My Lords, Amendments 245, 255A and 257 through to 262 deal with issues related to the Children’s Commissioner’s independence. The
independence of the commissioner is an important point of principle—and it is helpful to have this discussion, so that I may provide noble Lords with some assurances. I am grateful to all noble Lords involved in raising these issues, especially the noble Baroness, Lady Massey, my noble friend Lord Lester and the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, for speaking on his behalf—all of whom I know have long been passionate champions in relation to children’s rights.
John Dunford identified that a “perceived” lack of independence from government had affected the Children’s Commissioner’s credibility and, following his review, he made various recommendations to counter those perceptions. The Government have acted on his recommendations in full. We have removed the provisions that allowed the Secretary of State to direct the commissioner and the requirement for the commissioner to consult the Secretary of State. We are changing the terms of appointment to a single, six-year term, to remove the potential for political influence through the reappointment process. We have also made provision for direct contact between the commissioner and Parliament, including the laying of the annual report directly before Parliament and the ability of the commissioner to raise matters directly with Parliament.
I thank noble Lords who have spoken to Amendment 245 and give assurances that the Bill already provides that the commissioner has complete freedom in deciding his or her activities, timetables and priorities; under the primary function, it is made explicit that the commissioner has a free hand to investigate any matter relating to the rights or interests of children. Having carried out an investigation, the commissioner is free to make any recommendation that he or she deems appropriate.
It is true that as a non-departmental public body, the OCC is subject to some controls in relation to its spending. These controls apply to all NDPBs and are designed to ensure value for money for the taxpayer and to avoid unnecessary public spending at a time when the Government are seeking to reduce the budget deficit. Extremely important though the role of Children’s Commissioner is, I do not think that she should be completely exempt from these controls. However, where the commissioner has sought an exemption or relaxation from these arrangements and has demonstrated that they could compromise his or her independence, those requests have been granted. This arrangement seems to be working well and we see no need to change it.
The Government agree that the Children’s Commissioner should be accountable to Parliament through his or her annual report and are therefore grateful that the Joint Committee on Human Rights has made a commitment to hold an annual evidence session to scrutinise the commissioner’s work. I share the noble Lord’s concerns about overburdening the commissioner with reports to parliamentary committees but it is important for his or her independence that the commissioner is not accountable to the Secretary of State or another Minister. That is why we have welcomed the offer from the JCHR to hold an annual debate. This will be an opportunity for Parliament to ask questions and raise issues with the commissioner and, in turn, the committee will be able to raise matters with all the relevant Secretaries of State.
Amendments 257, 258, 259, 260 and 261 in this group concern the appointment of the commissioner, any dismissal of the commissioner and the involvement of Parliament in these processes. The role of the Children’s Commissioner is an important one and I fully accept that the appointment and dismissal procedures need to be fair and transparent. However, I do not think that it is necessary or appropriate to define the conditions for either process further than is already done in the legislation.
We have provided a note in the other place on how the appointment process is expected to work. That note explains that the appointment of the commissioner would be in accordance with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ code of practice. This ensures that candidates are appointed on merit, following a fair and open recruitment process.
The note also clarifies that children will be involved in the recruitment process and that we would expect Parliament, through one of its committees, to have a role in agreeing the job description and carrying out a pre-appointment hearing. However, the OCPA code of practice is clear that the parliamentary committee undertaking the pre-appointment hearing should not have a right of veto on the appointment. To pick up the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, about the Secretary of State explaining publicly if he disagrees with the Select Committee, I do not think it appropriate for such a public debate to take place about the suitability of candidates.
In addition, I do not consider that legislation is the right place to set out the personal qualities needed for the role. These will be determined by the panel that is established to lead the appointment process, which is chaired by an independent assessor appointed by OCPA, and subject to quality assurance by Parliament. I hope that this provides the necessary assurances.
On dismissal, the existing provisions represent a high threshold. A dismissal could potentially be subject to judicial review and overturned if it was found to have been made inappropriately. The courts provide ample protection against the commissioner being dismissed on arbitrary grounds. I would expect the Secretary of State to want to consult the chair of a relevant parliamentary committee before taking such a drastic action. However, there may well be reasons why such matters would need to be treated in confidence. I hope that noble Lords are reassured that both the appointments and dismissal processes currently in place are fair and transparent without the need for further prescription in legislation.
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Amendment 262 tabled by my noble friend Lord Lester and the noble Baronesses, Lady Howe, Lady O’Loan and Lady Lister, concerns the funding of the commissioner. I recognise, of course, that without sufficient funding the commissioner may be hampered in fulfilling his or her role. The Paris principles advise that an organisation such as the commissioner’s should have a budget that is sufficient to allow it to have an adequate infrastructure, staff and premises. Despite the economic pressures of the past few years, the
Government have gone out of their way to ensure that the commissioner’s budget meets these conditions. I can assure the Committee that we intend this to continue.
I understand that my noble friend Lord Lester would like to see greater certainty for this commitment by placing it in primary legislation. However, it is important that we do not commit future Governments to spending commitments when we do not know what economic conditions will prevail. The commissioner’s office cannot be immune from the same financial pressures that all other publicly funded bodies may face in the future. With regard to budgets, the Government must clearly act in a way which is reasonable and which reflects the roles and responsibilities of the commissioner. The Government will always listen to the views of Parliament on this or any other matter and will consider them very carefully before reaching a decision.
We will discuss in detail in the next group of amendments the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Howe, and the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss, on the active involvement of children in decision-making. I am glad that the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, found the note on our intentions in revising a framework agreement helpful. I am pleased that she has put on record our commitment to replicate specific provisions that have been agreed in respect of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission. I can give an assurance that Parliament will be invited to comment on the revised draft agreement at the appropriate time. We will liaise with the commission in producing a new version and will provide an update on Report.