The next commissioner needs bite
Ravi Chandiramani
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The Department for Children, Schools and Families has fired the starting gun to recruit a children's commissioner for England to succeed Sir Al Aynsley-Green early next year.
Much has been made of the job's limited authority. Unlike counterparts in the other British nations, England's commissioner lacks the power to take up cases of individual children, as Sir Al has often bemoaned. This isn't about to change. By virtue of the very title however, the children's commissioner is in an unrivalled position to listen to and champion the views and interests of the young.
Sir Al's performance in this regard, according to many in the sector, has been underwhelming. Granted, as the first holder of the post, there was plenty of work behind the scenes to establish an office and build awareness. But the organisation, branded 11 Million, is this month being restructured. A five-year strategy formed only in 2007 has been torn up and replaced by a different three-year plan.
There have been some achievements under Sir Al. He has been a strong advocate of the rights of asylum-seeking children. And you will need to have been living in a cave to be unaware of the Buzz Off campaign against the use of Mosquito devices to deter young people from hanging around. But to what effect? A Children's Rights Alliance for England report this week finds the issue of children's rights hardly registers with the press. Indeed, the very idea is often lampooned in the media.
The next children's commissioner needs to be a versatile communicator of the highest order, accessible to children, government, media and the sector alike - somebody with a common touch and a bit of pizzazz. They need to transform the discourse on rights so it is taken seriously and be a resilient character to the rough-and-tumble of the media. The post is too important to be viewed as the icing on the cake of someone's career. Their impact will need to be immediate and indisputable - under a future Conservative government it cannot be taken for granted that the £3m office will continue even to exist.
Knighthood for Paul Ennals
Paul Ennals, chief executive of the National Children's Bureau for 11 years, has been knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours. Ministers and civil servants come and go but Ennals is a durable figure of unparalleled expertise in improving policy for all young lives. His recognition is richly deserved.
