Welsh Assembly Government’s Response to the Children’s Commissioner for Wales Debate

I welcome the second annual report of the children's commissioner and congratulate Peter Clarke and his team on such a clear, concise and accessible document. I am particularly pleased to see that the commissioner has continued to give priority to listening directly to children and young people. The Assembly Government shares that priority.
As you know, we support Funky Dragon, the children and young people's assembly, and we have asked local authorities to set up children and young people's fora, which link with their local children and young people's partnerships and with Funky Dragon. We hope that these fora will also be able to discuss issues with schools' councils, as these will be set up in all maintained primary, secondary and special schools by July 2005.
The children's commissioner and Funky Dragon have raised the concerns expressed by young people about the lack of respect that they are shown by adults. We take these concerns seriously and are committed to showing our regard for children and young people as young citizens, with rights and opinions that should be taken into account now. Children and young people can be active members of their local communities in so many ways. In addition to their active participation in out-of-school activities, leisure and sport, they have a key role in children and young people's partnerships and Communities First. The commissioner's views on the need to involve children and young people as we work with our partners to create the new planning system will be important.
The commissioner rightly continues to treat the needs of the most vulnerable children as his main concern. In responding to his report 'Telling Concerns', on advocacy, whistleblowing and complaints, we have taken action on all five recommendations made to us. I have also made clear my wish for advocacy services to be made available to all children and young people across Wales.
Peter focuses on the issues of children's health, particularly those of diet and exercise. We are taking action on these issues through our strategies and plans for improving the health and wellbeing of children and young people. Nutritional standards for school meals are now included in regulations and guidance, which encourage pupils to eat healthy foods. Over 300 schools in the Welsh network of healthy school schemes work on issues related to diet and nutrition and have set up fruit tuck shops. We will be providing all primary school children in Wales with free breakfasts, beginning with pilot projects in Communities First areas in September this year. Food and fitness for children and young people is a key priority for the work of the Cabinet's children and young people sub-committee.
Education issues took up a significant proportion of the commissioner's first report, and action is being taken in several of the areas to which he refers. Special educational needs issues appear in his first and second reports. The Welsh Assembly Government has given a high profile to addressing concerns raised in this area, and my colleague, Jane Davidson, has responded in several ways, which are set out in our written response on this particularly complex and challenging area of work. We are confident that the strategy and approach that we have adopted will lead to the necessary improvement to services.
In respect of his priorities for the coming year, the commissioner makes strong points concerning the all-Wales strategy for child and adolescent mental health services. I am determined to address the pattern of neglect that has characterised mental health services for children and young people for so long, and I am fully committed to implementing the 10-year strategy, 'Everybody's Business'. The social services element of child and adolescent mental health services is now a priority in the Children First programme for local authorities. Local health boards and NHS trusts must plan for delivering sustainable child and adolescent mental health services by October 2004, and during the next financial year a start will be made on investing in forensic child and adolescent mental health services in Wales. In the light of the commissioner's views of the number of in-patient beds, I have asked Health Commission Wales and the child and adolescent mental health services implementation advisory group to examine whether the best use is being made of the beds that are available. Four additional intensive care beds at the Harvey Jones unit have now been opened.
The commissioner's report also raises children and young people's day-to-day concerns about not having things to do and places to go. We are encouraging youth organisations to develop programmes that will appeal to young people, which they can help plan and deliver. We have given £10 million to the statutory youth service over the last three years for this purpose, and an additional £5 million for use on outdoor recreation equipment, skateboard parks and youth shelters in Communities First areas was distributed last year.
We are also working with the new opportunities fund and local partnerships to develop integrated centres that will have, as a core element, open-access play catering for young people. The Welsh Assembly Government was the first administration in the United Kingdom to develop a play policy. The policy implementation group's report on play will be published later this year, followed by an Assembly Government action plan.
The commissioner raises concerns over bullying, which is of real concern to many children and which can have a powerful and damaging effect on a child or young person's experience of education and their view of themselves. We take these concerns seriously, and last September the Assembly Government issued new anti-bullying guidance, 'Respecting Others', to all schools.
In conclusion, this report has demonstrated the importance of the commissioner's office in Wales. Peter Clarke is demonstrating the vital role that he plays as an independent champion of children and young people's rights and welfare. He has again justified our decision to prioritise the creation of the office of Children's Commissioner for Wales. With the announcement of a children's commissioner for England, all parts of the UK are now committed to following where Wales has led.