My Lords, in addressing the House on Amendment 10, I disclose my interests as president of the Weidenfeld Fund, which focuses on bringing children of Christian faith to this country using resources provided by Jewish members of the community here. I also refer to my membership of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, which recommended the amendment we are considering.
On Report, the focus was on a similar amendment tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, who also supports this amendment. She was supported by my noble friend Lord Ramsbotham, the noble Baroness, Lady Wheeler, and the noble Lord, Lord Judd. That amendment was not moved and is not being pursued today. Amendment 10 makes it clear that all it requires is that when public bodies perform their functions, the authorities have to take into account the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In opposing both amendments on Report, the noble Lord, Lord Nash, displayed his customary eloquence in his enthusiasm for the United Nations convention. He said:
“Since the summer, the Government have reaffirmed their commitment to the UNCRC through a Written Ministerial Statement from the Minister for Vulnerable Children and Families. This reinforced our view that to achieve implementation of the UNCRC, every department across Westminster must be proactive in considering children’s rights in policy-making”.
I agree, and the objective of the amendment is to ensure that that happens. The Minister referred to a letter from the Permanent Secretary to his counterparts across government, challenging them and all their officials,
“to keep the principles and conventions of the UNCRC at the centre of their policy-making and implementation, and to engage children and young people in the process”.
He also referred to talking to the Children’s Commissioner,
“about how she might hold government to account in this respect”.
He expressed gratitude to noble Lords for tabling the amendments to which I have referred, and indicated:
“There are a number of additional steps we could consider, and we are keen to explore the benefits of the different potential approaches before deciding what further action might be taken”.—[Official Report, 8/11/16; col. 1089.]
Having regard to those remarks, I suggest that it is surprising that the Government are not welcoming this amendment enthusiastically and with open arms. It would place a minimum responsibility on the Government and require them to do no more than have,
“regard to the United Nations convention”.
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On Report, the explanation the Government advanced for not accepting the amendment was that they believed the best way to promote children’s rights was to listen to children and to act in ways that best meet their needs. In the Minister’s words:
“A duty alone will not do that, and risks practitioners focusing on the wording of the legislation rather than on practice”.—[Official Report, 8/11/16; col. 1089.]
Although I fully appreciate that there are good reasons for a Minister to focus on practitioners listening to children, I do not accept that the amendment could have the risks to which he refers in what the Government are commendably seeking to achieve. In addition, I suggest that the Government are failing to give sufficient weight to the adverse consequence of the impression that will be created by their opposition to the amendment when both the Government of Scotland and the Government of Wales have already exercised their delegated powers to give some statutory recognition to the convention. Those Governments say that positive results are being produced from the action they have taken, as one would expect, and we would like to see similar positive results here.
Earlier, the Government indicated that they do not wish to encourage a box-ticking approach to the convention, but again I question why it should be thought that this amendment will encourage such an approach. On the contrary, by giving statutory recognition to the convention in domestic law, the amendment would give it a higher status than it has at present. That increase in status would underline the admirable policy to which the Minister has eloquently referred while at the same time avoiding the risks that could follow in failing to accept the amendment. These are times when children need every bit of protection that can be provided. Organisations that seek to improve the position of children in this jurisdiction would be greatly encouraged by the Government demonstrating their commitment to the principles set out in the convention, in the way the amendment would achieve.
On Report, my noble and learned friend Lord Hope of Craighead drew attention to the fact that the Supreme Court, during his period as a justice of that court, always paid close attention to the convention. In addition, he drew the House’s attention to the Court of Appeal case of P-S (Children) in 2013, EWCA, Civil Division 223. In a judgment in that case,
Sir Alan Ward indicated that it was appropriate for a child to be allowed to give evidence in our domestic courts because of Article 12 of the UN convention, although the convention is no part of the domestic law of this country. Like any other treaty, the convention is binding on the Government in international law but is not part of our domestic law unless it is incorporated into domestic law by statutory authority. The noble and learned Lord, Lord Hope, who cannot be hear this afternoon, stated that,
“it would seem far better that England and Wales should follow the example of Scotland and legislate to put the matter beyond any doubt”.—[Official Report, 8/11/16; col. 1087.]
I strongly endorse those words and hope that the Government will listen to them.
The Government should not miss this opportunity to give limited recognition to a convention that seeks to achieve exactly the same results as they do. Parliament in Westminster should be as committed to the protection of our children as the parliaments in other parts of the United Kingdom. One is bound to inquire whether any other statutory vehicle could be used in the near future for this purpose. So far, I have not been able to ascertain the existence of any other such statutory vehicle.
On 16 November, the chairman of the Joint Committee on Human Rights wrote to the Minister in the other place. Today, we received a response—it was not positive. In the committee’s letter we referred to the fact that the amendment had attracted cross-party support at Report. We asked the Minister to set out the Government proposal that makes the committee’s recommendation unnecessary, including precisely how the Government will bring about the change the committee has asked to see, the timetable on which they propose to make the change and, if legislation is required, when that will be brought forward. The response we received today did not deal with the matters to which I have just referred with any clarity at all.
In addition to the views of the Joint Committee, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has also confirmed that this amendment is needed. In these circumstances, surely the Minister can give us the reassurance we are seeking: that in due course, statutory recognition will be given to the convention so that it becomes part of our domestic law and can benefit our children in the way that it cannot at this stage. I beg to move.