CYP Now - NCB Now: Comment - Give real authority to the children's commissioner

As the Children Bill continues its progress through the House of Commons this month, one of the first debates is likely to be on the role of the new children's commissioner, the fourth such post to be created within the UK following appointments in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

The role of the commissioner was a surprise success during the Bill's passage through the Lords, when peers voted to strengthen its powers, giving it a clear rights-based function. But how long will these new powers survive?

Children's minister Margaret Hodge has made no secret of her wish to overturn the Lords' amendments, and revert to the Government's original proposals.

This will mean that the new commissioner will be charged with "promoting awareness of the views and interests of children in the UK" rather than "promoting and safeguarding the rights and interests of children in England", a change which will significantly weaken the role. There is a danger that the commissioner will become little more than a listening post: helpful in its own way, but without the authority to hold national and local government to account.

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