BIG INTERVIEW: The Belfast child sings again - Nigel Williams, children's commissioner, Northern Ireland

Since he founded the internet protection charity Childnet International in 1996, children's rights have been a subject close to Williams' heart.

"The Government was heavily criticised for its attitude towards young people when it was reviewed by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child committee last year," he says in a Belfast accent undiminished by the years spent living and working as a Liberal Democrat councillor in the south London borough of Southwark.

Williams took up his new role last week and his initial remit is to compile a report to establish the extent to which Northern Ireland measures up to the UN convention. "We need to get a snapshot of services for children and young people in Northern Ireland, to find out exactly how we match up against each article of the convention," he says. "We will be listening to young people's views and flagging up gaps in the system, as well as good practice."