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In Question HL3620, Lord Laird asked about participation in public life. The Government are keen to encourage those from all backgrounds to participate in public life and political affairs. It is for that reason that they have adopted initiatives such as the use of women-only electoral shortlists designed to create more women MPs and local councillors and the BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) Women Councillors Taskforce that is chaired by Baroness Uddin and is intended to encourage more women from BAME backgrounds to become involved in local politics. Similarly, the Council of Europe Convention on the Participation of Foreigners in Public Life gives foreign residents rights to participate fully in the affairs of their local community. Although the United Kingdom has not ratified the convention, we do comply with its chapters A and B, and have announced our intention to ratify the convention in due course.
The Government appreciate the importance of having a balance of men and women holding domestic and international public position. Public appointments will, so far as the application of positive action provisions to them is concerned, be treated similarly to employment relationships in the Equality Bill. In relation specifically to the House of Commons, the Speaker in a Statement to the House on 22 July accepted the proposal of the Prime Minister to call a Speaker’s Conference to consider the representation of women and ethnic minorities in the House of Commons.
Regarding Lord Laird’s question about the “equal representation of men and women in the formulation of Government policy”, this is taken to mean the composition of the Civil Service, which of course supports the policy process. The composition of central government departments by headcount is 46.8 per cent male and 53.2 per cent female14. The Civil Service also has a published diversity strategy (10-point plan on delivering a diverse Civil Service) which sets targets for the representation of women in the Senior Civil Service.
In Question HL3621, Lord Laird asked whether we will provide the right to a passport for citizens. United Kingdom passports are currently issued under the
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The Government have no plans at this time to alter any laws on the freedom of movement, whether generally or in relation to specific groups. However, we are in the process of ratifying the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, which will further strengthen and widen our support mechanisms for victims of human trafficking.
In Lord Laird’s Question HL3664 he asked about the recognition of both settled and nomadic lifestyles. The Government believe everyone has the right to a decent home, whichever lifestyle they choose. Planning policy for Gypsies and Travellers is set out in ODPM Circular 01/2006. Whether or not someone is defined as having “a nomadic habit of life” is determined on a case-by-case basis, and each planning application is determined on its own merits, in accordance with national planning guidance and local policies in the development plan.
Finally, in Question HL3665, Lord Laird returned to the rights of the child. The Government have signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Since the ratification, the Government have been implementing the convention through a mix of legislative provisions and policy initiatives—for example, the Children Act 2004, Every Child Matters and, most recently, the wealth of initiatives set out in the Children’s Plan.
Further to my response to HL3488 and HL3619 on the best interests of children, the Children Act 1989 has at its foundation the requirement that the welfare of the child must be the court's paramount consideration in any decision relating to his or her upbringing. Under the Act, a court must have regard in particular to the ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned (considered in the light of age and understanding), the child's needs and how they are to be met, relevant personal background, any harm suffered or risk of harm, and the likely risk of any change of circumstances. Under Section 1 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002, a court or adoption agency that is considering a matter relating to the adoption of a child must have as its paramount consideration the child’s welfare throughout its life.
The Government are committed to involving children and young people in decision-making at a national and local level. Listening to children, young people and their families and ensuring that that policies and services are designed around their needs is at the very heart of the reform programme enshrined within the Children Act 2004 and Every Child Matters: Change for Children Programme. The Childcare Act 2006 requires local authorities in England, when discharging their duty to promote the well-being of young children, to have regard to such information about the views of young children.
The Government have also established a range of mechanisms, guidance and legal requirements which mean that pupils’ views and interests are heard and valued in the school context:
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School councils and student voice more generally are an important part of the day-to-day life of the school. Good mechanisms for student voice result in greater confidence and self-esteem among pupils as well and, it is believed, have positive effects on other areas such as behaviour and attainment. In the curriculum, pupil voice particularly links to participation and political literacy in citizenship education. Some schools, for example, have citizenship boards in each classroom, maintained by the school council, documenting pupil achievements in and out of school.
The Government are also undertaking a wide programme to help ensure children grow up in a stable, safe and secure family environment. Through funding voluntary and community sector organisations, the Government already provide information, advice and support to parents experiencing relationship problems. Children's centres and extended schools identify parents experiencing difficulties and signpost them to more specialist support where appropriate.
The Government have also invested in training over 2,000 practitioners to deliver evidence-based parenting programmes in order to improve parenting skills. The Government are continuing to invest a further £60 million over three years to roll out further parenting programme training through the Parenting Early Intervention Programme to support parents of children at risk of negative outcomes, and £34 million over the next three years to provide two expert parenting advisers in every local authority, who will also be trained in delivering parenting programmes.
The Government also have a wide programme of measures to improve child safety in the family home, including midwives and health visitors advising parents on how to make their homes safer, a new £18 million home safety equipment scheme and a £9 million child safety communications strategy.
We have already strengthened the legal protection of children in relation to physical punishment. Section 58 of the Children Act 2004, combined with the revised Crown Prosecution Service charging standard, strengthened the protection of children in relation to physical punishment so that assaults by parents or by adults acting in loco parentis against children which occasion actual or grievous bodily harm or which constitute cruelty can no longer be defended as “reasonable punishment”. That defence is now only available in cases of common assault where any injury is transient and trifling. The charging standard has been revised: any assault against a child that results in more than a temporary reddening of the skin would be charged as occasioning actual bodily harm or a more serious offence.
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The first ever national play strategy for England sets out the Government’s new agenda on play in full. Running from April to July 2008, Fair Play: A Consultation on the Play Strategy set out how government departments propose to work together, and with partners, to create more and better opportunities for all children to play, with a children’s version of the consultation running from May until August 2008. The consultation included proposals to encourage more child-friendly public space. An action plan setting out next steps for the play strategy will be published in the autumn.
The Government have made a substantial investment in providing children with safe, stimulating places to play. In the Children’s Plan, we announced a new investment package of £225 million over the next three years to support local authorities, parents and communities in providing safe and fun play facilities for children. In April, an additional £10 million was pledged, underlining the importance of play and how it should be taken seriously by every council in the country. An offer of capital funding will be made to every local authority in England by 2010-11, to support the delivery of stimulating local places to play. The £235 million will fund 30 new adventure playgrounds or play parks, and up to 3,500 play areas nationally will be rebuilt or renewed. Thirty local authorities will be designated play pathfinders, each receiving around £2 million capital funding, plus significant revenue funding. Twenty pathfinders were announced in April 2008, and a further 10 will be announced in the autumn following a bidding round which is open to the remaining 130 authorities.
As well as launching a children’s version of Fair Play, the Government have made it clear that all local authorities must work with children, young people and their communities to develop innovative play sites. These should contain challenging equipment and natural landscapes, giving all children, including those with a disability, an opportunity to play actively outdoors.
Lord Laird also asked about the recruitment of people under the age of 18 into the Armed Forces. I understand that Baroness Taylor of Bolton set out the position in relation to this area in her Written Answer to Lord Laird of 19 February 2008 (Official Report, col. WA 30).
1 [2007] UKHL 132 [2005] 3 WLR 1249
3 [2006] EWHC 823 (Admin)
4 [2007] EWCA Civ 478
5 http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/fifthperiodicreport270707.htm; Article 12 from page 115
6 http://www.defra.gov.uk/
7 e.g. the Environment Agency at http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/
8 supra note 5 from page 85
9 http://www.berr.gov.uk/employment/migrant-workers/index.html
10 http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file46092.pdf
11 http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file47434.pdf
12 http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/cabinetoffice/social_exclusion_task_force/assets/think_families/offenders_review_080110.pdf
13 http://www.acpo.police.uk/asp/policies/Data/missing_persons_2005_24x02x05.pdf
14 based on the Office for National Statistics Public Sector Employment Q1 2008 figures at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/pse0608.pdf
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