Clause 3 - Review of exercise of functions of Assembly and other persons
Children's Commissioner for Wales Bill
6:15 pm
Mr Richard Livsey (Brecon and Radnorshire, Liberal Democrat)
Amendment No. 42 is more simple to debate than the previous amendment, which dealt with the grey area of incorporating the convention into British law.
We now return to part of the territory that we covered during the debate on clause 1. It is important to recognise that the provision in amendment No. 42 would be all-encompassing. It states:
The Commissioner may make appropriate representations about any matter affecting the rights or welfare of children ordinarily resident in Wales.
That is a one-off statement. It would mean that the remit of the commissioner could encompass all aspects of the rights and welfare of children who are ordinarily resident in Wales.
The amendment would allow the commissioner to be a truly independent watchdog and champion of children, and would strengthen the Bill in four key ways. First, it would allow the commissioner to report on potential and actual primary legislation that is outwith the Assembly. Secondly, it would give the commissioner the right to comment freely on non-devolved matters and functions that impact on children in Wales. Thirdly, it would enable the commissioner to represent the interests of children who are ordinarily resident in Wales, but who receive services or are accommodated outside Wales. Fourthly, it would allow the commissioner to consider, and make appropriate representations about, matters that proved to be key in the light of consultation and other forms of contact with children and young people in Wales.
As a constituency Member of Parliament for Brecon and Radnorshire, I know that children in Wales have considerable contact with areas outside Wales. Hon. Members may be aware that the boundary between Powys and England stretches some 132 miles—the equivalent of travelling from the Severn bridge to the Hammersmith flyover. The ways in which people move back and forth across that border are therefore legion. We have children in hospitals in Shrewsbury and Hereford. Others travel to Birmingham for treatment, while those from the south-east of Wales travel to Bristol. Sadly, there are also children who are sent to penal institutions across the border.
The points to which I have referred, including empowering the commissioner to comment freely on non-devolved matters and functions, are important. They touch on the Home Office in particular, and on local government in England, which we cannot ignore. Often, local government is responsible for children's homes and for fostering children. Several of my child constituents are in foster homes in Shropshire, for example. Members of the Committee may not be aware that my constituency has 12 neighbouring constituencies—more than any other in Britain—and people move around in all manner of directions. It is important that we represent the interests of children ordinarily resident in Wales but receive services or are accommodated outside Wales. That applies to hospitals, local government establishments and fostering services, and in various other situations.
Amendment No. 42 reflects the description of the general power of the National Assembly for Wales in section 33 of the Government of Wales Act 1998. If the Government were so inclined, they could adopt a wording such as, ``The Children's Commissioner may consider, and make appropriate representations about, any matter affecting children in Wales that is compliant with the Government of Wales Act 1998.'' Indeed, it is very important that we have such a catch-all clause.
In passing, I should mention amendment No. 46, which is relevant to amendment No. 42. Where amendment No. 46 states that the commissioner
may make appropriate representations to the National Assembly about any matter affecting the rights or welfare of children ordinarily resident in Wales,
amendment No. 42 is far more wide-ranging. It covers eventualities that I mentioned in relation to non-devolved matters, and services received, outside Wales.
The amendment echoes the wording of the Government of Wales Act 1998, in that it includes specific references to consideration, which would allow the commissioner to review issues of concern or potential concern. The Government have argued that the commissioner can comment informally on any matter, but how much weight is carried by an informal comment? How much power is there behind it? Informal comment is insufficient because the post is created by statute, so it must carry the force of statute.
The commissioner is required to act within his statutory authority. The Bill restricts the Commissioner's ability to do that, as outlined in the report of the Health and Social Services Committee of the National Assembly, although the job description for the post refers to that. Therefore, the commissioner will not be on a par with existing European children's commissioners and ombudspeople. That is especially true compared with Scandinavia, where I know that some members of the Committee have witnessed the legal weight carried by its commissioners.
The hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy and I—and perhaps other members of the Committee—support the amendment because the role of the commissioner must have teeth, not only with regard to the Assembly, which is obviously important, but to non-devolved areas. We must ensure that the commissioner is a champion for all Welsh children, wherever they may reside.