Northern Ireland Assembly Flax Flower Logo

Children's Commissioner Bill

[AS INTRODUCED]

Contents

  1. Appointment and staff of Commissioner

  2. Duties and guiding principles

  3. Annual reports

  4. Recommendations and compliance notices

  5. Following up recommendations

  6. Investigations

  7. Child impact statements

  8. Other powers and functions

  9. Legal proceedings and inquiries

  10. Legislation affecting children

  11. Code of consultation

  12. Minister's requests

  13. Reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child

  14. Review of Act

  15. Interpretation

  16. Short title

A

B I L L

TO

Provide for the establishment of a children's commissioner to promote the rights and interests of children in Northern Ireland; to make provision for the powers and duties of the commissioner; and for related purposes.

BE IT ENACTED by being passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly and assented to by Her Majesty as follows:

Appointment and staff of Commissioner

1.— (1) There shall be a Children's Commissioner, who shall be appointed by the Northern Ireland Executive.

(2) Before making such a recommendation the Northern Ireland Executive shall consult such persons as appear to him to be appropriate.

(3) The Commissioner—

(a) shall be appointed for a period of five years;

(b) shall hold office during that period unless—

(i) relieved at his own request; or

(ii) removed by the Northern Ireland Executive;

(c) at the end of a term of appointment shall be eligible for reappointment for up to 2 further terms.

(4) The Commissioner may appoint such staff as he thinks fit to assist with the discharge of his functions; and any function of the Commissioner may be performed by any member of his staff authorised for that purpose by the Commissioner.

(5) The Commissioner and the Commissioner's staff shall not be regarded as agents or servants of the Crown.

Duties and guiding principles

2.— (1) The Commissioner shall be under a duty—

(a) to promote the rights and interests of children;

(b) to seek to ensure that the rights and interests of children are properly taken into account by Ministers of the Northern Ireland Assembly, government departments, local authorities, other public bodies and voluntary and private organisations when decisions affecting children are taken;

(c) to promote compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international Human Rights standards as ratified by Her Majesty's Government and subject to such reservations as Her Majesty's Government made on ratification, unless subsequently withdrawn;

(d) to seek to ensure that children have effective means of redress if their rights are disregarded by any body referred to in paragraph (b); and

(e) to seek to ensure comprehensive data is collected.

(2) In exercising these functions the Commissioner shall have regard to—

(a) the principles laid down in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and in such other international treaties, conventions or agreements which have been ratified or otherwise acceded to by Her Majesty's Government and which affect children;

(b) the need to maintain direct contact with children and children's organisations, to pay particular regard to the views of children and to promote respect for the views of children throughout society;

(c) the need to ensure co-ordination between different bodies (including government departments) which provide services for children; and

(d) the need to consult from time to time other persons seeking to promote the rights and interests of children.

Annual reports

3.— (1) As soon as practicable after the end of each calendar year the Commissioner shall submit an annual report on his activities during the year to the Northern Ireland Executive Committee.

(2) An annual report shall include a general description of the circumstances of children in Northern Ireland and a survey of developments which have affected them during the period of the report.

(3) The Northern Ireland Executive shall cause the report to be published.

Recommendations and compliance notices

4.— (1) The Commissioner may make other reports at his discretion, and may publish them as he thinks fit; and such reports may contain such recommendations for actions by others (including Ministers of the Northern Ireland Assembly) as in the opinion of the Commissioner are necessary or expedient.

(2) In making recommendations under subsection (1) the Commissioner shall give reasons in the report and shall send a copy of the report to any person at whom a recommendation is directed.

(3) If it appears to the Commissioner that a person is not complying with the provision of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international Human Rights standards as ratified by Her Majesty's Government he shall make recommendations in the form of a compliance notice, which shall state his opinion as to the way in which provisions in the Convention are not being complied with and what action should be taken to comply.

Following up recommendations

5.— (1) A person at whom a recommendation is directed by the Commissioner shall—

(a) consider the recommendations; and

(b) notify the Commissioner within three months of receiving it (or a longer period if the Commissioner agrees) of the action which has been taken or it is intended to take in response to the recommendation.

(2) Where a person at whom a recommendation is directed intends not to comply with it he shall furnish the Commissioner with reasons for not doing so; and the Commissioner may publish the reasons.

(3) The Commissioner may require a person at whom a recommendation is directed to furnish him with such information as may be reasonably required to verify whether the recommendation has been complied with.

(4) Any person who fails to comply (whether wholly or partly) with a compliance notice may be required to publish that failure in such manner as the Commissioner may specify.

(5) If the Commissioner has reasonable cause for believing that a person will not comply with subsection (4) he may publish the failure to comply with the notice.

(6) The Commissioner shall—

(a) establish and maintain a register of compliance notices; and

(b) ensure that the register may be inspected at all reasonable hours by any person.

Investigations

6.— (1) The Commissioner may conduct a formal investigation for any purpose connected with the carrying out of his duties.

(2) For the purposes of a formal investigation the Commissioner may require any person who possesses documents or information relevant to the investigation to—

(a) produce such documents;

(b) furnish the information in writing;

(c) attend at a specified time and place and give oral information.

(3) No person shall be compelled under subsection (2) to give information or produce documents which he could not be compelled to give or produce in civil proceedings before the High Court.

(4) The Commissioner shall prepare and publish a report of his findings in any formal investigation and shall include in it such recommendations as appear to him to be necessary or expedient.

Child impact statements

7.— (1) Whenever it appears necessary or expedient to the Commissioner, he may require a Minister of the Northern Ireland Assembly to provide a child impact statement relating to any decision or proposal on policy which the Minister has made and which affects or may affect children.

(2) A child impact statement under subsection (1) shall set out the probable impact in the Minister's opinion on children of the decision or proposal to which the statement relates; and the Minister shall cause the statement to be published.

(3) Where the Commissioner publishes his opinions with regard to a child impact statement and requests the Minister who provided the statement to respond to these opinions, the Minister shall comply with the request.

Other powers and functions

8.— (1) Where the Commissioner considers it necessary or expedient for the carrying out of his duties, he may—

(a) publish and disseminate information about children;

(b) undertake or assist (financially or otherwise) the undertaking by other persons of any research;

(c) give assistance to a child or person acting on behalf of a child, which may include giving advice (including legal advice) or arranging for legal advice or for legal representation;

(d) give financial or other assistance to any organisation for the purpose of encouraging the promotion of the interests of children, by children or other persons;

(e) require any relevant person or body to forward papers on request.

(2) In deciding whether to give assistance under subsection (1)(c) the Commissioner shall have regard to—

(a) the availability of such assistance elsewhere;

(b) whether in the Commissioner's opinion an important question of principle is involved; and

(c) what is in the Commissioner's opinion the most efficient and effective means for the discharge of his duties.

Legal proceedings and inquiries

9. Where the Commissioner considers it necessary or expedient for the promotion or protection of the interests or rights of children, he may, in his own name, make representations in the interests of children at any public inquiry held by or on behalf of a Minister or public body under any enactment.

Legislation affecting children

10.— (1) If a Minister of the Northern Ireland Assembly proposes—

(a) to present a Bill which seeks to amend or repeal the whole or part of an enactment which affects children; or

(b) to make a statutory instrument under any provision of an enactment where that provision significantly affects children

he shall first consult the Commissioner.

(2) The Northern Ireland Executive may by order specify which enactments and which provisions of which enactments are to be taken as significantly affecting children for the purposes of subsection (1).

(3) When the Commissioner is consulted under subsection (1) he shall—

(a) consider the Minister's proposals; and

(b) publish his response

and the Minister shall have regard to that purpose.

Code of consultation

11.— (1) The Northern Ireland Executive with the agreement of the Commissioner shall produce a code of consultation setting out the circumstances in which government departments shall consult the Commissioner, together with guidance on the timing and method of such consultations, arrangements for publication, and any other relevant matters.

(2) Government departments shall have regard to a code of consultation under this section.

Minister's requests

12. Where a Minister of the Northern Ireland Assembly requests the Commissioner to consider or report on a particular matter the Commissioner shall have regard to that request.

Reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child

13. A draft of any report which the Northern Ireland Executive intends to submit to the Committee on the Rights of the Child under Article 44 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child shall be sent to the Commissioner, who shall consider it and respond.

Review of Act

14. The Commissioner shall from time to time, when he thinks fit or is so required by the Northern Ireland Executive—

(a) review the working of this Act; and

(b) submit to the Northern Ireland Executive any proposals for amending it.

Interpretation

15. In this Act "child" means a person under the age of 18.

Short title

16. This Act may be cited as the Children's Commissioner Act (Northern Ireland) 2001.