Education and Skills Bill

I support all these amendments. The Convention on the Rights of the Child is crucial here. It makes it clear that, in any proceedings affecting the child, they have the right to express a view. We are also talking about a new set of compulsions—I will not call them more than that. There are concerns about creating a criminal record. We are trying to avoid that and to make certain that it does not happen. Nevertheless, this is a new form of compulsion and it is essential that the child not only has the right to be heard but also the right to have an advocate to help them to express their views. That will be even more important when the child has a learning difficulty. I hope that we will have positive reassurances from the Minister.