5 Devolution
140. One of the concerns identified by the Dunford
Report was that the UK-wide role of the Children's Commissioner
for England in respect of non-devolved matters means that there
are concerns about how effectively the Commissioners in the devolved
administrations are able to respond to non-devolved issues that
are raised by children living in Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland. At present, children who live in Scotland, Wales or Northern
Ireland may have to be referred to the Children's Commissioner
for England where the issue they have raised relates to a non-devolved
matter. The Government wants to remove this confusion and enable
the devolved Commissioners to deal with an issue raised by a child
in their area, even if it concerns a non-devolved matter.
141. The draft clauses seek to deal with this problem
by providing for the Children's Commissioner for England to delegate
the exercise of functions to the devolved Commissioners.[73]
142. We asked the Government whether the devolved
Commissioners have indicated that the solution proposed in the
draft clauses meets their concerns about how effectively they
can respond to non-devolved issues raised by children in the devolved
jurisdictions. The Government did not answer our question, but
the devolved Commissioners themselves and the English Commissioner
have made clear in joint correspondence with us that the proposed
solution in the draft clauses would make matters worse than they
currently are. This is because each of the devolved Commissioners
has a different set of authorities and accountability arrangements,
and the model of the English Commissioner delegating authority
to them introduces new layers of complexity and uncertainty. All
four Commissioners, including the English Commissioner, are of
the view that this would be a retrograde step. They currently
operate with a Memorandum of Understanding within the current
legislative framework, and all of them would prefer to continue
with this arrangement than have to deal with the complexities
that the draft clauses would introduce.
143. In light
of the unanimous view of the four commissioners, we are not persuaded
that there is any evidence of a need to change the current arrangements
concerning the relationship between the English Commissioner and
the devolved Commissioners. We recommend that the draft clauses
allowing the Children's Commissioner for England to delegate the
exercise of functions to the devolved Commissioners be left out
of the Bill. We also recommend that the four Commissioners consider
whether the Memorandum of Understanding could be improved and
make that document publicly available.
73 Schedule 1, paras 3(5), 4(6) and 5(6). Back
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