Clause 4 - Inquiries initiated by the Commissioner
Children Bill [Lords]
2:30 pm
Mr Hilton Dawson (Lancaster and Wyre, Labour)
Welcome, Dame Marion, to this excellent Committee. As I was saying when Mr. Benton wisely interrupted me, I accept entirely the good sense of what my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, North (Julie Morgan) was saying, but given the provision in clause 5 for the English commissioner to be directed by the Secretary of State, is there not a problem about the establishment of protocol between the commissioners of the various parts of the United Kingdom? Will not that inevitably lead to the other commissioners feeling unwilling to engage in any protocols when they could be directed by the English commissioner, or when he could be directed to deal with children from their countries, rather than them dealing with matters themselves?