CYP Now - Participation: Children quiz Hodge over proposals

Parliament had never seen anything quite like it: more than 150 children and young people from across England doing the Mexican wave in committee room 14, waiting for Margaret Hodge to arrive. "She's going to be a few minutes late," explained Hilton Dawson MP to a chorus of boos and hisses.

Unicef UK organised the youth lobby of Parliament last week to enable young people to quiz the children's minister on proposals in the Children Bill.

In the face of tough questioning, Hodge said she was determined to reverse House of Lords amendments that would allow the English children's commissioner to investigate individual cases, in line with the commissioner's counterparts in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. "I want the commissioner to look at the big picture," said Hodge, insisting that existing mechanisms for dealing with individual complaints were adequate.

When asked who would be in a position to decide whether a particular case had national implications, Hodge said the commissioner would have to work within the rules set for him or her.

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