Clause 3 - Review of exercise of functions of Assembly and other persons
Children's Commissioner for Wales Bill
9:30 am
Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley, Conservative)
May I be the first to welcome you to the Chair of this Committee, Mr. Wells? I know that you will act with diligence and effectiveness in ensuring that we make as much progress as possible.
I suspect that, had Conservative Members been approached by the hon. Members for Cardiff, North (Ms Morgan) and for Bridgend (Mr. Griffiths), we might have considered adding our names to amendment No. 46. It is a shame that the hon. Members for Brecon and Radnorshire (Mr. Livsey) and for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd) are not here because amendment No. 42 clearly goes much wider than amendment No. 46.
It is clear that under amendment No. 42 that the Children's Commissioner will be able to say anything about anything. I have made it clear in previous sittings that I would not wish to see the commissioner handcuffed, but my hon. Friend the Member for North Dorset (Mr. Walter) raised the possibility of there being confusion about whether the commissioner would be able, willy-nilly, to make pronouncements about family lifestyles. We do not refer to abuse that takes place in the home. I have no statistics on it, but I imagine that a substantial amount of the child abuse that occurs takes place within the home, so it would be right for the Children's Commissioner to make suggestions on how to tackle it. However, he will have enough work on his plate without becoming involved in the detail of how people normally live their lives. I have some reservations about that, but, because of my belief that the Children's Commissioner should be involved in non-devolved areas, I am not certain whether amendment No. 46 would be sufficient.