Schedule 1 - Children's Commissioner
Children Bill [Lords]
11:00 am
Mrs Margaret Hodge (Minister of State (Children), Department for Education and Skills; Barking, Labour)
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his probing amendment, which gives me the opportunity to make clear the importance of considering subsections (1) and (2) together. When the issue of the commissioner's independence was discussed in another place, there was concern that not providing the power to consider some individual cases would be seen as interference in the commissioner's independence. We were anxious to assure both Government and Opposition Members that we wanted an independent and strong commissioner. However, we did not want the commissioner to duplicate work undertaken by the ombudsman, the parliamentary ombudsman, the special educational needs and disability tribunal or many other bodies that could be mentioned. That is why we included subsection (2).
We recognised that there would be some individual cases that had a wider public significance and interest. Historically, the Victoria Climbie tragedy would be one such case. Some circumstances of that case, which were investigated by the local authority and social services inspectorate, as it was at that time, and could undoubtedly have been investigated by the ombudsman in terms of the administrative competence of some of those in the local authority, could have found their way through the judicial processes. However, the case raised issues of such wide significance for the protection of children that it warranted an inquiry into it and its wider ramifications. In subsections (1) and (2) we have
provided the commissioner the ability to decide for himself that an individual case has such wider ramifications and, in those limited circumstances, to establish an inquiry.