Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the of the Concluding Observations on the combined sixth and seventh periodic reports of the UK to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, published on 22 June 2023, whether the Prime Minister has made an assessment of the potential merits of appointing a Minister for Children to the Cabinet with ministerial responsibility for monitoring and coordinating activities related to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

As set out in the list of Ministerial Responsibilities, the Department for Education is the lead department responsible for protecting and supporting children, working with other departments on the basis of collective responsibility. The Secretary of State for Education is a member of the Cabinet.

The government strives to find new ways to promote children’s rights and recognises that strengthening children’s rights is a continuous process. The government welcomes the constructive challenge that was made by the Committee in Geneva and will take into careful consideration the Concluding Observations, including how we further monitor and coordinate Children’s Rights across the UK.