The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has today published a 237-page document on how the Government believes it is implementing international law as it applies to children’s rights. This report has been produced for the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights and comes ahead of the historic debate in the House of Lords which is expected this month on the second reading of the Children’s Rights Bill.

We very much welcome the DCSF report as it shows serious engagement with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. We will be scrutinising the report over the next few days to see whether it adds up to a Government strategy for implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as recommended by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in 1995, 2002 and 2008. We will also be looking for any indications of new rights and protections for children. On first assessment, we are delighted to read of Government plans to include the Convention on the Rights of the Child in statutory guidance and regulations relating to Children's Trust Boards. CRAE lobbied for this during the passage of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009. This significant announcement should firmly establish the role of local service providers in making sure every child's rights are recognised and upheld.

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