But fast-forward nearly two years and the mood of optimism has decidedly chilled. Indeed, there is a feeling among certain youth organisations that the commissioner has been slow to fulfil his brief of promoting awareness of children and young people and has largely failed to hold organisations to account and successfully scrutinise the Government. In fact, some are starting to question the value children and young people have received so far from the 3m-a-year office and the 130,000-a-year commissioner post.
Lack of action
Bill Badham, senior development officer (participation) at The National Youth Agency, says: "I would have expected the commissioner to have achieved more by now. I've been disappointed about how his time in charge has gone."
Badham's main concern is that the commissioner has focused too heavily on "softer issues" such as bullying and disability, rather than bringing about a fundamental change in government policy. "Don't get me wrong, bullying is a big problem, but it's not strictly the type of issue the Office of the Children's Commissioner was set up to tackle," says Badham.
"Bullying is generally committed by young people on other young people, whereas the purpose of the commissioner's office is to step in and challenge the Government and children and young people's organisations when they fail young people."
Anne Longfield, chief executive of 4Children, while widely praising the commissioner's work to date, also concedes that she would like to see him tackle harder issues. "He needs to be prepared to take on the difficult issues that the Government would prefer him to avoid," she says.
Among the harder issues that youth sector organisations would like to see addressed are the three areas identified by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2002 where the UK continues to fail children and young people. These are the ending of corporal punishment within the home, imprisoning young people only as a last resort, and the ending of detention and dispersal of young asylum seekers.
Zoe Hilton, policy adviser for safeguarding children and young people's rights at the NSPCC, says that the use of youth custody, in particular, needs to be addressed urgently. "The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is right to be alarmed," she says. "The UK's record is appalling."
This is not to say the children's commissioner's office is ignoring these areas. They are all included in one form or another in the office's eight priority themes. But Badham argues that, by having so many stated aims, the commissioner's office is spreading itself too thinly. "If the office focused on three issues identified by the UN committee, it would be sending out the message that it knows what the office is about and where it can make a difference," he says.
Limitations
There is a genuine recognition within the youth sector that the commissioner's hands are tied to a certain extent. The fact that his budget comes directly from the Department for Education and Skills and, ultimately, he has to report to a minister and not directly to Parliament, has led to accusations of the commissioner being little more than a "listening ear" of government. Hilton says that unless his powers are extended and he is given further independence, his ability to bring about reforms will be impeded. "There is a real concern about his powers to act," she says. "This is disappointing as there are lots of issues that he could tackle if he had more teeth."
Carolyne Willow, national co-ordinator of the Children's Rights Alliance for England, is equally keen to see an extension of the commissioner's remit but adds that she hopes Aynsley-Green will make more of his unique powers, such as having the authority to enter premises such as young offender institutions, and being able to require a response to his recommendations.
"We expect that the commissioner will use these powers more in the months ahead," she says.
But Brian Gran, assistant professor at the department of sociology at Case Western Reserve University in the US, believes that organisations should not expect too much, too soon from the commissioner. Gran has conducted a study into the role of children's commissioners worldwide and says the complexity of the role makes it difficult to bring about changes in policy and legislation. "To be blunt, a children's commissioner is a very challenging position," he says. "To be even more blunt, the concept is imperfect. The postholder may have to step around one issue to have success on what they consider to be a bigger issue."
But the youth participation and campaigning organisations would like to have seen Aynsley-Green make more of an impact. Kathleen Cronin, chief executive of the British Youth Council, says she is "slightly disappointed" by the amount of time it has taken to set up the organisational structure of the commissioner's office and adds that she hoped the commissioner would have engaged much more than he has with the voluntary youth sector by this point. "We anticipated the commissioner would have made greater use of existing youth sector networks to reach out to young people," she says.
Hopes for the future
Andy Hamflett, chief executive of the UK Youth Parliament, adds that so far the commissioner has only been a "qualified" success. He believes that Aynsley-Green has done a very good job of making the youth and participation sector aware of his presence, but more needs to be done to advertise his office to young people not involved in youth projects. "That will be an ongoing challenge," he says.
So is Aynsley-Green still the right man for the job? "I think so," says Badham. "The post needs someone who is used to dealing with government and Aynsley-Green certainly has that experience."
Hilton agrees but adds that it's too early to make a proper assessment of his success. "He hasn't been in the job long enough," she says. "And the time he has been there he hasn't been a fully functioning commissioner. He's been setting up his office and recruiting his team, all of which takes time."
But just how much time the youth sector is willing to give the commissioner's office before it demands more concrete results remains to be seen.
AYNSLEY-GREEN'S REPLY
Sir Al Aynsley-Green, children's commissioner for England
I am proud of my successes thus far. The building blocks for a thoroughly professional children's commissioner are now in place.
We have fitted out premises, recruited a team and undertaken a programme of policy development.
Much of our work is behind the scenes, building relationships with parliamentarians, ministers, officials and working in partnership with the voluntary and statutory sectors. We have given evidence to select committees, provoked debate and challenged legislation that undermines children's rights. I have focused attention on the needs of some of the most vulnerable young people in our society, speaking out on the lack of facilities for children with autism, the unacceptable use of adult wards for young people with mental health difficulties and the appropriateness of initiatives to tackle antisocial behaviour and youth offending.
Most importantly, I have met countless children and young people. Their views, along with those of the 3,000 young people who entered our Shout! competition, shape our work.
We now have a springboard for determined action but a huge challenge still lies ahead with the limitations in my statutory powers and a budget that equates to only 30 pence annually for each child in England.
In the spring we will launch our new corporate strategy. My focus is on making the best use of the powers I have to expose ill-treatment, invoke action and position the views, interests and rights of children and young people at the centre of policy and practice.
COMMISSIONER'S REPORT CARD
EXPERT COMMENTS SCORE
Bill Badham senior We're not getting to see what the key 5/10 development officer issues are and what the commissioner (participation) at should be dealing with. There is a lack The National Youth of focus about the Office of the Agency Children's Commissioner's intentions
Andy Hamflett chief We're all very keen to see some big- 7/10 executive of the UK hitting "wins" from the commissioner's Youth Parliament office, but I for one don't underestimate the challenges it has faced to actually get up and running. I would expect a lot more high-profile work from his office in the coming year
Kathleen Cronin We've been slightly disappointed by the 5/10 chief executive of amount of time it has taken to set up and the British Youth build the organisational structure of the Council office. But despite the slow start, we believe the commissioner will gain momentum
Anne Longfield I think he's done well and helped to 7/10 chief executive highlight some issues such as children with of 4Children disabilities and bullying. But I'd like him to help generate more energy and enthusiasm for young people, and encourage closer work between children and young people's groups
