Dr Simon Hoffman Swansea University Rights of Children and Young - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Wales Observatory on Human Rights

• f Children and Young People

Dr Simon Hoffman

Swansea University

Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011

Duty of due regard – section 1 ‘the Welsh Ministers must, when exercising any of their functions, have due regard to...’

• Part I of the Convention
• Specified articles of:
• Optional Protocol on involvement of the child in armed conflict
• Option Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and

child pornography Equalities context, e.g. R (Brown) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2008] EWHC 3158

• decision-maker to be informed and aware of what must be taken

into consideration

• must exercise due regard duty in substance, with rigour and open

mind

• duty must be integrated within the discharge of public functions

Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011

Additional mechanisms to support incorporation:

• Children’s scheme – section 2

Duty to make and publish a Children’s Scheme ‘…setting

• ut the arrangements they have made … for the purpose
• f securing compliance with the duty under section 1.’
• Complaints mechanism
• Clarification on responsibilities

“Six steps to due regard”

Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011 Additional mechanisms: Reports – section 4 The Welsh Minsters must ‘… publish a report on how they and the First Minister have complied with the duty under section 1.’

Has it made a difference? Human Transplantation (Wales) Act 2013

• soft opt-out organ donation (18+)
• soft opt-out not applied to children
• children to register their wish to donate their organs if they should die
• competent child - election treated as express consent

CRIA

• identifies relevant children’s rights issues
• consultation with children suggested soft opt-out should apply from age 16

Housing (Wales) Act 2014

• Ministers to introduce regulations to prevent finding of intentional homelessness

against certain households

• informed by considerations of the child’s right to adequate housing (Art. 27,

adequate standard of living) Caution

• Ministerial discretion whether to make regulations affecting children
• Act permits local authorities to circumvent the regulations in some instances

Has it made a difference? Well-being of Future Generations Bill

• to improve lives of people in Wales
• focus is tackling poverty
• Legislation does not refer to children’s rights or UNCRC

Does this signal a lack of political will to fully and expressly incorporate the provisions of the Convention in Welsh Law?

Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act 2013

• section 7 requires anyone who exercises functions under the Act to have

due regard to part 1 of the Convention No provision to remove defence of reasonable punishment in Wales

Key challenges – incorporation and the Measure

• How to ensure that the views of children are properly

represented and taken into account as an aspect of due regard

• How to monitor law and policy output in order to monitor

compliance with due regard

• Moving forward on incorporation on a sectoral basis
• Advocacy and challenge