The Welsh Assembly Government’s response to the Children’s Commissioner Report

I welcome Peter Clarke’s third annual report, which marks the halfway stage of his seven-year term as Children’s Commissioner for Wales, and demonstrates once again the significant impact that he is making on behalf of children and young people in Wales. The report comes at an important time for children’s services, with the passage into law of the Children Act 2004, and moves to establish a children’s commissioner in England.

The commissioner identified five key areas that gave him particular cause for concern during 2003-04. The first is bullying, complaints and advocacy. Advice for schools was provided in ‘Respecting Others: Anti-bullying Guidance’, published in September 2003. Central to the guidance was the need for all schools to have bullying policies and for these to be drawn up in full consultation with staff, pupils, parents and governors. I have asked all schools to submit a copy of their policies, so that we can assess how well they fit in with the guidance. We consulted on 22 February on guidance for school governing bodies on dealing with complaints involving pupils, and, later this year, we will distribute information setting out how children and young people can deal with bullying.

In respect of advocacy, following the publication of ‘Telling Concerns’, we pledged to ensure that children and young people have access to advocacy services in health, social care and education settings. From June this year, children in need, looked-after children and care-leavers will have a statutory right to an advocate when making a complaint. Each local authority has a contract with an advocacy provider for children. The Assembly funds ChildLine Cymru/Wales to operate a national helpline. This work will be informed by the results of a major study we commissioned last year from Cardiff University. We aim to develop complaints and advocacy systems that win the confidence of children and young people, and that are accessible and straightforward to use.

Increasing staffing within the social care workforce remains a challenge, but one that we are working with our partners to address. The Care Council for Wales has introduced measures to put social work and social care onto a proper professional footing, improving the protection of vulnerable people and raising the status of the work being done. Work to increase numbers in social work training in higher education in Wales includes the introduction of new degree-level training in September 2004, and bursaries for students not supported by an employer. We support employers to implement grow-your-own schemes, and to raise the profile of social work, including the publication of the careers and recruitment pack, ‘Faces of Care’. Overall numbers of social workers, social work assistants and home-care staff continue to rise.

We are committed to ensuring that Wales makes provision for asylum seeking families. For the past four years, we have run an asylum seeker education grant scheme for local authorities, supporting the education costs of asylum seekers dispersed to Wales. The level of provision has increased significantly, with £2.1 million allocated to Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and Wrexham local education authorities in 2003-04, and £2.3 million available in the current financial year. We have commissioned research into Welsh attitudes towards asylum seekers, and await with interest its conclusions and recommendations.

Our proposals on parenting will be set out in a three-year parenting action plan, which I will launch for consultation on 15 March. I hope that Members will be able to join representatives of the voluntary organisations and service providers who advised us on the plan in the Norwegian Church Arts Centre on that date, and that they encourage parents and professionals in their constituencies to discuss our proposals and tell us what they think.

Since the commissioner’s report was published, the Assembly has formally adopted the Wales spatial plan. We share the commissioner’s view of the importance of this document in shaping a sustainable future for today’s young people, and the impact that it will have on future generations. We will continue to ensure that children and young people are given the opportunity to contribute to the spatial plan’s implementation.

Peter Clarke makes particular reference to the recommendations of his report on the Clywch inquiry. I share his understandable concern to see that progress is maintained, and the Assembly Government has already taken action in response. We are due to debate the report in Plenary on 13 April, when Members will be able to monitor the steps that have been taken. The commissioner also commented on issues highlighted in his previous annual reports. Among these were child poverty, which we are addressing through the child poverty strategy launched by the First Minister in February, and play, our strategy for which will be published in the spring.

We remain committed to our 10-year vision for child and adolescent mental health services, with an additional investment of £1.2 million in the services in 2004-05, including the implementation of ‘New Ways of Working in Mental Health’. These services are emphasised in the national service framework for children, young people and maternity services in Wales, which will be published in its final form later this year. Above all, the national service framework will seek to address inequity in the uptake of services and in health outcomes, which are matters of particular concern.

We remain fully committed to the principle of respect and to promoting the participation of children and young people. The new participation unit, set up with Assembly Government funding, will promote good practice in participation across Wales, and will also work with the Assembly Government to ensure that our internal policy-making processes are fully participative.

Peter Clarke has issued clear challenges to the Assembly Government, and we will continue to take his views fully into account in reviewing and developing our policies for children and young people. We can be justifiably proud of the contribution that our commissioner is making to the realisation of children’s rights in Wales, and also, with his appointment for this year as president of the European Network of Children’s Ombudspeople, on a wider stage.