage;
- A new, slimmer
national curriculum is being introduced from September 2014 focussed on
essential subject knowledge, especially in
the core subjects of English,
mathematics and science; and
- The (£2.4
billion) Priority School Building Programme has been introduced to rebuild 261
of the schools in England in the worst
condition, with a second phase, worth
around £2 billion, being funded from 2015 to 2021.
4. In Northern Ireland the revised curriculum
introduced in 2009/10, has literacy and numeracy at its core and is less
prescriptive in content, giving schools
and teachers the flexibility to tailor
their teaching to best meet the needs of their pupils.
5. In Scotland the new Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) is
designed to provide a coherent, flexible and enriched curriculum for individuals
aged 3 to 18 that will ensure that all
children and young people in Scotland
develop the attributes, knowledge and skills they will need to flourish in life,
learning and
work.
6. In Wales, the national curriculum subjects
for 3-19 year olds were revised and restructured in 2008 to ensure they are
relevant to the twenty-first
century. Other key developments include the School
Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013
[23], a new programme of long term
investment in the school infrastructure, and a new Education (Wales) Bill passed
in March 2014[24], to bring about
greater coherence and recognise the contribution of the education workforce.
Children’s participation in school matters
- In
England, over 99% of schools have measures in place that enable pupils to
have a say in the running of the school; and 95% have a school council.
Ofsted
seeks the views of pupils as part of school inspection. In Scotland, the
Pupil Inclusion Network Scotland (PINS) supports organisations working with
vulnerable or excluded children and young people.
Membership includes teachers,
local authority staff, health professionals and Police. In Wales, since
2009 it has been a statutory requirement for all maintained schools in Wales to
have a school council. Updated guidance Listening to and involving young
people (April 2012) includes the text of Article 12, which has particular
relevance to activities in schools to promote the pupil voice.
Reducing the effects of the social background of children on their
achievement in school (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 67 (a))
- The
UK is determined to address inequality in its school system and narrow the
attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their
peers. Examples of action
in England include:
- Free school
meals are provided for the most disadvantaged children (up to age 18). From
September 2014, all children in reception classes, year 1 and year 2 in
state schools will be entitled to a free school meal. We have amended
legislation
to make this a statutory requirement;
- Targeting
resource (some £2.5 billion a year by 2014/15) through the Pupil Premium to
help break the link between family background
and educational achievement. The
Pupil Premium was introduced in April 2011 and is allocated to schools to
provide support for disadvantaged pupils, i.e. those eligible for free
school meals and those who have been in care for at least six months;
- In 2012 and
2013, £50 million of the Pupil Premium enabled secondary schools to run
summer schools for disadvantaged pupils moving
into Year 7; and
- There is
additional funding for the Year 7 literacy and numeracy catch-up premium.
Schools receive up to £500 for each pupil
who did not achieve the expected
level in reading and/or mathematics in primary school.
Segregation of education in Northern Ireland
(CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 67 (i))
9. In line with the statutory duty to encourage and facilitate integrated
education, the number of integrated schools has increased
from 47 in 2002/03 to
62 in 2012/13, while the number of pupils attending integrated schools has also
grown by 37% from 15,700 to
21,500 in the same period.
10. The Together Building a United Community Strategy seeks to create more
opportunities for socially-mixed, shared education, with
a view to achieving a
full shared education system in Northern Ireland as a crucial part of breaking
the cycle of inter-generational
educational underachievement, unemployment and
sectarianism; and to improve good relations amongst and for young people.
Targeted
support (including an additional £30m over the next two years) is
being provided to support all pupils entitled to free school
meals.
Extra Support for Children in Care (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 67 (e))
- Children
in care have significantly poorer education outcomes than their peers. In
England, in 2013, only 15% achieved 5+ A*-C grades at GCSE including English
and Maths compared to 58% of non-looked after children. While
this gap is
smaller than the previous year, it is not closing fast enough. We are making
better progress on exclusions: in 2008/09
looked after children were four times
more likely to receive a permanent exclusion, whereas in 2011/12 they were twice
as likely
to receive a permanent exclusion. But we accept that there is still
further to go.
- Measures
to support the achievement of children in care include:
- a new provision
in the Children and Families Act 2014 which requires all local authorities to
appoint a ‘Virtual School Head’
to discharge the authority’s
duty to promote the educational achievement of the children it looks after;
- more than
doubling the pupil premium for children looked after by local authorities in
England (‘Pupil Premium Plus’)
from £900 in 2013-14 to
£1900 in 2014-15; and
- issuing a
Charter for Care Leavers which explains what young people should expect from
local authorities as they make the transition
to
adulthood.
- In
Scotland, the Scottish Government’s Children and Young People Bill
requires every corporate parent to be alert to matters which adversely
affect
the wellbeing of looked after children and formerly looked after young people
under the age of 26.
Inclusive education (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para: 67 (b))
- The
UK is committed to ensuring that children from disadvantaged, marginalised and
school-distant groups have access to an inclusive
education.
- In
England, the Government is piloting a Virtual Head Teacher for Gypsy,
Roma and Traveller pupils. Funding has enabled local authorities involved
in
the pilot to appoint a senior dedicated individual to champion the interests of
Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils and monitor and
respond to issues of low
attainment and attendance. In Northern Ireland, the Inclusion and
Diversity Service (IDS) has been set up to strengthen and improve support to
newcomer children and young people
and their parents, primarily working through
schools. In Wales (2008) the Welsh Government provided schools with a
comprehensive guide in relation to all aspects of Gypsy, Traveller and Roma
education.
Grant funding amounting to £1m was approved in 2012-13 to
support Gypsy Traveller children to improve their attainment.
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)
(CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 53 (f)) and (CRC/C/GB/CO/4: Para: 53 (d))
- The
UK ratified the UNCRPD and its Optional Protocol in 2009 and is committed to the
inclusion of disabled children in the general
education system. A range of
measures have been introduced to help teachers in mainstream schools to better
meet the needs of pupils
with special educational needs or disabilities.
However, we also believe that special school provision may be more appropriate
for
children with specific needs which can better met outside their local
community; and that parents of disabled children should have
the same
opportunity as other parents to state a preference for the school at which they
wish their child to be educated.
Tackling bullying and violence in schools (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 67
(f))
- In
England, all schools must by law have a behaviour policy with measures to
prevent all forms of bullying among pupils including cyberbullying.
In addition
we have strengthened teachers’ powers to tackle disruptive behaviour and
allow them to search pupils for banned
items, delete inappropriate images or
files on electronic devices and issue same-day detentions. The Government has
produced advice
for schools on preventing and tackling bullying which sets out
schools’ legal obligations and signposts to expert organisations
that can
provide specific advice on a range of issues including cyberbullying. £4
million is being provided in 2013-15 to four
anti-bullying organisations: for
Beatbullying to train 3,500 11-17 year-olds to act as mentors; for the
Diana Award to train 10,000 pupils to act as anti-bullying ambassadors;
for Kidscape to train primary school professionals in 9 London boroughs;
and for The National Children’s Bureau consortium who will focus on
bullied children with Special Educational Needs and/or disabilities.
18. Ofsted inspectors hold schools to account on how well they deal with
behaviour and bullying. Inspectors take account of the types,
rates and
patterns of bullying, the effectiveness of the school’s actions to prevent
and tackle bullying and the use of derogatory
language, and the views and
experiences of pupils.
- In
Northern Ireland, guidance has been issued to all schools to help them to
develop an anti-bullying culture. All schools must have in place a Discipline
Policy which includes details of anti-bullying measures. In Scotland, The
Government’s 'A National Approach to Anti-Bullying for Scotland's
Children and Young People' published in 2010, aims to ensure that all
relevant agencies are taking a coherent and holistic approach to anti-bullying.
Respectme, the Scottish Government’s delivery arm for anti-bullying
work, was launched in 2007 and helps to build adults’ confidence
and
skills for recognising and dealing with all kinds of bullying. In Wales,
head teachers and education establishments must by law have a policy in place on
how they and their schools address the problem
of bullying. Guidance to schools
focuses on bullying related to: race, religion and culture, SEN and disability,
homophobia and
cyber bullying.
School exclusions (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 67 (d))
- The
UN Committee was rightly concerned in 2008 that the number of permanent and
temporary school exclusions remained high. We have
made some progress: In
England, between 2007/08 and 2011/12, the number of permanent exclusions
in England fell by over a third, from 8,130 to 5,170 (data annex
table G26). In
Northern Ireland, the number of exclusions has fallen by almost 58% since
2006/07. In Scotland, exclusion from Scottish schools has decreased
by 40% since 2006/07. A variety of measures are underway to continue this
improvement.
- In
England, new statutory guidance emphasises the need for all exclusions to
be legal, reasonable and fair, the importance of schools adhering
to their
responsibilities under equalities legislation, and the value of early
intervention to address behavioural issues before
they escalate. It makes
clear that permanent exclusion should only be used as a last resort, in response
to a serious breach or
persistent breaches of the school’s behaviour
policy and/or where allowing a pupil to remain in school would seriously harm
their own or other pupils’ education or welfare. School inspections focus
on schools’ use of exclusion and differential
rates of exclusion for
groups of pupils.
- In
Scotland, the Government’s guidance on exclusions notes that the
duty to provide education does not stop when a pupil is excluded (either
temporarily or permanently) and that it is reasonable to expect alternative
provision to be in place within 3 days of the decision
to exclude. In
Wales, teachers, head teachers, governing bodies, LAs and independent
appeals panels must take account of guidance on Exclusion from Schools and
Pupil Referral Units published in 2012, including where an exclusion has
been unavoidable, how the education of the excluded pupil must be maintained.
Right to appeal against exclusions and right to appeal to SEN
tribunals
- The
UK has responded to the Committee’s 2008 recommendation that children,
particularly those in alternative care, should have
a right to appeal against
their exclusion.
- In
England, revised statutory guidance makes clear that excluded pupils
should be supported to participate at all stages of the exclusion process.
Since September 2012, parents have been able to make a claim of disability
discrimination to the First-tier Tribunal in relation
to a permanent exclusion.
The Children and Families Act 2014 gives young people aged 16 and over the right
to make SEN appeals and
disability discrimination claims. It also provides for
the establishment of pilot schemes to test giving children under 16 the
right to appeal in respect of special education needs provision, disability
discrimination, and alternative care.
- In
Wales, the Education (Wales) Measure 2009 makes provision for children in
Wales to have a right to appeal in respect of SEN or to make a
claim in respect
of disability discrimination in schools. In Scotland, guidance includes
details of appeals against exclusion, including where pupils are looked after by
the local authority.
Alternative
provision (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 67 (c))
26. In England the Government is introducing radical reforms to
improve the quality of alternative provision (AP) for pupils unable to attend a
regular school, based on the recommendations from the 2012 Taylor
review[25]. The reforms
include:
- supporting high
quality providers to enter the AP market by allowing pupil referral units (PRUs)
to become AP academies and for AP
Free Schools to be established.
- attracting high
quality new teachers to PRUs by allowing a period in a PRU to count towards
their teacher training;
- allowing
mainstream schools to use AP for early intervention; and
- trialling a new
approach to exclusion in a number of local areas whereby schools retain greater
responsibility for arranging alternative
provision.
Increasing participation in learning post-16
- Across
the UK, the number of young people not in education, employment or training
(NEET) is going down. In 2011, 6.6% of 16-17 year
olds were recorded NEET, and
by 2013 this proportion had dropped to
4.5%[26]. While this represents
progress this group includes some of the most vulnerable young people and is an
ongoing concern.
- In
England, the age for participation in some form of education or training
was raised to 17 in 2013, and will rise to 18 in 2015. Under the
UK
Government’s ‘September Guarantee’, 16 and 17 year-olds are
entitled to an offer of a suitable place in education
or training. Local
authorities have clear statutory duties in relation to this commitment,
including through securing sufficient
suitable education and training
provision. In Northern Ireland, the strategy for young people not
in education, employment or training, Pathways to Success, supports a
cross-departmental, cross-agency approach to achieving better outcomes for those
young people who face barriers to participation.
In Scotland, Action
for Jobs, the Scottish Government’s youth employment strategy takes a
focused, all-Scotland, all-agency approach, working with the public,
private and
third sectors, social partners and business organisations. In Wales a
Quality and Effectiveness Framework (QEF) - launched in 2009 -supports
continual improvement in the quality of post 16 learning.
Right to leisure and play (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 69)
- There
is a firm principle across the UK that all children should be able to enjoy and
participate in culture, sports and leisure.
A broad range of provision is
available to support this.
Culture
- In
England, the Education and Inspections Act 2006 placed a duty on local
authorities to secure adequate leisure and recreation facilities and
activities
for children. The UK Government is making £292 million available between
2012 and 2015 to support pupils’
engagement in cultural and music
educational activities both inside and outside school. Government-sponsored
museums and galleries
all run world-class activities and events for children and
schools, with high levels of engagement. We have retained the free-entry
policy
which encourages children and other visitors from diverse backgrounds,
regardless of wealth, to visit and learn.
- In
September 2013, the Arts Council in Northern Ireland launched a Youth
Arts Strategy which provides strategic direction for arts organisations and
artists to engage with young people.
Similarly, the Arts Council in Wales
provides opportunities for children and young people to engage and participate
in the arts.
Sport
- The
London 2012 Olympics bid recognised the potential for the Olympic and Paralympic
Games to inspire more young people into sport.
The UK Government is helping to
achieve this legacy through: spending £450m on primary school sport and
£100 million of
lottery money and public funding on the School
Games[27] over the next 3 years,
£1 billion on the Youth and Community Sport
Strategy[28], helping young people
to take up sport as a habit for life, £155 million through Sport
England’s Places People Play programme to upgrade 1,000 local
sports venues, and ensuring that physical education remains a compulsory part of
the school curriculum.
- In
Northern Ireland, the 10 year strategy for sport and physical
recreation[29] includes a range of
targets and actions specifically aimed at improving children's participation in
PE and extra-curricular sport
as well as enhancing the level and quality of
sports coaching and facility provision for children up to 2019.
- In
Scotland, a draft Youth Sport Strategy was published for consultation
(including with children) in December 2013. The strategy is supported
by funding
of £5.8 million over the next two years to continue to help schools deliver
high quality PE and extend competitive sport in and between schools.
- In
Wales the Sports Council for Wales, with £24.7 million of Government
funding, has established the 5x60 scheme for schools to provide
opportunities
for extra curriculum sporting activities for secondary school age children and
young people. Nearly all secondary schools
have signed up to the
scheme.
Play
- In
England, between 2008 and 2011, the UK Government’s play strategy
provided funding of over £200 million to develop new or refurbish
existing
play sites (i.e. parks and playgrounds, in local areas), focusing on the most
deprived areas. By 2010, over 2,000 play
sites and 20 adventure playgrounds had
been built. Wider activities to promote and support play were also supported.
- In
Northern Ireland, in 2011 the Executive published an implementation plan
for its Play and Leisure policy. Up to £1.6 million is being provided
to
champion play, build sustainable support at community level and to make planning
and support for play central to the work of local
councils.
- In
Scotland, in 2013 the Scottish Government published its first national
Play Strategy setting out their vision for play in Scotland and the
action they will take to achieve this. The Strategy was developed together
with
the play sector and other organisations and in discussions with children to
ensure it was fully inclusive. Wales has legislated for play in
the Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010, which will require all local
authorities to undertake
play sufficiency assessments and develop play plans for
their local areas.
Transport
- Good
access to safe transport is key to regular school attendance and to allow
children and young people to take full advantage of
the sports, culture and play
facilities on offer. The UK has a wide network of transport options and routes,
many of which are free
or are available at substantially reduced prices for
children.
- In
2012 the UK Youth Select Committee conducted an enquiry into transport
issues which led to an increase in the involvement of young people
in the development of policies that affect them. The UK Government’s
Accessibility and Equality Action Plans published in December 2012 and its Door
to Door Strategy published in March 2013 aim to ensure
a transport system that
works for everyone. Specific policy developments have included encouraging
industry-led initiatives like
the BusforUs travel information website http://busforus.co.uk/ which aims to make
bus travel easier and more attractive for young people; and road safety
education.
Chapter VII: Special Protection Measures
(Articles 22, 30, 32-36, 38, 39, 40, 37 (b-d))
Asylum-seeking and migrant children (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4:
Para.71)
Detention of asylum-seeking, migrant and refugee children
- In
December 2010, the UK Government took steps to end the detention of children for
immigration purposes. A new staged approach to
managing family returns was
rolled out in March 2011 which places greater emphasis on engagement with
families and, where they do
not have the right to remain in the UK, encourages
them to leave without the need for enforcement action.
- Only
if a family fails to take up the practical assistance and opportunities to leave
in this way will the Home Office draw up a return
plan for the family.
This plan is referred to an Independent Family Returns Panel of safeguarding and
medical experts for advice
on how the welfare of the children can best be
safeguarded during the return. Options at this stage include a new type of
specially
designed secure pre-departure accommodation, known as Cedars located
near Gatwick Airport. The children’s charity, Barnardo’s,
provides
on-site care and welfare services for children to help them to prepare both
practically and emotionally for their return.
The maximum period of stay
is usually 72 hours, which can be extended to a week if it is authorised
personally by a Minister.
- A
separate process has been developed for families who arrive at the UK border,
where it continues to be necessary, on occasion,
to hold children and families
while enquiries are made to decide whether they can be admitted to the country,
or until the next available
return flight if they are refused entry. The
majority of children and families who are stopped at the border are held for
only short
periods at the port itself. If it is necessary to hold a family
for longer, they may be moved to the family unit at Tinsley House
Immigration
Removal Centre. There are a small number of other exceptional scenarios in
which children may be held in removal centres,
for example where it is in the
public interest because of a risk of reoffending or a risk to national security.
Appointment of guardians to unaccompanied asylum-seekers and
migrant children
- In
England, local authorities have a statutory
duty[30] to safeguard and promote
the welfare of all children regardless of their immigration status or
nationality. Unaccompanied asylum
seekers and migrant children have the same
status and benefits as children in care and have access to an independent
advocate who
can represent their wishes and feelings.
- In
Scotland targeted and intensive support is provided for asylum seeking
children through the Scottish Guardianship Service (SGS). The SGS works
with
children and young people who arrive in Scotland separated from their families
and who may have been trafficked from outside
the European Union.
Age disputed cases
- If
no documentation is available and there is doubt about whether an individual is
a child as claimed, they will be referred to a
local authority for an age
assessment and treated as a child until the outcome of the assessment is
known. The UK Government is
working with a range of organisations to
develop improved age assessment guidance for
practitioners.
Safe return of children
- The
return of unaccompanied children to their countries of origin only takes place
following a thorough case by case assessment, with
the best interests of the
child a primary consideration; and only where the child can either be reunited
with their parents or alternative
reception and care arrangements are put in
place. The UK rarely enforces the return of unaccompanied children to any
country. Most
unaccompanied asylum seeking children are therefore granted
limited leave for 30 months or until they are 17½, whichever is
the shorter
period.
Sexual exploitation and abuse (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 74)
Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)
8. In England in November 2011, the UK Government published the
national Tackling child sexual exploitation action
plan[31]. The plan set out
action on: raising awareness of CSE, protecting young people who are at risk,
prosecuting people who exploit children,
and helping victims and families get
their lives back on track. The Government was supported in this work by the
Office of the Children’s
Commissioner which carried out a two year inquiry
into child sexual exploitation in gangs and groups. In January 2013, the
Director
of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Association of Chief Police
Officers (ACPO) announced a ‘sea change’ in police and
prosecutorial
attitudes towards allegations of child sexual abuse (CSA). New CPS guidelines
require prosecutors on CSE cases to analyse
the credibility of the overall
allegation rather than just the victim, allowing common myths and stereotypes
around this type of
offending to be challenged in court.
9. The Government has reinforced its efforts to tackle sexual violence
through a new National Group on Sexual Violence Against Children
and Vulnerable
People (SVACV) which comprises a panel of experts and policy makers brought
together to co-ordinate and implement
the learning from cases of historical
child sexual abuse and current sexual violence prevention issues. The SVACV
National Group
published its first progress report and action plan in July 2013.
10. Similar action is being taken by the devolved governments. For example,
in Scotland the Scottish Child Sexual Exploitation Ministerial Working
Group is looking into what steps should be taken to improve understanding
of the
prevalence of child sexual exploitation in Scotland and how best to support
child victims.
11. In Northern Ireland, the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland
(SBNI) which supports and promotes effective inter-agency co-operation in
safeguarding
children has identified child sexual exploitation as a strategic
priority and developed a multi-agency action plan to address this.
An
independent expert-led inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Northern
Ireland was announced in September 2013.
- A
UK Government funded ‘Safeguarding Children in the Overseas
Territories’ (SCOT) project ran from 2009 -2013 focused
on capacity
building, strengthening inter-agency collaboration and the creation of National
Action Plans for child protection. During
2013, comprehensive child
safeguarding risk reviews were conducted in St Helena, Ascension and Pitcairn.
Technical support is being
provided to implement priority recommendations
arising from these reviews.
Violence against women and
girls
13. The prevalence of domestic violence and violence against women and girls
remains a major cause for concern.
14. In England, the UK Government’s 2010 strategy, A Call to
End Violence against Women and Girls’ led to an action plan published
in March 2011. Key measures included: £40m from 2010/15 for specialist
services for domestic
and sexual violence victims, the introduction of criminal
offences relating to forcing someone to marry against their will, new stalking
offences, summer campaigns about forced marriage in 2012 and 2013 and a
£1.4 million national campaign to prevent teenagers
from becoming victims
and perpetrators of sexual and relationship violence and abuse. The Government
published its third Action Plan
for England on International Women’s Day
2014 which is supported with nearly £40 million funding for the period
2010-2015
for services to victims, including local domestic and sexual violence
units, rape crisis centres and helplines. NHS England is also
increasing its
investment in paediatric sexual assault services.
15. The Government has embarked on a major campaign to prevent female
genital mutilation (FGM). FGM has been illegal in the UK
since 1985, and is
considered to be a criminal offence, but we are aware that it continues, often
when girls are sent abroad but
sometimes in the UK. On 6 February 2014, to mark
the International day for elimination of FGM, Ministers signed a new declaration
stating their commitment to tackle FGM. Actions included: making it mandatory
for NHS acute hospitals to provide information on
patients who have undergone
FGM, seeking views on how a civil prevention order might work alongside
the criminal legislation to protect potential victims of FGM, and launching a
£100,000
community engagement initiative. The Keeping Children Safe in
Education guidance published in spring 2014 draws schools’ attention
to multi-agency guidelines on a range of children’s safeguarding
issues,
including FGM. In 2013, we announced a new £35million flagship programme to
support the Africa-led movement to end FGM
to enable the United Nations (UNICEF
and the UN Population Fund) to support targeted work with communities and
leaders in 17 countries.
16. In Wales, a partnership between the
Welsh Government, Black Association Women Step Out (BAWSO), Henna Foundation and
led by the South Wales
Police, has developed and evaluated training in relation
to forced marriages, female genital mutilation and honour-based violence.
The
training was targeted at and attended by members from a cross-section of
agencies including voluntary and statutory sectors.
Treatment of child victims
17. In England, in 2013 the Government announced that pilots
would be held in three Crown Court locations for recorded pre-trial
cross-examination
of vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, which allow child
victims and witnesses to be cross-examined before the trial, and away
from the
court room. Sex offence trials involving vulnerable children are to be conducted
by a team of specially vetted judges who
will undergo ‘bespoke
training’ to help them protect weak and exposed child witnesses. Local
authorities are under a
duty to support child victims as agreed within
“The Third Party Disclosure Protocol” which came into force January
2014
and as part of their wider safeguarding responsibilities.
18. In
Scotland, the Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Bill received Royal Assent
on 17 January 2014. The reforms are part of the on-going Scottish
Government
Making Justice Work programme, which will improve the efficiency and
effectiveness of the justice system. Under-18s will be entitled to use a screen,
CCTV link or a supporter to assist them in giving evidence; and children under
14 who are not direct victims of a crime can have
their statement read out by a
carer. ‘Victim Support Scotland’ provides free and confidential
emotional support, practical
help and essential information to victims,
witnesses and others affected by crime.
- Northern
Ireland has a new five-year Victim and Witness Strategy (2013-18) which will
improve services for victims and witnesses of crime (including
children).
Legislation similar to England and Wales provides for a number of special
measures to protect vulnerable and intimidated
witnesses, including
children.
Protecting children from Commercialisation and Online Harm
Commercialisation and Sexualisation of Children
20. A concern for many parents is that their children are under pressure to
grow up too quickly. In England, an independent review set up by the
Government reported in June 2011[32]
and called on businesses and broadcasters to play their part across four
themes:
- The sexualised
imagery that has become a ‘wallpaper’ to children’s
lives;
- Clothing,
products and services for children;
- Children as
consumers; and
- Making
parents’ voices heard.
21. The Government welcomed the broad
approach recommended by the review and after 18 months published a stocktake on
what had been
achieved.[33] Much of the
action was voluntary and resulted from a strong commitment from businesses and
media regulators. Key changes included:
- fewer
advertisements using highly sexualised images in public places;
- family
television programmes shown at times of the day when children are likely to be
watching;
- making it more
likely to find children’s clothes which are age-appropriate; and
- a new ParentPort
website[34] to make it easier for
parents to make complaints, to get information on media regulation, and to
provide useful help and advice on
children’s use of the
media.
The risks associated with children’s increased use
of social media
22. Ofcom
reports an exponential growth in the use of social media amongst children giving
them new opportunities to develop friends and interests
but also exposing them
to risks such as cyberbullying, grooming and harmful content. The UK has
developed a robust child internet
safety protection programme through the UK
Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS). The Family Online Safety Institute finds UK to be a
leader in internet safety best practice and, EU
Kids Online reports that the UK is one of five countries with high internet
use amongst children yet relatively low levels of risk.
23. A key achievement is that the four major
ISPs will have prompted all new broadband customers in the UK to switch on
parental
internet controls by the end of 2014 thereby restricting access to
harmful content. From September 2014, the national curriculum
computing
programmes of study in England will encourage children from 5-16 to learn
about safe and appropriate internet use. A £25 million campaign to raise
awareness
of risks associated with the internet will also begin in 2014, and
Safer Internet Day is widely promoted every February.
Sale, trafficking and abduction (CRC/C/GB/CO/4: Para. 76)
- The
UK ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in
Human Beings on 17 December 2008 and the Convention
came into force on 1 April
2009. The UK Government published its Human Trafficking Strategy in July 2011.
Measures in the Protection
of Freedoms Act 2012 that came into force on 6 April
2013 permit the prosecution of UK nationals who commit trafficking offences
abroad and of those who commit non-sexual trafficking offences that occur wholly
within England and Wales. This enabled the UK to
ratify the European Directive
on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings in April
2013.
25. To strengthen the UK’s response to human trafficking, and action
to stamp out modern slavery, a draft Modern Slavery Bill
was published in
December 2013 for pre-legislative scrutiny. The draft Bill outlines the
Government’s intentions to:
- consolidate the
existing human trafficking offences;
- increase the
maximum sentence for human trafficking to life imprisonment;
- introduce an
Anti-Slavery Commissioner;
- restrict
movements or impose other prohibitions on convicted or suspected traffickers and
slave drivers, to mitigate the risk they
pose; and
- create a new
requirement on public bodies to report all suspected cases of human trafficking
to the National Crime Agency (NCA).
- Other
actions to tackle the issue across the UK include:
- In
England, the Refugee Council and The Children’s Society have
undertaken a review of the support and care of trafficked children. In
January
2014, the UK Government announced proposals to trial a new system of advocates
for child victims of trafficking. Following
debates in Parliament on this issue,
the UK Government has confirmed its intention to trial these advocates across 23
Local Authority
areas and to include an enabling power in forthcoming
legislation on Modern Slavery. The advocates will provide individual, dedicated
support, not only to those children trafficked across borders, but to those
trafficked within the UK. In addition, an e-learning
resource has been developed
to enable healthcare professionals to identify victims and provide better care
and support.
- Northern
Ireland issued joint guidance on the Working arrangements for the Welfare
and Safeguarding of Child Victims of Human Trafficking in February 2011.
- Scotland’s
national child protection guidance includes detailed advice on child
trafficking. The first Scottish Summit on Anti-Human
Trafficking was held in
October 2012.
- In Wales,
the Government published Safeguarding children who may have been
trafficked in 2008, imposing responsibility on Local Safeguarding Children
Boards to take account of the needs of children who may have been
trafficked.
An Anti-Trafficking Co-ordinator has been appointed to coordinate the best
possible support for victims and to make
Wales a hostile place for human
trafficking.
Administration of
juvenile justice (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 78)
- Overall
crime in England and Wales is down, proven offending by young people is
down, fewer young people are entering the criminal justice system and fewer are
ending
up in custody. This is likely to reflect a combination of factors,
including: more effective prevention work by Youth Offending
Teams (YOTs), more
proportionate responses to non-serious first-time offending, and more use of
alternatives to custody. Similar
reductions on these indicators are occurring
in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Age of
criminal responsibility
- The
position of the UK Government in relation to the age of criminal responsibility
in England and Wales has not changed since the last periodic
review. The UK Government believes that children aged 10 are able to
differentiate between
bad behaviour and serious wrongdoing and it is right that
they should be held to account for their actions. However, the UK
Government
also believes that custody for under-18s should be an option of last
resort.
- An
independent review of the youth justice system in Northern Ireland
recommended that the minimum age of criminal responsibility should be
raised. There are no plans to do so at present as cross-party
support
would be needed for such a change.
- In
2010, the Scottish Government increased the minimum age of prosecution to
12 and has committed to give fresh consideration to raising the age of criminal
responsibility
from 8 to 12 with a view to introducing any legislative change by
2016.
The use of Anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) with children
(CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 80)
-
In England, the Government believes that in the majority of cases
involving children, agencies should use informal interventions in the form
of
Acceptable Behaviour Contracts or warning letters before applying for formal
powers to tackle their anti-social behaviour. The
Government has introduced
legislation[35] to replace
Anti-Social Behaviour Orders with two new powers: a purely civil injunction and
a Criminal Behaviour Order. The new powers
will contain prohibitions to tackle
the anti-social behaviour, but they could also include positive requirements to
get a young person
to work with relevant agencies to address the underlying
causes.
- In
Scotland, the Government and local authorities have published a joint
Framework for tackling antisocial behaviour, Promoting Positive Outcomes:
Working Together to Prevent Antisocial Behaviour in Scotland. The Framework
focuses on prevention and early and effective intervention. Antisocial
Behaviour Orders for young people in Scotland
remain a measure of last resort.
Northern Ireland’s anti-social behaviour action plan has a focus on
intervention and diversionary activity. In Wales, the Government has
funded the Community Safety Volunteering Project to pilot a new and innovative
approach, using adult volunteers
with appropriate interpersonal skills to work
directly with young people known to be involved with/or at risk of involvement
in crime
and anti-social behaviour.
Use of Taser weapons
(CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 31)
33. The UK Government has carefully considered the UN Committee’s
recommendation that it should end the use of Tasers and Attenuating
Energy
Projectiles (AEPs) on children. While we support the recommendation in
principle, we believe it is impractical to implement
it while Taser is in use
for other age groups and officers’ first priority must be to defend
members of the public or themselves.
A similar approach is taken in Northern
Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
34. It should be noted that, on average, Tasers are only fired in about
a fifth of the cases where they are deployed. Less lethal
weapons are only
authorised following a rigorous evaluation and assessment processes; and having
taken account of relevant strategic,
ethical, operational and societal issues.
Senior police officers have the operational responsibility to decide what
equipment they
use, but they must consult Police and Crime Commissioners, and
any new equipment must go through the authorisation processes described
above.
The use of firearms by the police is governed by guidelines produced by the
Association of Chief Police Officers.
Making best use of alternative measures to detention (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4:
Para. 78(b))
- In
England, the majority of offences committed by children between 10 and 14
are dealt with outside the courts. Having the age of criminal responsibility
set
at 10 allows frontline services to become involved at an early stage and enables
robust measures to be put in place to prevent
re-offending and enable children
to develop a sense of personal responsibility for their actions. Provisions in
the Legal Aid, Sentencing
and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012 give the
police greater discretion in using out-of-court disposals to deal with offences
appropriately and proportionately, using their professional judgment.
- In
Northern Ireland very few children are sentenced to custody. The vast
majority of children who commit offences are dealt with in the community, mostly
through use of restorative practices. The extended use of police discretion
correlates with a sharp decrease (46%) in young people
entering the formal
justice system and corresponding reduction (29%) in prosecutions since
2010.
- In
Scotland, custody is an option of last resort for young people under age
18. The Scottish Government’s ‘Whole System Approach’
promotes the use of diversion from prosecution. Between years 2010-11 and
2011-12, the number of young people diverted from prosecution
increased by
59%.
Juvenile justice system (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 78(c))
- In
England, the vast majority of cases involving young offenders are tried
and sentenced in the youth court. Provisions in the Legal Aid, Sentencing
and
Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012 ensure that 17-year-olds are dealt with
as children rather than adults in court in remand
proceedings.
- In
2011, the Northern Ireland Government conducted a review of the youth
justice system, which involved a full public consultation, leading to a plan for
developing
a more proportionate response to offending by children, based on the
best interests of the child, to divert them away from the formal
criminal
justice system and towards non-criminal justice interventions.
- In
Scotland, children under the age of 16 are not prosecuted in court unless
under the explicit instruction of the Lord Advocate. The Children’s
Hearing System remains the primary forum for responding to the needs of children
involved in offending behaviour. Separately, the
Government has introduced the
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill, which will make key changes to criminal law
and practice relating
to the treatment of children whilst the subject of police
investigations.
- In
Wales, the Government is undertaking a consultation setting out proposals
to improve services to better meet the needs of young people
in, or at risk of
being in, the youth justice system.
Children in custody to be
kept separate from adults
- There
is a distinct custodial estate for under-18s in England and Wales
with young people always held separately to adults. This is also the case in
Northern Ireland, where the small number of children held in custody are
accommodated in a purpose-built child-centred facility, staffed by social
workers.
Education for all children deprived of their liberty
(CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 78(e))
- All
young people in custody in England have access to education and training,
which is subject to joint scrutiny by Ofsted and HM Prisons inspectors.
Currently 69% of
young offenders released from custody re-offend within
12-months. Following consultation on Transforming Youth Custody, which
set out the vision for Secure Colleges, the Government plans to introduce a
pathfinder Secure College which will open in 2017.
If it proves successful,
this will provide a blueprint for a network of Secure Colleges across England
and Wales to replace most
existing youth custody provision. The Children and
Families Act 2014 provides for greater continuity of support for children and
young people with SEN in custody, particularly in relation to Education, Health
and Care plans.
- In
Northern Ireland, education and vocational learning classes are compulsory
and form a core part of the ethos and regime of the Juvenile Justice Centre.
In Scotland, under-16s within the secure estate receive support in a
number of areas, including education. In Wales the Youth Justice Board
has produced guidance for Youth Offending Teams (YOT) about the special
educational needs of under-18s in
custody.
Juvenile justice in the Overseas Territories
- The
protection and promotion of human rights in each territory is primarily the
responsibility of the territory government and they
have a duty to ensure local
law complies with the relevant conventions and court judgements and is
non-discriminatory. The Cayman
Islands has enshrined a Bill of Rights - Rights
of Children - in its Constitution, which provides children with a right to
regular contact with their family whilst incarcerated; and states that children
be detained
as a last resort and only for the shortest period. The child is also
entitled to legal counsel.
- In
Anguilla, a juvenile residential centre now provides an alternative to prison
custody and the UK has assisted with training and
advisory visits and some
inward secondments of Anguillan staff. Other Overseas Territories are now
establishing similar facilities,
with ongoing UK support and
advice.
Ratification of international human rights instruments
(CRC/C/GBR/CO/4: Para. 81)
- We
have ratified the CRPD and OP Sale of Children, child prostitution and child
pornography, mentioned earlier in the report.
Appendix 1: Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed
conflict
Dissemination and Training
- Training
on the Law of Armed Conflict is provided at the start and throughout the careers
of service personnel. UK Military personnel
also receive mandatory
pre-deployment training, tailored to specific operational demands, as part of
their preparation for operations.
This training contains an Operational Law
package that includes sections on the Law of Armed Conflict, the Rules of
Engagement and
the Use of Force.
Direct involvement in hostilities
- No
service personnel under the age of 18 are knowingly deployed on any operation,
outside of the UK, which would result in them becoming
engaged in, or exposed
to, hostilities; and under-18s are not deployed on UN peacekeeping operations.
However, the optional protocol
does not preclude under-18s taking a direct part
in hostilities if: there is a genuine military need to deploy their unit or ship
to an area in which hostilities are taking place and, by reason of the nature
and urgency of the situation, it is not practicable
to withdraw them before
deployment or to do so would undermine the operational effectiveness of their
ship or unit, and thereby put
at risk the successful completion of the military
mission and/or the safety of other personnel.
Recruitment
- Overall
recruitment to the Armed Forces has declined and as the Armed Forces seek to
adjust and balance their manpower the number
of under-18s recruited reduced from
5,820 in 2008/9 to 2,460 in 2012/13. The UK will continue to recruit from the
widest talent
pool to sustain the required staffing levels for its Armed Forces.
However, it is very aware of the differing needs of every age
group and goes to
great lengths to ensure their specific needs are met. Parental consent must be
obtained before an under-18 can
undertake any assessment/selection activity and
then again before he/she enlists. In 2011, the Terms of Service Regulations for
the Armed Forces were amended to give all Service personnel under the age of 18
the right to leave the Armed Forces before their
18th birthday following an
appropriate period of consultation or cooling off.
Peace Education CRC/C/OPAC/GBR/1
- The
UK Government has issued a revised citizenship programme of study for schools in
England which emphasises democracy and the rights
and responsibilities of
citizens. The UK Government does not prescribe what schools should teach,
leaving it to them to raise issues
with pupils according to their age, needs and
interests.
Use of Firearms
- Current
policy recognises the need for those new to the Service to be appropriately
trained and supervised in the use of firearms.
During Phase 1 recruit training,
trainees are not assessed as competent to operate a weapon system safely until
they have passed
the relevant handling tests.
Captured child soldiers
- Since
the last review in 2008 the MOD has published Joint Doctrine Publication 1-10
for Captured Persons (CPERS) (2nd Edition, October 2011). This
doctrine sets out how armed forces personnel are expected to treat captured
persons on operations. Children,
defined as anyone under 15-years-old, are only
detained if necessary to prevent imminent danger to UK Armed Forces. They
must be
housed in separate accommodation from adult detainees (unless they are
detained as part of a family group) and must not be tactically
questioned or
interrogated.
- The
UK’s Strategic Detention Policy states that captured persons will be
permitted to correspond with the International Committee
of the Red Cross
(ICRC), which is informed as a matter of course about all detainees, and has
additional processes for contacting
relatives.
Military justice
- Under-18s
are subject to the same disciplinary arrangements as over-18s in the Service
Justice System, albeit that they have additional
rights to have a parent or
guardian, or appropriate adult, present when cautioned, and throughout the
custody process.
Arms Exports
- Under
UK export control law the export of arms to all destinations is prohibited,
unless authorised by a licence issued by the Secretary
of State for Business
Innovation and Skills. The UK will not issue an export licence if there is a
clear risk that the equipment
might be used to commit serious violations of
human rights, or of international humanitarian law.
International Assistance and Co-operation
- The
UK provided funding for the UN Office of the Special Representative of the
Secretary General (SRSG) on Children and Armed Conflict
in 2013. The UK will
continue to provide funds to the SRSG’s office in 2014 and 2015. The aim
of the funding is to increase
the SRSG’s capacity to monitor emerging
situations of concern in line with Security Council Resolutions 1612, 1882, 1998
on
children and arned conflict. The UK is also giving half a million pounds to a
UNICEF programme that will help improve the capacity
of African Union (AU)
forces to protect children and women in areas affected by the Lord’s
Resistance Army. We are providing
money over the next two years, some of which
will be used to fund a child protection adviser in the AU to collaborate with
the SRSG’s
office.
Appendix 2 – Innocenti score
cards
Material Well-being
In the 2007 report, the UK ranked
21st out of 24 countries on measurements of material
well-being. The UK was second from bottom in relation to the proportion of
children experiencing
relative income poverty, with over 15% of children living
in households where income was less than 50% of the median. The UK scored
better, however, on measures of child deprivation, with fewer children reporting
‘low family affluence’ or a lack of
material possessions compared to
their peers in other countries.
In the 2013 report, the UK had risen to 14th out of 29
countries. The UK had improved to mid-table in relation to the proportion of
children living in poverty, with 11% of children living
in households with
income less than 50% of the median. The UK remained in the top half of nations
on measures of child deprivation.
Health and Safety
In the
2007 report, the UK was ranked 15th out of 25 countries in
relation to this aspect of children’s well-being. The UK was in the bottom
third on measures of infant mortality;
low birth weight; and the proportion of
children who were immunised. However the UK had the second lowest rates of
mortality among
under-19’s resulting from accidents or injuries.
In the 2013 report, the UK’s overall ranking on health and safety
measures was 16th out of 29 countries, similar to the
UK’s position in the 2007 report. Again the UK ranked in the bottom third
on measures of infant mortality
and low birth weight, although there had been an
increase in the proportion of children who were immunised. However, the UK had
fallen
back from 2nd to 12th in relation to under-19
mortality rates.
Educational Well-being
The UK ranked
20th out of 24 countries in the 2007 report on measures of
educational well-being. The UK was in the top half on educational attainment at
age
15, but the UK’s overall position on educational well-being was less
positive, due to the UK’s low post-16 participation
rate and the high
proportion of 16-18 year olds who were not in education, employment or training
(NEET).
The findings in the 2013 report were broadly similar. The UK
ranked 24th out of 29 countries, a position that was again
driven by the UK’s low post-16 participation rate and high proportion of
NEETs. The UK
remained in the top half in relation to educational attainment at
age 15. The 2013 report included a new measure of the proportion
of children in
early years’ education, on which the UK ranked in the top third of
countries.
Relationships
In the 2007 report, the UK
was 21st out of 21 countries on measures of the quality of
children’s relationships. This low position was driven by issues related
to family
structure, with the UK having the second highest proportions of
children living in both single-parent households and in stepfamilies.
The UK was
in the bottom third of countries on the number of children reporting that they
ate their main meal with their parents,
but mid-table on children reporting
spending time talking to their parents. The UK scored lowest on the question of
whether children
believed their friends and peers were helpful and supportive.
There was no specific measurement of the quality of children’s
relationships in the 2013 report.
Behaviours and Risks
In the 2007 report, the UK was 21st out of 21 countries
on this aspect of children’s well-being. The UK was towards the bottom of
the table on measures of healthy eating
and consequently in a similar position
in relation to levels of obesity among children – although the UK was in
the top third
on participation in physical activity. The UK scored badly on a
range of measures including higher proportions of children reporting
smoking,
drinking alcohol, using cannabis and engaging in early sexual activity than
their peers in other countries. The UK also
had comparatively high rates of
teenage births. Children in the UK were more likely to have been involved in a
fight or experienced
bullying than children in most other countries.
This is the aspect of children’s well-being where the UK has made
the most progress, being ranked 15th out of 29 countries in
the 2013 report. There have been improvements in the levels of childhood obesity
and, while the UK is in the bottom
half of countries on measures of eating
behaviours, it is in the top half on rates of physical activity. The teenage
birth rate remains
high compared to other countries, but significantly fewer
children reported smoking, drinking alcohol or using cannabis in 2013,
compared
to 2007. The UK had improved its position in relation to both children’s
involvement in fighting and experiences of
bullying.
Subjective
Well-being/Life Satisfaction
In the 2007 report, the UK was
20th out of 20 countries on measures of subjective well-being.
It was ranked bottom on children’s self-assessment of their health; and
towards
the bottom on the number of children reporting that they liked school;
and on their assessment of their subjective well-being. In
the 2013 report, the
UK was 14th out of 29 countries on measures of life
satisfaction, being ranked just below the mid-point on a range of measures
relating to their relationships
with parents and peers.
Housing and
Environment
The 2013 report included measures of the quality of
children’s housing and environment, which had not been included in the
2007
report. On these measures, the UK was 10th out of 29
countries. The UK was ranked in the top third on the number of rooms per person
living in the household and on air pollution rates;
and was mid-table on
homicide rates among children.
Appendix 3: Devolution and new legislation
Devolution
Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are governed by their own independent
legislatures in respect of devolved matters. The level of devolution
varies for each nation and is summarised in the table below.
New Legislation
Since the UK’s last review in 2008, there have been several pieces of
legislation where the main focus has been on services
for children. These
are:
The Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 which,
among other things, provided for a statutory framework for apprenticeships and
created a right to an apprenticeship for suitably
qualified 16-18 year olds;
The Child Poverty Act 2010, which provided a statutory basis for the
commitment made by the Government in 1999 to eradicate child poverty by 2020.
Its stated
purpose was to give new impetus to the Government’s commitment,
and to drive action across departments. It also aimed to define
success in
eradicating child poverty and create a framework to monitor progress at a
national and local level;
The Children, Schools and Families Act 2010
which included, among other things, requirements for school inspections to take
into account the needs of pupils with special educational
needs (SEN) and
disabilities; provisions for an additional right of appeal for parents of
children with special educational needs
statements; and a requirement for local
authorities to provide full-time education for children and young people who,
for various
reasons, are in alternative provision;
The Academies Act 2010, which included provisions that would
enable more schools in England to become academies;
The Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 makes statutory
provision to tackle child poverty in Wales. It also makes statutory provision
with regards to play and participation,
childminding and daycare regulations and
also Integrated Family Support Teams;
The Education Act 2011, which provided for the introduction of
targeted free early years care for children under compulsory school age; made
changes to
provisions on school discipline; made changes to the arrangements for
setting up new schools; and amended the Academies Act 2010
to make provision for
16 to 19 academies and alternative provision academies;
The Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011,
which requires Welsh Ministers to have due regard to the articles of the
UNCRC and its Optional Protocols when developing new or amending
existing
policies and/or legislation and to produce a Children’s Rights Scheme
identifying the arrangements in place to ensure
compliance with the duties of
the Measure;
The Children’s Hearing (Scotland) Act 2011, which
made significant improvements to the Children’s Hearings System,
Scotland’s primary forum for supporting children
who are in need of
compulsory measures of support as a result their own behaviour or the behaviour
of others. The Act strengthened
the mechanisms for ensuring that a child’s
views are heard and taken into account as part of any Hearing and introduces a
number
of more general measures designed to place the child at the centre of the
proceedings. The legislation also further enshrined the
principle that a
child’s welfare must be the paramount consideration whenever decisions are
being taken by a Hearing;
The Children and Families Act 2014,
which, when enacted, will introduce reforms to: adoption and children in care;
aspects of the family justice system; services for
children and young people
with special educational needs; the Office of the Children’s Commissioner
for England, statutory
rights to leave and pay for parents and adopters; and
provides for both time off work for ante-natal care and the right to request
flexible working and provision for providing better support in schools for
children with medical conditions; and
The Children and Young People
(Scotland) Act 2014, which, among other things, supports the implementation
of Getting it right for every child across Scotland and introduces new
powers and duties which explicitly recognise the role of the UNCRC in
influencing the planning
and delivery of services and policies across
Scotland’s public sector.
There have also been a number of other
pieces of legislation that have been enacted or are in the process of being
scrutinised by
Parliament, which are not specific only to children, but which
nevertheless have significant implications for children’s rights.
These
include:
Border’s Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009
which, among other things, provided for judicial review applications in
immigration and nationality cases to be heard by the new Upper Tribunal
instead
of the High Court; and introduced a new duty on the UK Border Agency to
safeguard the welfare of children;
Equality Act 2010 which harmonised and in some cases extended
existing discrimination law covering the 'protected characteristics' of age,
disability,
gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and
maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
Specific
provisions included: extending protection from discrimination on the grounds of
gender reassignment to school pupils;
creating a unified public sector duty,
intended to promote equality in public policy and decision-making; and proposing
a new public
sector duty related to socio-economic inequalities;
Welfare Reform Act 2010, which set out the Coalition
Government’s proposals for reforming welfare, to improve work incentives,
simplify the benefits
system and tackle administrative complexity. As well as
introducing Universal Credit, the Welfare Reform Act makes other significant
changes to the benefits system, including: restricting Housing Benefit
entitlement for social housing tenants whose accommodation
is larger than they
need; amending the statutory child maintenance scheme; introducing a cap on the
total amount of benefit that
can be claimed; and providing for the establishment
of a Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission;
Domestic violence, Crime and Victims (Amendment) Act 2012, which
created the offence of causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable
adult;
Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act
2012, which covers a wide range of issues, including: taking some types of
cases out of scope for legal aid funding; introducing new powers
to allow
curfews to be imposed for more hours in the day and for up to 12 months; and
making provision to ensure that, where a person
aged under 18 has to be remanded
into custody, in most cases they would be remanded into local authority
accommodation;
The Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act
2013, and the wider policy underpinned by the Act, will make a number of
improvements to the realisation of children’s rights. Self-directed
support ensures that children and families who use social care services and
health and social care professionals can access support
through a wide variety
of options. It allows them to take greater control via a direct payment or an
individual service fund, as
opposed to receiving services arranged on their
behalf. This can lead to better personalised support and better outcomes for
both
the child and their family. The Act concentrates on the provision of choice
to children and families during their social care assessment.
It provides a
variety of options for the provision of support and it requires the statutory
body to “give effect” to
the child or family’s choice;
and
Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, which brought in a wide range
of measures, including: a new framework for police retention of fingerprints and
DNA data, and a requirement
on schools to get parents’ consent before
processing children’s biometric information; a code of practice for
surveillance
camera systems; a new regime for police stops and searches under
the Terrorism Act 2000 and reductions to the maximum pre-charge
detention period
under that Act from 28 to 14 days.
Appendix 4: Patterns of Expenditure on Children in the UK
Introduction
- Public
spending on children in the UK is substantial and wide-ranging. However,
identifying how much public spending directly benefits
children is challenging.
This is due to a combination of factors.
- In
practice, spending on children and young people is often done on their behalf,
either by central government, local authorities
or family members. Therefore, it
is inherently difficult to identify a causal link between expenditure targeted
at children and child
outcomes. This problem is compounded when we consider
‘pure’ public goods and services (i.e. national defence), where
the
whole of society benefits and individuals cannot opt in or out. Specific
policies may be targeted at a variety groups in society,
including children and
young people, although they are not the sole intended recipient.
- Furthermore,
the UK Government has a policy of devolution of resources to the frontline,
where they are spent in response to local
need. Local Government and other
locally based statutory delivery bodies are understandably resistant to the
central imposition of
burdensome reporting requirements, including those that
could be used to disaggregate expenditure by recipient characteristics.
- What
follows is a breakdown of total UK public expenditure against five key areas
that benefit children directly – these are
consistent with the UN
reporting guidelines. Of course there are many other areas of public expenditure
that will affect the wellbeing
of children. The areas of spending considered
here include:
- Social
Security (Benefits and Tax Credits);
- Health
services;
- Education;
- Early
childhood development; and
- Child
protection measures.
- The
main data sources used are the HMT Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis
(PESA) tables.[36] The PESA tables
combine actual and forecast expenditure data from across the devolved
administrations, central government departments
and local authorities. Public
spending is grouped against ten categories (education, health, defence, etc.)
which are then further
divided into more detailed sub-functions (for instance,
education is split into primary, secondary, administrative spend etc.). These
classifications are based on the UN’s Classification Of the Functions
Of Government (COFOG)
criteria.[37] The PESA estimates
show organisations’ best efforts to attribute public spending to those who
benefit.
- All
figures are presented in 2012-13 prices. Comparison of expenditure in cash terms
can be misleading, since general inflation erodes
the purchasing power of a
given amount of money over time. To allow for meaningful comparison, historic
figures have been adjusted
to reflect the fact that an equivalent level of
funding today will not buy as much as it would have done in the past. Consistent
with standard practice, figures have been adjusted in-line with the HM Treasury
GDP deflator[38] series. The
GDP deflator is a wider measure of inflation than the Consumer Prices Index
(CPI) or Retail Price Index (RPI) and is
used in preference, since the price of
all public goods and services will not necessarily move in step with the price
of goods and
services consumed by households, as captured in CPI and RPI. It
should be noted, however, that the results of the analysis will be
sensitive to
the choice of inflation measure used.
Overview of Public
Spending in the UK
- The
table below shows the total expenditure on public services since 2008-09 by
function. Social protection is shown to make up the
largest share of current
government expenditure (around 37% in 2012-13). This includes both cash
transfers (benefits and tax credits)
to households and spending by central and
local government on a range of social services. Health and education form the
second- and
third-largest areas of spend at 18% and 13% of total current
expenditure in 2012-13 respectively. Total public spending was equivalent
to
42.9% of GDP in 2012-13.
Total UK Public Expenditure by
Function – 2012-13 prices (£m)*
|
2008-09
|
2009-10
|
2010-11
|
2011-12
|
2012-13
|
General Public Services**
|
£57,260
|
£55,341
|
£69,393
|
£69,228
|
£67,038
|
Defence
|
£40,421
|
£40,297
|
£40,911
|
£39,345
|
£36,363
|
Public Order & Safety
|
£36,946
|
£36,456
|
£34,380
|
£32,601
|
£31,464
|
Economic Affairs
|
£53,779
|
£50,909
|
£40,535
|
£37,658
|
£35,342
|
Environment Protection
|
£10,133
|
£11,110
|
£11,381
|
£10,647
|
£11,061
|
Housing & Community
|
£16,742
|
£17,464
|
£13,505
|
£10,035
|
£10,152
|
Health
|
£119,390
|
£124,930
|
£124,979
|
£123,389
|
£124,354
|
Recreation, Culture & Religion
|
£13,663
|
£14,082
|
£13,498
|
£13,064
|
£12,192
|
Education***
|
£91,121
|
£94,548
|
£95,282
|
£88,811
|
£87,668
|
Social Protection
|
£224,067
|
£239,378
|
£240,711
|
£244,722
|
£252,196
|
Total Expenditure****
|
£696,315
|
£718,581
|
£722,606
|
£707,249
|
£675,651
|
(% of GDP)
|
44.0%
|
47.0%
|
46.2%
|
44.9%
|
42.9%
|
*Source: HM Treasury PESA table 5.2 (July 2013) converted into 2012-13
prices using GDP deflators.
**This mainly comprises payments on debt
interest
***Adjusted to reflect revisions to data supplied by DfE not
yet incorporated in the published PESA tables.
****Also includes EU
transactions and other adjustments
- The
table below shows the variation in total managed expenditure across the UK and
the devolved administrations. It should be noted
that not all expenditure can be
assigned to a particular jurisdiction; for example, this excludes the majority
of defence spending
which benefits the whole of the UK equally. Unallocated
expenditure accounts for around 20% of total managed
expenditure.
Breakdown of Identifiable Expenditure in 2011-12 by Constituent Country
– 2012-13 prices (£m)
|
Total Spend (£m)*
|
Share of Spend
|
Spend per head**
|
Expenditure (% of GVA)***
|
England
|
£458,872
|
81.5%
|
£8,641
|
40%
|
Scotland
|
£53,948
|
9.6%
|
£10,266
|
49%
|
Wales
|
£30,369
|
5.4%
|
£9,912
|
63%
|
Northern Ireland
|
£19,613
|
3.5%
|
£10,811
|
65%
|
UK Total
|
£562,803
|
100.0%
|
£8,900
|
42%
|
* Source: HM Treasury PESA table 9.1 (July 2013) converted into 2012-13
prices using GDP deflators
|
**Source: HM Treasury PESA tables 10.5 to 10.8 (July 2013) converted into
2012-13 prices using GDP deflators
|
***Gross Value Added (GVA) figures from the ONS
|
- Total
identifiable expenditure on all services ranges from around £8,600 per head
in England, to around £10,800 per head
in Northern Ireland. Compared with
the UK average, spending per head is 21% higher in Northern Ireland, 15% higher
in Scotland, 11%
higher in Wales, and 3% lower in England. Expressed as a
proportion of Gross Value Added (GVA), total expenditure in Northern Ireland
is
53% higher than the national average. In Wales it is 49% higher than the
national average, Scotland 16% and in England 5% lower.
- Differences
in expenditure between England and the devolved administrations are mainly
driven by higher levels of spending on demand-led
programmes, such as social
security benefits. This is known as Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) and is
typically higher in the
devolved administrations due to the larger proportion of
welfare recipients. Other differences may also be explained by the formula
used
to set limits on non-demand-led spend (otherwise known as Departmental
Expenditure Limits or DEL spending). Local administrations
also have their own
revenue raising powers (through taxes and fines, or charges) which can be used
to fund local public service provision.
- What
follows below is a detailed analysis of the amount of funding targeted
specifically at children. This is broken down by the core
areas of spending
identified above.
Social Security (Benefits and Tax
Credits)
- The
UK Government provides financial support to families with children through a
variety of routes, primarily designed to protect
the incomes of the poorest
households. Listed below are four of the main social security benefits that are
targeted specifically
at children. There are, of course, many other benefits
that are paid to households that will raise the living standards of children
(e.g. Working Tax Credit (WTC), unemployment benefits, Housing Benefit, etc.).
However, because children are not the sole intended
beneficiary of these
payments, these payments have not been considered here. The child contingent
supports for which data has been
included are:
Child Benefit is a payment that can
be claimed for each child in a household, usually paid every four weeks. There
are two separate amounts, with
a higher amount for the eldest child (currently
£20.30 per week) and a single rate for every other child (currently
£13.40
per week).
Disability Living Allowance (DLA) (for children) is designed to help
with the extra costs of looking after a child with disabilities. The amount that
can be claimed
varies between £21 and £134.4 a week, depending on the
level of help the child needs.
Child Tax Credit (CTC) is offered to carers with children under the
age of 16 or children aged 16 to 19 who are in certain types of education or
training.
How much families are eligible for depends on their income and other
circumstances.
Income Support (for children) is currently being phased out and
replaced with Child Tax Credit. It provided extra money to parents with no
income
or a low income, working less than 16 hours a week, who have not signed
on as unemployed.
- Households
also receive support for the cost of childcare through the childcare element of
the Working Tax Credit. These figures are
reported separately below, under Early
Childhood Development.
Spending on Child-Related Benefits and
Tax Credits (£m) – 2012-13 prices
|
2008-09
|
2009-10
|
2010-11
|
2011-12
|
2012-13
|
Child Benefit (GB)*
|
£11,963
|
£12,226
|
£12,254
|
£11,992
|
£11,778
|
Disability Living Allowance*
|
£1,214
|
£1,274
|
£1,271
|
£1,338
|
£1,391
|
Child Tax Credit (GB)**
|
£17,785
|
£20,302
|
£22,202
|
£23,320
|
£23,461
|
Income Support*
|
£1,598
|
£937
|
£659
|
£459
|
£292
|
Total
|
£20,597
|
£22,513
|
£24,132
|
£25,117
|
£25,144
|
(% of GDP)
|
1.3%
|
1.5%
|
1.5%
|
1.6%
|
1.6%
|
*Source: Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Benefit Expenditure
and Caseload Tables (Autumn Statement
2013)[39] converted into 2012-13
prices using GDP deflators.
**Source: HMRC Annual Report and Accounts
(various additions[40]) converted
into 2012-13 prices using GDP deflators. Figures in 2008-09 and 2009-10 do not
include adjustments for over- and under-payments,
and therefore are not directly
comparable with previous years.
- The
table above shows that the total amount spent on child contingent benefits has
increased in real terms by 22% between 2008-09
and 2012-13. This has largely
been driven by an increase in CTC spending, as a consequence of the recession
and the resulting fall
in household incomes. The amount spent on the DLA has
increased by around 15% in real terms between 2008-09 and 2012-13. This may
be
explained by an increase in diagnoses and/or increases in the survival rate of
children with severe disabilities. Whilst Income
Support relating to children
has fallen over the period, as noted, this is due to it being phased out and
replaced with payments
through the CTC.
Health Services
- Healthcare
provision in the UK is generally provided free at the point of use, although
some people elect to pay for private treatment.
According to ONS data, private
healthcare expenditure accounted for around 17.2% of total healthcare
expenditure in the UK in 2011.[41]
The data collected to form the PESA tables do not allow for a breakdown of
expenditure by COFOG classification. Therefore, the table
below simply shows
total public healthcare expenditure by country.
Breakdown of
Total UK Public Healthcare Expenditure – 2012-13 prices*
|
2008-09
|
2009-10
|
2010-11
|
2011-12
|
Total Health Spend (£m)
|
England
|
£98,834
|
£103,939
|
£103,450
|
£101,282
|
Scotland
|
£11,175
|
£11,319
|
£11,286
|
£11,183
|
Wales
|
£6,106
|
£6,323
|
£6,317
|
£6,123
|
Northern Ireland
|
£3,622
|
£3,678
|
£3,943
|
£3,903
|
Total
|
£119,737
|
£125,258
|
£124,995
|
£122,491
|
(% of GDP)
|
7.6%
|
8.2%
|
8.0%
|
7.8%
|
Spend per Head (£)**
|
England
|
£1,907
|
£1,992
|
£1,965
|
£1,907
|
Scotland
|
£2,162
|
£2,180
|
£2,161
|
£2,128
|
Wales
|
£2,018
|
£2,080
|
£2,071
|
£1,999
|
Northern Ireland
|
£2,035
|
£2,051
|
£2,184
|
£2,151
|
UK Average
|
£1,938
|
£2,013
|
£1,993
|
£1,937
|
*Source: HM Treasury PESA tables 10.1 to 10.8 (July 2013) converted into
2012-13 prices using GDP deflators.
**Spend as an average across the
total population within each country
- Overall,
total UK public expenditure on healthcare has remained at around 8% of GDP since
2008-09. Spending per head on healthcare
is highest in Northern Ireland (around
11% higher than the UK average).The difference in the levels of spending between
the regions
may be explained by a number of factors, including the differing
health needs of the populations, take-up of private medical care,
the varying
costs of provision (e.g. prescription fees) and differing policy decisions
between the administrations.
17. Across the UK, there is no
systematic process for recording how much is spent on children’s
healthcare. Children’s
health is supported mainly through the National
Health Service (NHS), which is delivered through many local commissioning and
delivery
organisations. Consequently, it is not possible to say for certain how
much of the funding is spent on children. However, the Department
of Health does
collect data on the varying costs of treatments for different age groups. The
table below shows a high-level analysis,
supplied by the Department of Health,
of how much of Primary Care Trust (PCT) expenditure is likely to have been spent
on different
age groups. It is stressed that these are estimates only. These
figures demonstrate the general pattern of health expenditure, where
costs peak
for children at birth, decline significantly throughout childhood and then rise
during later life.
Estimated PCT expenditure on HCHS, prescribing and primary care, by age
group (2011-12)*
Common Age Bands
|
Average Cost per Head
|
ONS 2011 Census Based Population (000s)
|
Total Spend by Age band
|
Secondary Healthcare**
|
Prescribing Costs***
|
Primary Medical Services***
|
Total
|
0 to 4
|
£489
|
£24
|
£210
|
£722
|
3,329
|
£2,404m
|
5 to 14
|
£457
|
£28
|
£56
|
£540
|
6,058
|
£3,274m
|
15 to 44
|
£559
|
£66
|
£88
|
£714
|
21,511
|
£15,348m
|
45 to 64
|
£1,213
|
£193
|
£152
|
£1,558
|
13,480
|
£21,007m
|
65 to 74
|
£2,993
|
£401
|
£253
|
£3,647
|
4,592
|
£16,748m
|
75+
|
£5,377
|
£517
|
£388
|
£6,281
|
4,137
|
£25,988m
|
Total
|
£1,295
|
£155
|
£146
|
£1,596
|
53,107
|
£84,769m
|
*Figures based on 2011-12 PCT spend (£000s) on HCHS, mental health,
prescribing and primary medical services (source: DH Annual
Report and Accounts,
2011-12).
** Based on Nuffield weights for 2011 by age group in
England multiplied by size of population age groups in each year, and
constrained
to total HCHS spend each year.
*** Spend by age
group is for hospital outpatient and inpatient care only, but assumed to apply
to the whole of Health and Community Health
Services (HCHS). ie to also to
community based services delivered by hospitals, eg
midwifery.
**** Age cost weights based on the Information
centre Review of ASTRO-PUs 2008: Consultation document March 2009
Education Spending
- The
table below shows total education expenditure across the UK. Over the period as
a whole, total education spending appears to have
fallen. However, the PESA
sub-categories show this has mainly been driven by falls in the costs of
administrative functions, with
spending on subsidiary services falling by 23%
and administration by 50%.
Total Public Spending on Education in the UK–2012-13 prices
(£m)*
|
2008-09
|
2009-10
|
2010-11
|
2011-12
|
2012-13
|
Pre-primary and primary
|
£31,625
|
£32,093
|
£31,923
|
£31,485
|
£31,065
|
of which: under fives
|
£5,083
|
£5,172
|
£5,052
|
£5,106
|
£5,026
|
of which: primary
|
£26,542
|
£26,922
|
£26,872
|
£26,380
|
£26,039
|
Secondary education
|
£36,933
|
£38,473
|
£38,313
|
£36,680
|
£36,515
|
Post-secondary non-tertiary
|
£279
|
£390
|
£305
|
£224
|
£206
|
Tertiary education
|
£12,763
|
£14,082
|
£16,435
|
£13,326
|
£13,561
|
Education not definable by level
|
£869
|
£879
|
£1,087
|
£707
|
£674
|
Subsidiary services to education
|
£4,872
|
£4,468
|
£4,243
|
£3,946
|
£3,746
|
R&D education
|
£14
|
£16
|
£1
|
£9
|
£10
|
Education n.e.c**
|
£3,766
|
£4,148
|
£2,974
|
£2,433
|
£1,893
|
Total
|
£91,121
|
£94,549
|
£95,283
|
£88,812
|
£87,670
|
(% of GDP)
|
5.8%
|
6.2%
|
6.1%
|
5.6%
|
5.6%
|
* Source: HM Treasury PESA table 5.2 (July 2013) converted into 2012-13
prices using HMT’s GDP deflator.
**Administration, operation or
support of activities such as formulation, administration, coordination and
monitoring of overall educational
policies
- The
table below shows total UK spend on primary and secondary education. Primary
includes spending on pupils aged 5 to 11 and, for
secondary, pupils aged 12 to
18. These figures include spending on pupils taking vocational or academic
qualifications and pupils
in special schools.
Spending on
Primary and Secondary Education by Constituent Country - 2012-13 prices
(£m)*
|
2008-09
|
2009-10
|
2010-11
|
2011-12
|
2012-13
|
Total Spend (£m)
|
England**
|
£52,781
|
£54,757
|
£54,833
|
£52,863
|
£52,673
|
Scotland
|
£5,769
|
£5,636
|
£5,518
|
£5,410
|
£5,169
|
Wales
|
£3,067
|
£3,135
|
£3,007
|
£3,125
|
£3,076
|
Northern Ireland
|
£1,858
|
£1,863
|
£1,824
|
£1,657
|
£1,635
|
Total
|
£63,475
|
£65,390
|
£65,182
|
£63,054
|
£62,553
|
(% of GDP)
|
4.0%
|
4.3%
|
4.2%
|
4.0%
|
4.0%
|
Spend per Head***
|
England
|
£6,047
|
£6,285
|
£6,316
|
£6,088
|
£6,054
|
Scotland
|
£6,969
|
£6,870
|
£6,799
|
£6,638
|
£6,396
|
Wales
|
£6,007
|
£6,204
|
£6,032
|
£6,329
|
£6,262
|
Northern Ireland
|
£5,494
|
£5,556
|
£5,490
|
£5,018
|
£4,961
|
Average
|
£6,100
|
£6,303
|
£6,314
|
£6,108
|
£6,056
|
*Analysis of PESA data (July 2013) converted into 2012-13 prices using
HMT’s GDP deflator.
**Includes protected resource budget for
5-16 schooling.
***Spending as a proportion of the total number of 5
to 18 year olds in each country. Population estimates from the ONS.
- The
data shows total spend on primary and secondary education has remained
relatively constant, at around 4% of GDP, over the past
five years. It is
difficult to draw particular inference from the variation in spending levels
between countries. As elsewhere, differences
will be explained by local
variations in costs, the formula used to allocate money between the devolved
governments and differing
levels of protection applied to education spending.
For example, the Department for Education in England is protecting the 5-16
schools
resource budget through a real terms increase of 0.1% per annum over the
Spending Review period 2011-2015. Furthermore, England,
through its Pupil
Premium, has increased the level of resource it targets at pupils from the most
economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Total amounts allocated to schools
through the Pupil Premium, in England, increased by 59% in 2013-14 to £1.9
billion, with
schools receiving an additional £900 per disadvantaged
child.
-
It should be noted that spend-per-head figures may be misleading because they do
not take into account the proportion of pupils in
privately funded independent
schools. These estimates will therefore underestimate the amount spent per
pupil. Further care should
be taken in interpreting these figures as it is not
known how consistently the data has been reported across countries and, for
example,
the extent to which administrative spend has been disaggregated from
school spending at primary and secondary level.
Early
Childhood Development
Education Spending
- In
England, Scotland and Wales compulsory schooling starts at the age of five; in
Northern Ireland currently compulsory schooling
starts at age four. However, all
countries offer some form of part-time funded early-education provision, with
take-up on a voluntary
basis. In England, since September 2010, all three- and
four-year-olds have been entitled to 15 hours a week of free early education.
This represented an increase from 12.5 hours previously. In addition, since
2009, all 152 local authorities in England have been
delivering a targeted offer
of between 10 and 15 hours of free early education to some of the most
disadvantaged two-year-olds. From
September 2013 this has been extended to
around 20 per cent of the least advantaged two-year-olds, covering an estimated
150,000
children.[42] In Scotland
every three- and four-year-old is entitled to a minimum of 475 hours of
pre-school education, usually delivered as 12.5
hours per week over the school
year (38 weeks).[43] In Wales all
three year olds can receive up to 10 hours per week of funded Early Years
learning, to a maximum of three hours per
day.[44] Similarly, the NI Executive
has made a commitment to make one year of funded pre-school education available
for every child whose
parents want it. Provision is usually part-time, for a
minimum of 2.5 hours a day, 5 days a week for at least 38 weeks.
- The
table below shows total public expenditure on education for the under-fives.
This includes spending on Early Years education and
some spending on the first
year of compulsory schooling. The table below shows spending on under-fives
across the UK has remained
consistently at around 0.3% of GDP.
Breakdown of Under Fives Education Total Expenditure by
Country – 2012-13 prices (£m)*
|
2008-09
|
2009-10
|
2010-11
|
2011-12
|
2012-13**
|
England
|
£4,589
|
£4,696
|
£4,595
|
£4,603
|
£4,575
|
Scotland
|
£339
|
£328
|
£320
|
£308
|
£302
|
Wales
|
£100
|
£87
|
£73
|
£80
|
£85
|
Northern Ireland
|
£55
|
£61
|
£64
|
£114
|
£63
|
Total
|
£5,083
|
£5,172
|
£5,051
|
£5,105
|
£5,026
|
(% of GDP)
|
0.32%
|
0.34%
|
0.32%
|
0.32%
|
0.32%
|
*Source: Analysis of PESA data (July 2013) converted into 2012-13 prices
using HMT’s GDP deflator.
**Figures for 2012-13 are
projections only. This will be updated when actual figures become available
Tax Incentives and Benefits
- Through
the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit, parents can claim up to 70% of
a maximum of £175 of childcare expenses
per week for one child and
£300 per week for two or more children. This can be claimed on childcare
for children up to the age
of 15 (16 if they are disabled), so does not solely
relate to early years.[45] Figures
for the total amount paid under the childcare element of Working Tax Credit are
shown below for the whole of the UK.
Childcare Element of
Working Families Tax Credit – 2012-13 prices (£m)*
|
2008-09
|
2009-10
|
2010-11
|
2011-12
|
Value of Tax Credit (£m)**
|
£1,721
|
£1,729
|
£1,612
|
£1,238
|
Families benefiting (000's)
|
449
|
460
|
455
|
416
|
*Source: HMRC Personal Tax Credits: Finalised Award Statistics - Main
Tables. Table 3.2[46]
**These figures represent entitlement only and do not reflect
adjustments for under- and over-payments.
- In
addition, in exchange for a reduction in tax liability through Income Tax and
National Insurance Contributions (NIC) exemptions
employers may also offer their
employees childcare vouchers.[47]
Some employers also set up their own nurseries and offer places to the children
of their employees. The cost to the Exchequer of
these tax exemptions are
estimated by HMRC to be around £830m and £800m in 2011-12 and 2012-13
respectively (2012-13 prices).[48]
Comparable figures do not exist for preceding years.
Other Early Years Spend
- Sure
Start is a further policy targeted at early childhood development (children up
to the age of five) and is particularly aimed
at dealing with child poverty.
Sure Start services are mainly delivered through community-based centres,
designed to improve outcomes
for both children and parents through the provision
of integrated education, care, family support and health services.
- In
England, strategic responsibility for children’s centres rests with local
authorities. Prior to 2010, funding was provided
to local authorities via a
ring-fenced grant. Since 2010, Sure Start funding ceased, although funding has
been provided to LAs through
the unringfenced Early Intervention
Grant.[49] Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland each administer similar schemes. The table below shows total
current expenditure on Sure Start
programmes and their equivalents. In 2012-13
the Welsh Government budgeted £40m for Flying
Start.[50] Capital expenditure has
been excluded because comparable figures are not available over the period.
Current Expenditure on Sure Start Programmes - 2012-13 prices
(£m)
|
2008-09
|
2009-10
|
2010-11
|
2011-12
|
2012-13
|
England*
|
£910
|
£1,072
|
£1,172
|
£1,037
|
N/A
|
Scotland**
|
£66
|
£64
|
£62
|
£61
|
£60
|
Northern Ireland***
|
£22
|
£20
|
£23
|
£22
|
£23
|
*For the period 2008-09 to 2010-11, these represent DfE outturn
expenditure figures. For 2011-12, data has been taken from Local Authority
Section 251 returns (2011-12).[51]
Note the 2011-12 estimates do not include local authority management costs
relating to Sure Start Children's Centres. To put this
into context, LA
management costs came to £173m in 2010-11.
**Figures relate to
spending on Sure Start Strategy taken from Grant Aided Expenditure
tables.[52]
***Figures
supplied by the Northern Ireland Executive. Sure Start services in Northern
Ireland are delivered to children aged under-four
and their families within the
top 20% most disadvantaged wards.
Child Protection
- Due
to the way in which measures designed to protect children’s safety are
funded and delivered, it is difficult to identify
precise figures for how much
is spent on such a wide number of potential interventions. Funding for these
interventions will be through
multiple agencies, at both national and local
levels. The PESA tables do, however, break down local spending on
children’s
social services. These figures are shown in the table below.
Over the past five years, total UK spending on local children’s
services
has remained relatively constant at around 0.5% of
GDP.
Revenue Expenditure on Children’s Social Services -
2012-13 prices*
|
2008-09
|
2009-10
|
2010-11
|
2011-12
|
2012-13
|
Total Expenditure (£m)
|
England
|
£6,323
|
£6,794
|
£6,759
|
£6,542
|
£6,543
|
Scotland
|
£745
|
£793
|
£777
|
£715
|
£820
|
Wales
|
£429
|
£436
|
£446
|
£471
|
£456
|
Northern Ireland
|
£20
|
£20
|
£13
|
£171
|
£169
|
Total Spend
|
£7,517
|
£8,044
|
£7,995
|
£7,899
|
£7,987
|
(% of GDP)
|
0.47%
|
0.53%
|
0.51%
|
0.50%
|
0.51%
|
Spend per Head**
|
England
|
£564
|
£605
|
£599
|
£577
|
£573
|
Scotland
|
£712
|
£761
|
£748
|
£686
|
£789
|
Wales
|
£670
|
£686
|
£705
|
£744
|
£722
|
Northern Ireland***
|
£47
|
£47
|
£30
|
£398
|
£391
|
Average
|
£564
|
£603
|
£598
|
£587
|
£591
|
*Analysis of PESA data (July 2013)
**Total spending as a
proportion of all children under the age of 18.
***The very low levels
of relative spending between 2008-09 and 2010-11 implies some inconsistency in
how the data was reported prior
to 2011-12.
- To
provide some context, the chart below shows the breakdown of spending between
different types of children’s services in England.
The single largest area
of spend is on ‘looked after’ children. This generally refers to
children looked after by the
state, although definitions differ between England,
Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. In England this includes those who are
subject to a care order or temporarily classed as looked-after on a planned
basis for short breaks or respite
care.[53] This can include children
that continue to live with their families or those placed in residential care.
Breakdown of Revenue Spend by English Local Authorities in
2011-12*
*Source: Data from the
Department for Communities and Local Government - Local authority revenue
expenditure and financing [54]
- The
variation in levels of spend per head between countries will reflect both
differences in policy priorities and the proportion
of children looked-after
and, in particular, the proportion of children placed in residential care. Data
compiled by the NSPCC[55]
suggests the proportion of children looked-after is highest in Scotland (around
1.6% of children) followed by Wales (around 0.9%).
In England and Northern
Ireland it is significantly lower, at around
0.6%.
Appendix 5: Consultations with children and young people conducted by the
UK Government to inform policy and practice
The following is an extensive, but by no means exhaustive, series of examples
of activities by government departments in England through which
children and young people have been consulted on matters of national
significance and through which they have been
able to influence policy and
practice.
Cabinet Office (CO):
- As part of the
Democratic Engagement Project, the Cabinet Office launched two projects
in August 2013: the Democratic Engagement Innovation Fund and Rock Enrol! Youth
Engagement. These projects are
aimed at engaging groups which are currently
under-represented on the electoral register - these include 16 to 17 year- olds
and
people in social housing in regions across England and Wales. Rock Enrol! is
an interactive resource aimed at inspiring young people
to discuss and debate
what they care about, whilst considering why they should register to vote.
Cabinet Office developed the resource
with the youth-led organisation Bite the
Ballot.
Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG):
- Has provided
funding to support the National Youth Reference Group and Youth Homeless
Parliament which are made up of young people
aged 16-25 from across England who
are homeless/have experienced homelessness. The groups exist to assist national
and local government,
local authorities and organisations to develop and improve
their involvement opportunities for young people. In particular, the Youth
Homeless Parliament act as ambassadors for young people up and down the country,
giving youth homelessness a voice at the heart of
Parliament to MPs and
Ministers about emerging issues and personal experiences.
Department for Education (DfE):
- Received around
750 responses from children and young people to a consultation on draft
legislative proposals for a reformed Office
of the Children’s Commissioner
which ran from July to September 2012. The results were published in December
2012, alongside
a Written Ministerial Statement setting out how the Government
intended to move forward in light of the consultation responses.
- Engaged EPIC
– Equality, Participation, Influencing, Change – a group of 14
disabled young people across the country,
supported by the Council for Disabled
Children, in the SEN reform process to advise on changes to the SEN and
Disability part of
the Children and Families Bill during its passage through
Parliament. The new measures now enshrined in the Children and Families
Act 2014
will give children and young people with SEN a greater say in their education
and support. EPIC was also involved in a dedicated
consultation with disabled
young people on a draft SEN Code of Practice.
- ANV – A
National Voice (run by young people who are in care or who have been in care)
worked with the Department for Education
(DfE) throughout 2010–2011 to
build a national picture of the current position of Children in Care Councils
(CiCC's). ANV hosted
a series of regional meetings with the DfE and the Office
of the Children’s Rights Director involving young people and Lead
Workers
from every CiCC and many examples of the good practice recommended in their
final report were gathered during the course
of these meetings.
- Funding the
National Children’s Bureau alongside ANV to hold regional training
seminars in 2013 -14 for local authority elected
councillors and CiCCs to
promote the voice of the child.
- The
Children’s Minister meets with groups of children in care quarterly to
talk about how to improve the support they receive.
Separate Ministerial
quarterly meetings are held with care leavers and these meetings are organised
by the Care Leavers Foundation.
- Funded the Care
Leavers Foundation to consult with care leavers at events on the development of
a Charter for Care Leavers, which was launched in October 2012 and 118
local authorities have now signed up to the principles of the
Charter.
Department of Health (DH):
- An independent
Children and Young People’s Health Outcomes Forum, set up by the Secretary
of State for Health in 2012, was asked
to identify the health outcomes which
matter most for children and young people and make recommendations. The Forum
engaged with
some 2,000 individuals including children and young people and
their families. Improving Children and Young People’s Health Outcomes:
a system wide response published in February 2013 set out the
Government’s response to the Forum’s recommendations, including how
health organisations
are demonstrating how they have listened to children and
young people. At the same time the Under Secretary of State for
Children’s
Health launched the Better health outcomes for children and
young people pledge which committed signatories to improve health outcomes
for children and young people so that they become amongst the best in the
world
- In March 2013,
the UK Government asked the Forum to consider issues relating to standards of
care as they relate to children and young
people, particularly of culture
change.[56] The Forum’s
report in October 2013 was informed by the views of children and young people,
which were gathered on its behalf
over the summer by the National
Children’s Bureau.
- During spring
2013, the UK Government’s Department of Health hosted the placement of a
Youth Policy Advisor, as part of a wider
cross Government programme to work with
youth and improve engagement of children and young people. Through the
Building Bridge programme students were selected from local schools for
structured work experience placements, and actively encouraged to contribute
to
the Department's work in developing better health policies. Examples of policy
documents to which they have contributed include
the WHO report on
decision-making in healthcare, the NHS Future Forum report and, working
with the children of service families, the MOD’s health plan for service
children. The scheme gives students
the opportunity to see the work of the
Department first hand and also provides a unique opportunity for policy makers
to gain valuable
insight into how young people engage with and interpret these
health-related policies.
- NHS England have
consulted with young people on what matters to them about Health Services to
inform commissioning processes. NHS
England has established three initiatives to
engage children and young people: the Friends and Family Test, providing an
opportunity
to reflect on whether they would recommend the service to others; an
NHS Youth Forum to hold NHS England to account for the services
it delivers to
children and young people; and (developed with the Care Quality Commission) the
development of national surveys of
the experiences of children and young people.
- NHS England also
ensure that children and young people are active participants at meetings such
as the Annual General Meeting where
organisations such as the Council for
Disabled Children and Whizz-Kidz hold NHS services to account. NHS England is
rolling out over
2014-15 the Friends and Families Test which gives children and
young people routinely the opportunity to comment on NHS services
they receive.
- Young people
have chaired and participated in cross-organisational meetings hosted by NHS
England relating to children and young people’s
experiences of
Care.
Ministry of Justice (MoJ):
- Consulted with
young people on a number of occasions in developing the policy and new system of
restraint for under-18s in custody.
- Gathered the
views of children and young people in custody as part of an extensive
consultation exercise on Government development
plans for the secure estate
published in March 2012 – the views of young people had a direct influence
on the plans.
- Published a
young person’s version of their Transforming Youth Custody: Putting
education at the heart of detention consultation paper and used focus groups
across the youth secure estate to seek young people’s views during a
consultation which
ran from February to April 2013.
- Involved young
people in reviewing designs for posters about the complaints procedures form for
under-18 Young Offender Institutions.
- The Youth
Justice Board has introduced an Advocacy Service in the secure estate to make
sure that young people’s voices are
heard. This is an independent service
to offer confidential advice and assistance to children and young people in
custody in relation
to their care, welfare and treatment whilst in custody and
to ensure that their rights are respected at all times and their views
and
wishes heard.
- Alongside HM
Inspector of Prisons, the Youth Justice Board also carries out an annual survey
of experiences of young people in custody.
- Improving the
Code of Practice for Victims’ of Crime consultation (the Victims’
Code): Held a public consultation on a new Victims’ Code, which
governs the information and services provided to victims of crime by
criminal
justice agencies in England and Wales. The Code needed to be updated to reflect
changes already in place and to make it
easier for victims to understand,
particularly children and young people.
- To understand
and meet the needs of young people better, MoJ partnered with the NSPCC to
develop an online Victims’ Code discussion
forum, surveys on the ChildLine
website and two in-depth web chats on the young person’s section of the
Victims’ Code.
- The new Code was
published on 29 October. It includes a section dedicated to children and young
people under 18 and their parents
or guardians, written in clear, accessible
language. All children under the age of 18 are now entitled to an enhanced
service, such
as quicker updates on the status of their case and access to
therapy or counselling where appropriate. All service providers also
have a duty
to give primary consideration to the best interests of the
child.
Department for Transport (DfT):
- Aware of the
issues concerning inconsistent and expensive bus fares on offer to some young
people, the Minister of State has been
working with other government departments
and the bus industry to seek to address some of young people’s concerns.
- Working with the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in response to recommendation
from the Youth Select Committee
about improving transport in rural areas for
young people.
- Listened to the
views of young people and disabled young people, including from representatives
of the British Youth Council, National
Children’s Bureau, UK Youth
Parliament and Trailblazers, which is part of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, a
nationwide organisation
of 16-30 year-old disabled and non-disabled campaigners.
- Trailblazers,
the national network of more than 400 young disabled campaigners have met with
the Department to discuss accessibility
issues.
- Trailblazers
were also able to engage the Department on improving door-to-door journeys for
disabled people and contributed to the
Department’s Accessibility Action
Plan.
- In addition,
representatives of Trailblazers have been invited to speak at and, subsequently,
attend as observers the meetings held
by the Department’s Disabled Persons
Transport Advisory Committee.
- The Bus
Partnership Forum is chaired by the Minister of State for Transport It meets
with the Confederation of Passenger Transport
UK, major bus operators, local
authority representatives, Passenger Focus and Bus Users UK.
- The Bus
Partnership Forum provides an opportunity for young people to engage directly
with the DfT and bus operators with representatives from the UK Youth
Parliament and the British Youth Council invited to each Forum meeting. The East
Sussex Youth Cabinet also attended the Forum in 2012.
Home Office (HO):
- Funding (from
April 2012 – March 2015) 13 Young People’s Advocates working in
areas most affected by gangs to provide
direct and dedicated support to young
people who have been victims, or are at risk of, sexual and domestic violence
and/or sexual
exploitation. The Advocates provide direct support to young women
in gang affected areas who have been victims of, or are at risk
of sexual
violence or exploitation. They are also raising awareness of this problem with
young people, schools, sexual health workers
and social workers. In some areas,
the Advocates consult with young people on developing services that affect
them.
- Committed to
building work with boys and young men into policy development and support and
advice to the 33 priority areas under the
Ending Gang and Youth Violence
programme, so that issues around harmful attitudes towards women and girls are
addressed.
- A Young
People’s Panel was developed with the NSPCC to help further inform the
Government’s work on domestic violence
and abuse, following the change of
definition. The Panel has met four times over a period of 12 months. We are
currently reviewing
the format and focus of the panel to determine how it can
continue to inform policy thinking. The Panel demonstrates the
Government’s
commitment to hear the views of young people on decisions
that affect them.
Department for Work and Pensions
(DWP):
- In December
2013, DWP published "The disability and health employment strategy: the
discussion so far" https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-disability-and-health-employment-strategy-the-discussion-so-far
- This paper
included a chapter on "Enabling young people to make the transition to work"
which was informed by work undertaken by a
Task & Finish Group of disabled
people, educators, careers advisers and other experts. It also included
one of the DWP's Disabled
People's User Led Organisations (DPULO) Young
Ambassadors who was able to contribute the views of the Young Ambassador network
and
to test the Task & Finish Group's proposals with that group.
- The Department
is continuing to hold discussions on the strategy in the first half of 2014 and
young people and young people's organisations,
including for example the
Trailblazers network, have responded to the invitation to contribute to strategy
proposals. These include
a young people's portal on GOV.UK, knowledge
packs for parents, professionals and young people and work experience
initiatives which
the Department is currently
developing.
Ministry of Defence – in respect of the
children of UK Service personnel:
The MoD Children and Young People’s Strategy and Improvement
Plan promotes a range of participation strategies to ensure the children of
service personnel are consulted before programmes, projects
and issues that
affect them are developed and embedded in youth provision across the UK’s
Armed Forces locations, for example:
- An annual
Tri-Service Youth Forum gives young people the opportunity to contribute
directly to the MoD Children and Young People’s Strategy and
Improvement Plan, specifically on encouraging participation and influencing
developments.
- Youth Work
Pledges detailing the offer and commitment to young people have been produced in
consultation with young people and produced
in accessible formats.
- In an increasing
number of Armed Forces locations, young people sit on newly-formed local
Children and Young People’s Boards.
In
Northern Ireland
- During 2007 and 2012, the Participation Network,
funded by the Northern Ireland Executive, assisted Departments and Agencies to
pro-actively engage with children and young people when developing policy. The
Participation Network developed the ASK FIRST training
course on engagement;
provided training to over 400 public sector staff; and provided child friendly
versions of consultation documents
thereby assisting 60 public bodies to engage
almost 4,000 children and young people in decision making.
- Other examples of engagement include: the design of a transport card; and
Public consultation on NI Museums policy – development
of a
children’s version of the policy, consultation with local schools and the
establishment of a focus group of 16-25 year
olds.
- The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) in
Northern Ireland consulted on Minimum Standards for Children’s
Homes,
which set out standards around engagement, participation and involvement and the
taking of complaints by looked after children
living in children’s homes.
In Scotland
The Scottish Government has
undertaken a significant amount of work supporting children to contribute to the
development of policies,
legislation and practice.
- In 2010 Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People
undertook ‘a RIGHT blether’, a national consultation
exercise
involving over 74,000 children and young people. 44% of those involved had been
aware of their rights under the UNCRC prior
to the exercise. Following the
consultation it has been recognised that further work needs to be done to
increase awareness and understanding
of the Convention across the public sector
as well as amongst parents, carers and children.
-The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) has 150 members, with three national
sittings each year to discuss and debate motions, campaigns
and policy. The SYP
consulted on their manifesto and received nearly 43,000 responses from young
people across Scotland.
- At National Government level, children and young people have helped to
formulate policy on issues including domestic abuse, advocacy
and changes to
legislation focusing on the Children’s Hearings System, children’s
rights and children’s services
generally. For example, the 2012
consultation on the Scottish Government’s proposed Children and Young
People (Scotland) Bill
* captured the views of over 2,400 children and young
people.
* (now the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 following
enactment in February 2014)
In Wales
The Welsh Government’s Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010
places a duty on Local Authorities, working with their partners,
to promote and
facilitate participation by children and young people in decisions that might
affect them. It requires local authorities
to make such arrangements as they
consider suitable to promote and facilitate participation by children in
decisions of the authority
that might affect them, and to publish and keep up to
date information about its arrangements.
-The Welsh Government has provided grant funding for Funky Dragon for over 10
years. The grant facilitates children and young people’s
voices to be
heard at a national level, through their elected representatives; and enables
children and young people to engage with
organizations and key decision makers
to create dialogue and promote children’s participation. It also funds the
facilitation
of the involvement of children and young people in the monitoring
and reporting process to the UN Committee on the Rights of the
Child and holding
duty bearers to account.
-The Welsh Government has established a Ministerial Expert Group on Advocacy
(MEGA) to provide the Government with advice and recommendations
in relation to
commissioning advocacy services, implementing legislation and guidance, scrutiny
and checks to ensure high quality
advocacy services and advice on raising
awareness and understanding of advocacy for vulnerable children and young
people.
-A Young Persons’ Expert Group has also been established to sit
alongside the MEGA to ensure the voices of advocacy users are
heard when
Ministers are provided with advice and recommendations.
-The Welsh Government continues to provide funding for the Young Carers
Network in Wales. The network facilitates consultation with
young carers,
enabling the voices of young carers to be heard by policy makers. Part of this
work is to ensure that the young carers
are able to discuss their issues and
concerns with the Welsh Government on an annual basis.
[[1]] The full report can be found
at - http://www.justice.gov.uk/about/cbr/
[1]
This also relates to the UK in respect of non-devolved
matters
[2] The key legislative
provisions, case law and policy can be found at -http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/healthandwellbeing/b0074766/uncrc
[3] The Written Ministerial
Statement can be referenced via this link:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm101206/wmstext/101206m0001.htm
[4]
Subsequent to the referendum on further powers to the National Assembly for
Wales in 2011, proposed laws are now called Bills, and
enacted laws will be
called Acts. The Measures made since 2007 will continue to be called Assembly
Measures and will continue to
have the same legal effect. What will change is
that it will not be possible to make any more Measures and new laws made by the
Assembly
will be called
Acts.
[5] This also relates to
the UK in respect of non-devolved
matters
[6] Includes both the First
Minister and deputy First Minister in Northern
Ireland
[7] The
Strategic Equality Plan
[8] New
framework to improve child protection
practice
[9] Talk to
me: The national action plan to reduce suicide and self-harm in
Wales
[10] http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42/contents
[11] The 1950 European
Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is a binding international agreement that the
UK signed and ratified more than
half a century ago. The Convention rights apply
to all individuals and all age groups, without discrimination, in all 47 States
Parties
of the Council of Europe, including the UK.
[12] Foreword to Positive for
Youth - A new approach to cross-government policy for young people aged 13 to 19
- available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/positive-for-youth-a-new-approach-to-cross-government-policy-for-young-people-aged-13-to-19
[13] http://www.pcc.org.uk/cop/practice.html
[14] Section 11 of the Children
Act 2004
[15] The Children and
Families Court Advisory and Support
Service
[16] Transforming care: A
national response to Winterbourne View Hospital: Department of Health Review
Final Report (December, 2012) and
Winterbourne View: Transforming Care One Year
On (December 2013).]
[17] The
Government Improving Children and Young People’s Health Outcomes: a system
wide response and Better health outcomes for
children and young
people
[18] Mental
health (Wales) measure 2010 – Mapping of local mental health
services
[19] Healthcare
Standards for Children and Young People in Secure Settings
[20] Planning Policy for
Traveller Sites - www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/6078/2113371.pdf
[21] Traveller Pitch Funding - http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/ourwork/traveller-pitch-funding
[22] Gypsy and Traveller Caravan
Statistics - https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/199241/GTCC_Table_4_-_final.xls
[23] http://wales.gov.uk/legislation/programme/assemblybills/schoolstandards/?lang=en
[24] Education
(Wales) Bill 2013
[25]
Improving Alternative Provision – Charlie Taylor The Government’s
Expert Adviser on Behaviour http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/8/improving%20alternative%20provision.pdf
[26] http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/young-people-not-in-education--employment-or-training--neets-/february-2014/statistical-bulletin.html
[27] The School Games, set up in
2011, offers every school and pupil the chance to compete in a wide range of
sports regardless of ability
or disability. Around half of all schools in
England have signed up to the School Games, providing young people aged 5-16
with the
chance to regularly compete against their peers in a range of diverse
and inclusive sports.
[28] The
Youth (and Community) Sport Strategy aims to increase the number of young people
(aged 14+) developing sport as a habit for life.
Funding will pay for:
developing satellite clubs on school sites; investing in facilities –
including opening up school facilities
to the public; increasing the number of
young sport-making volunteers; and attracting less engaged/disadvantaged young
people through
targeted programs (Get on
Track)
[29] "Sport Matters: The
Northern Ireland Strategy for Sport and Physical Recreation, 2009
-2019”
[30] Section 11 of
the Children Act 2004
[31] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-child-sexual-exploitation-action-plan
[32] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letting-children-be-children-report-of-an-independent-review-of-the-commercialisation-and-sexualisation-of-childhood
[33] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letting-children-be-children-progress-report.
[34]
http://www.parentport.org.uk/
[35]
the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill
2013
[36]Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-expenditure-statistical-analyses-2013.
[37] For further information,
please see here: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/cr/registry/regcst.asp?Cl=4
[38] December 2013 deflators
available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gdp-deflators-at-market-prices-and-money-gdp-march-2013
[39] Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2013
[40] HMRC’s 2012-13
accounts available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-report-and-accounts-2012-13--3
[41] Office of National
Statistics (ONS), ‘Expenditure on healthcare in the UK: 2011 may
2011’, 2013. Available from: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171766_308689.pdf
[42] Two-year olds will be
eligible if they are looked after by the local authority or they come within the
criteria used to determine
eligibility for Free Schools
Meals.
[43] Available from http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2013/03/4564/5
[44] Available from http://wales.gov.uk/docs/dcells/publications/130716-building-brighter-future-en.pdf
[45] Her Majesty's Revenue and
Customs (HMRC), 'Help with childcare costs - do you qualify for extra tax
credits?', 2013. Available from:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/start/who-qualifies/children/childcare-costs.htm
[46] Latest figures available
from: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/fin-main-stats.htm.
[47]
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), ‘Paying for childcare- Getting
help from your employer’, 2013. Available at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/ir115.pdf
[48] http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/expenditures/table1-5.pdf
[49] http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/delivery/surestart
[50] Figures taken from the
National Evaluation of Flying Start - Area case study synthesis report (2013),
available from: http://www.sqw.co.uk/files/7513/8620/2634/131128-national-evaluation-flying-start-area-case-study-synthesis-report-en.pdf
[51] Available from: http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/strategy/financeandfunding/
section251/archive/b0068383/section-251-data-archive/outturn-data---detailed-level-2008-09-onward
[52] Available from: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/18209/2012-15settlement
[53] For further information see
NSPCC here: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/resourcesforprofessionals/lookedafterchildren/introduction_wda88884.html
[54] Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-communities-and-local-government/series/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing
[55] Numbers of children looked
after by county available from: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/resourcesforprofessionals/lookedafterchildren/statistics_wda88009.html.
These figures are then divided by the total number of 0-17 year olds in each
country to derive the relative proportions.
[56] This commission followed
the report by Robert Francis QC on standards of care at Mid Staffordshire NHS
Foundation Trust.
WorldLII:
Copyright Policy
|
Disclaimers
|
Privacy Policy
|
Feedback
URL: http://www.worldlii.org/int/other/UNCRCSPR/2014/9.html