Children and Social Work Bill, Second Reading, House of Commons

The Children and Social Work Bill presents a rare opportunity to guarantee a child rights based approach across Government. The Commission supported amendments to this Bill in the House of Lords, which sought to introduce a duty on public authorities in England to have due regard to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) when carrying out their functions in relation to children. The amendments, including one put forward by the Joint Committee on Human Rights, gained significant cross party support. We will continue to press for this change as the Bill makes its way through the House of Commons.