Children and Young People

(asked on 14th January 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has plans to ensure that the voices of children and young people are heard in policy making; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Michelle Donelan Portrait
Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
This question was answered on 22nd January 2020

The government is committed to giving due consideration to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child when making policy and legislation. This includes, in article 12 of the Convention, giving children the right to express their views in all matters affecting them.

In order to help government departments give consideration to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, we have put in place a comprehensive children’s rights training package. This package is available across the whole Civil Service and includes access to a Child Rights Impact Assessment template. The tools in the package provide a structured way for policy makers to consider how their policies will impact on children’s rights and promote the voice of the child in policy making. We continue to encourage all departments to make use of the training and template so that consideration of children’s rights is further embedded in government policy and law-making.

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