In a united front, 121 organisations including the Children’s Charities Coalition, UNICEF UK, the Children’s Rights Alliance for England, Just for Kids Law and Save the Children UK, are urging Ministers to adopt a statutory duty through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to uphold and protect the rights of children.
Key rights include:
- access to an adequate standard of living
- the right to healthcare
- education
- safety from violence and abuse
- freedom of expression and privacy.
They argue that England is falling behind other nations such as Wales and Scotland in giving meaningful weight to children’s rights and embedding them into law and policymaking.
Longer-term, the coalition is demanding the full incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into UK law to afford children the fullest protection of their rights possible.
The UNCRC is a legally-binding international human rights treaty setting out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of every child (up to the age of 18), regardless of a child’s background or circumstances.
We believe this would have the potential to fundamentally transform how children’s rights are respected, protected, and fulfilled across England.
It would also deliver parity across the UK. Currently, children in Wales and Scotland have greater rights protections than children in England, or children impacted by decisions on reserved matters.
Specifically, they have asked Ministers to support two key amendments to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill put forward by Baroness Lister in Parliament today. These would:
- Require Ministers to consider children’s rights when delivering their functions as they relate to children’s wellbeing, social care or education.
- Introduce a statutory requirement for Ministers to prepare and publish a child rights impact assessment on any proposed legislation, policy, budgetary decision or other strategic or operational decision relating to children’s wellbeing, social care or education.
