June 2001 - Commissioner for Children in Northern Ireland

Mr Beggs:
I rise in support of the motion. I found my participation in the Committee of the Centre on this report worthwhile and interesting. I thank all the voluntary organisations and everyone who provided evidence to the Committee. It was worthwhile and timely that in the early stages information from the organisations on the ground should become available and be brought together by the Committee. It is to be hoped that that information will have a major impact on the functions of our commissioner for children.
I will pick out a few issues that are particularly relevant and should be reinforced - issues to which I contributed in the Committee Stage. Recommendation 2 talks about extending the remit of the commissioner to cover all those under the age of 21. Several Committee Members have said that there is evidence of a need for continuing support for young people, particularly when leaving care. There is evidence of low educational attainment and high rates of pregnancy shortly after leaving care. A cycle may be developing, and attention should be given to that vulnerable group so that the community can continue to support them and help to prevent the continuance of the current situation.

Recommendation 7 talks about giving the commissioner an ability to childproof legislation. It is very important that there should be interaction at an early stage, and the views of young people should be put before the Assembly or the relevant Committee. It is too easy to overlook the impact of legislation on young people, and giving someone this particular responsibility will assist in drawing the relevant facts to everyone's attention.

I will raise a couple of issues about which I am concerned. First, play facilities are almost completely overlooked in the planning process. There is little provision for green space for children, and little provision for quality play facilities, even in areas where hundreds of new houses are being developed. Developers are making large profits, and there should be a requirement, in the early stages, for space to be set aside for the young people who will ultimately live in those areas. I urge that when giving developers planning permissions, space should be set aside for play. It is of no benefit to take this issue subsequently. It should be done at the beginning, so that people buying their houses know that a play facility will be built, and they cannot object later. Sometimes space is set aside and, subsequently, residents close to it decide that it is not in their best interests. It should be happening at the planning stage.

Secondly, I am concerned about pre-school education. I have raised with the Minister my concern about the requirement for funding of pre-school groups that there should be at least eight children in the immediate pre-school year. The trouble with that is that smaller and rural communities will have no pre-school funding from the Department. I suggest that if we had a commissioner for children, that would not be allowed. Surely seven pre-school children can come together on a worthwhile basis and learn social skills. Six children, four children, what is the limit? It is not the number involved, it is the quality of the experience and education in that pre- school group that is important.

We talked about where the commissioner should highlight areas of research and where statistics are required. An important point is that the commissioner should not be doing everything himself. He needs to co-ordinate and give his views to all the other agencies to minimise duplication, so that everyone is working together, gathering the relevant information, and bringing benefit to everyone.

Initially I was shocked to find that, in Wales, young people were involved in the selection process. Most adults will find that strange, but after investigation I can see many benefits.

The main function of a commissioner is to reach out to vulnerable children. Unless a commissioner can communicate with those children and make them feel that he is acting in their interests, his level of professionalism or skills is irrelevant. What better way of establishing that communication than to involve young people? I will not stipulate exactly how they should be involved, but they should play a part in the selection process.

It is recommended that a commissioner's term run for four years. According to the evidence received by the Committee, a one-or two-year term is not long enough a period in which to establish the office and network within the system. There was concern that a longer term could be disadvantageous if the right person were not selected at the outset. However, if everyone were satisfied with the commissioner's performance, it would be sensible to extend the initial appointment. I hope that the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister will take this issue on board along with our many other recommendations.