New Clause 3 - Right of Commissioner to comment on court decisions
Children's Commissioner for Wales Bill
5:15 pm
Mr Win Griffiths (Bridgend, Labour)
We have considered new clauses 3 and 4 in detail, but some anxiety about access remains. I am not revealing any secrets, but I read the social services inspectorate reports when I was the Welsh Office Minister responsible for such matters. The questions most often asked during discussions on those reports with senior staff in the Welsh Office were about the physical location—we asked ``Where was this or that located?'' in response to comments made by the social services inspectorate.
In a case in which the inspectorate is accused of not doing its job properly, the commissioner must be able to visit premises, although I appreciate that he can get lots of information about premises in which problems are alleged to have occurred. For now, however, as this is our first run at such an important issue and there will be opportunities to revisit the matter on Report and in another place, I ask the Minister to reconsider whether the access issue can be resolved while avoiding the potential problems of duplication of function. In that spirit, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.
Motion and clause, by leave, withdrawn.