Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to enable the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure.

The UK Government believes that strong and effective laws already exist in the UK under which individuals, including children, may seek enforceable remedies in the courts or tribunals if they feel that their rights have been breached. We do not therefore currently believe that ratification of the Optional Protocol is necessary. Nonetheless, the Government will continue to keep this under review.