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A | |
Bill | |
To | |
Establish a Children’s Commissioner for England; to make provision for the | |
Commissioner’s duties including monitoring complaints procedures for | |
children, overseeing arrangements for children’s advocacy, monitoring | |
legislation to ensure that the needs of children are taken into account, | |
overseeing child death reviews and carrying out inquiries into major child | |
abuse cases and child deaths; and to make provision to ensure that the work of | |
the Commissioner is compatible with the UN Convention on the Rights of the | |
Child. | |
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and | |
consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present | |
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:— | |
1 Children’s Commissioner for England | |
(1) There shall be an Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England. | |
(2) The Schedule shall have effect with respect to the Children’s Commissioner for | |
England (“the Commissioner”). | |
2 Review and monitoring of arrangements | 5 |
(1) The Commissioner may review and monitor the operations of arrangements | |
falling within subsections (2), (3) or (4) for the purpose of ascertaining whether, | |
and to what extent, those arrangements are effective in safeguarding and | |
promoting the rights and welfare of children to whom this Act applies. | |
(2) The arrangements falling within this subsection are the arrangements made by | 10 |
providers of regulated children’s services in England, or by the Secretary of | |
State, for dealing with complaints or representations in respect of such services | |
made by or on behalf of children to whom this Act applies. | |
(3) The arrangements falling within this subsection are the arrangements made by | |
providers of regulated children’s services in England, or by the Secretary of | 15 |
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State, for ensuring that proper action is taken in response to any disclosure of | |
information which reasonably suggests— | |
(a) that a criminal offence has been committed; | |
(b) that a person has failed to comply with any legal obligation to which he | |
is subject; | 5 |
(c) that the health and safety of any person have been endangered; or | |
(d) that information reasonably suggesting that any matter falling within | |
one of the preceding paragraphs has been deliberately concealed, | |
in the course of or in connection with the provision of such services. | |
(4) The arrangements falling within this subsection are the arrangements made | 10 |
(whether by providers of regulated children’s services in England, or by the | |
Secretary of State, or by any other person) for making persons available— | |
(a) to represent the views and wishes of children to whom this Act applies; | |
or | |
(b) to provide such children with advice and support of any prescribed | 15 |
kind. | |
(5) Regulations may confer power on the Commissioner to require prescribed | |
persons to provide any information that the Commissioner considers it | |
necessary or expedient to have for the purposes of his functions under this | |
section. | 20 |
3 Examination of cases | |
(1) Regulations may make provision for the examination by the Commissioner of | |
the cases of particular children to whom this Act applies. | |
(2) The regulations may include provision about— | |
(a) the types of case which may be examined; | 25 |
(b) the circumstances in which an examination may be made; | |
(c) the procedure for conducting an examination, including provision | |
about representation of parties; and | |
(d) the publication of reports following an examination. | |
(3) The regulations may make provision for— | 30 |
(a) requiring persons to provide the Commissioner with information; or | |
(b) requiring persons who hold or are accountable for information to | |
provide the Commissioner with explanations or other assistance, | |
for the purposes of and examination or for the purposes of determining | |
whether or not any recommendation made in a report following an | 35 |
examination has been complied with. | |
(4) For the purposes mentioned in subection (3), the Commissioner shall have the | |
same powers as the High Court in respect of— | |
(a) the attendance and examination of witnesses (including the | |
adminstration of oaths and affirmations and the examination of | 40 |
witnesses abroad); and | |
(b) the provision of information. | |
(5) No person shall be compelled for the purposes mentioned in subsection (3) to | |
give any evidence or provide any information that he could not be compelled | |
to give or provide in civil proceedings before the High Court. | 45 |
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(6) The regulations may make provision for the payment by the Commissioner of sums in | |
respect of expenses or allowances to persons who attend or provide information for the | |
purposes mentioned in subsection (3). | |
4 Expenses | |
Any expenditure incurred by the Secretary of State by virtue of this Act shall be paid | 5 |
out of money provided by Parliament. | |
5 Regulations | |
(1) Any power to make regulations under this Act is exercisable by statutory | |
instrument. | |
(2) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this Act shall be subject | 10 |
to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament. | |
6 Short title, commencement and extent | |
(1) This Act may be cited as the Children’s Commissioner for England Act 2003. | |
(2) This Act shall come into force one year after it has received Royal Assent. | |
(3) This Act extends to England only. | 15 |
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Schedule | |
Section 1 | |
Children’s Commissioner for England | |
Status | |
1 (1) The Commissioner shall be a corporation sole. | |
(2) The Commissioner shall not be regarded as a servant or agent of the Crown | 5 |
or as enjoying any status, immunity or privilege of the Crown; and the | |
Commissioner’s property shall not be regarded as property of, or held on | |
behalf of, the Crown. | |
Appointment and tenure of office | |
2 Regulations may make provision as to— | 10 |
(a) the appointment of the Commissioner (including any conditions to | |
be fulfilled for appointment); | |
(b) the filling of vacancies in the office of Commissioner; and | |
(c) the tenure of office of the Commissioner (including the | |
circumstances in which he ceases to hold office or may be removed | 15 |
or suspended from office). | |
Remuneration | |
3 The Secretary of State shall— | |
(a) pay the Commissioner such remuneration and allowances; and | |
(b) pay or make provision for the payment of such pension or gratuities in | 20 |
respect of him, | |
as may be provided for under the terms of his appointment. | |
Staff | |
4 (1) The Commissioner may appoint such staff (one of whom shall be appointed | |
as Deputy Commissioner) as he considers necessary to assist him in the | 25 |
exercise of his functions. | |
(2) During any vacancy in the office of Commissioner or at any time when the | |
Commissioner is for any reason unable to act, the Deputy Commissioner | |
shall exercise the Commissioner’s functions; and any property or rights | |
vested in the Commissioner may accordingly be dealt with by the Deputy | 30 |
Commissioner as if vested in him. | |
General powers | |
5 (1) Subject to any directions given by the Secretary of State, the Commissioner | |
may do anything which appears to him to be necessary or expedient for the | |
purpose of, or in connection with, the exercise of his functions. | 35 |
(2) That shall include, in particular— | |
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(a) co-operating with other public authorities in the United Kingdom; | |
(b) acquiring and disposing of land and other property; and | |
(c) entering into contracts. | |
Accounts and reports | |
6 (1) The Commissioner shall keep proper accounting records. | 5 |
(2) The Commissioner shall prepare accounts for each financial year in such | |
form as the Secretary of State may with the consent of the Treasury | |
determine. | |
7 Regulations may provide for the Commissioner to make periodic or other | |
reports to the Secretary of State relating to the exercise of his functions and | 10 |
may require the reports to be published in the manner required by the | |
regulations. | |
Accoujnting officer | |
8 (1) The accounting officer for the Commissioner's Office shall be the | |
Commissioner. | 15 |
(2) But where— | |
(a) the Commissioner is incapable of discharging his responsibilities as | |
accounting officer; or | |
(b) the office of Commissioner is vacant (and there is no acting | |
Commissioner), | 20 |
the Treasury may designate a member of the Commissioner's staff to be the | |
accounting officer for so long as the conditions in sub-paragraph (a) or (b) | |
above apply. | |
(3) The accounting officer for the Commissioner shall have, in relation to the | |
accounts of the Commissioner and the finances of the Commissioner's | 25 |
Officer, the responsibilities which are from time to time specified by the | |
Treasury. | |
(4) In this paragraph, references to responsibilities include, in particular, | |
responsibilities— | |
(a) in relation to the signing of accounts; | 30 |
(b) for the propriety and regularity of the finances of the | |
Commissioner’s Office; and | |
(c) for the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which the | |
resources of the Commissioner’s Office are used. | |
(5) The responsibilities which may be specified under this paragraph include | 35 |
responsibilities owed to the House of Commons or its Committee of Public | |
Accounts. | |
(6) In this paragraph and paragraph 9 “the Commissioner's Office” means the | |
Commissioner and the members of his staff. | |
Examinations by the Comptroller and Auditor General | 40 |
9 For the purpose of enabling him to carry out examinations into, and report | |
to Parliament on, the finances of the Commissioner’s Office, the Comptroller | |
and Auditor General— | |
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(a) shall have a right of access at all reasonable times to all such | |
documents in the custody or under the control of the Commissioner, | |
as he may reasonably require for that purpose; and | |
(b) shall be entitled to require from any person holding or accountable | |
for any of those documents any assistance, information or | 5 |
explanation which he reasonably thinks necessary for that purpose. | |
Payments | |
10 The Secretary of State may make payments to the Commissioner of such amounts, | |
at such times and on such conditions (if any) as the Secretary of State considers | |
appropriate. | 10 |
General | |
11 In the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975, in Part III of Schedule | |
1 (certain disqualifying offices), the following entries are inserted at the | |
appropriate places— | |
“Children's Commissioner for England.” | 15 |
“Member of the staff of the Children's Commissioner for England.”. | |
12 In the Northern Ireland Assembly Disqualification Act 1975, the same | |
entries as are set out in paragraph 11 are inserted at the appropriate places | |
in Part III of Schedule 1. | |
13 Regulations may provide that the office of Children's Commissioner for | 20 |
England shall be added to the list of “Offices” in Schedule 1 to the | |
Superannuation Act 1972 (offices etc. to which section 1 of that Act applies). | |
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