Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to implement a young person impact assessment for future policy proposals and funding changes.

In 2010 the Government gave a commitment to Parliament that it would give due consideration to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child when developing new policies and programmes. The Department for Education has undertaken child rights impact assessments in respect of the legislative proposals leading to the Education Act 2011 and the Children and Families Act 2014. We will continue to put this commitment into practice.

Through the Children and Families Act 2014, the Department also introduced a new power for the Office of the Children’s Commissioner to consider the potential effect of government policy proposals and government proposals for legislation on the rights of children.

In addition, the new Family Test, announced by the Prime Minister on 18 August 2014, will also mean that every new domestic policy will be examined in terms of its impact on families.