Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing a Special Envoy for Children within his Department.

As a ratifier of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UK Government is committed to the promotion, protection and realisation of children's rights at home and overseas. Whilst the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office does not have a dedicated Special Envoy on Children, Ministers and Senior Officials regularly raise and advocate for increased awareness and action on cross-cutting issues affecting children through diplomatic and international engagement.

This is a priority for the Foreign Secretary: in January, he launched a new campaign to advocate for family-based care for children around the world, recognising the specific vulnerabilities faced by children in need of care and protection. Further, in November Baroness Chapman, Minister for International Development and Latin America and the Caribbean, represented the UK at the first Global Ministerial Conference on Violence Against Children.