Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 6 December 2010, Official Report, column 7WS, what consideration her Department has given to the articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child when making new policy and legislation since May 2015.

On 17 October the Minister for Vulnerable Children and Families laid a Written Ministerial Statement reaffirming the Government’s commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It stated that both the UNCRC articles and the Committee’s recent Concluding Recommendations serve as a helpful and important guide to making sure that our policies – whether they hold direct or indirect consequences – consider children.

Home Office Ministers and Officials consider the rights, freedoms, and protections for children throughout the policy-making and legislative process. A recent example is the Modern Slavery Act 2015 which specifically provides additional protections for children. Cabinet Office guidance encourages all government departments to consider, and set out in summary, the anticipated effects of legislation on children and on the compatibility of draft legislation with the UNCRC. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/450239/Guide_to_Making_Legislation