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Press Release

Government fails to meet children's legitimate expectations and entitlements

16 December 2011

Commenting on the outcome of the DfE consultation on establishing a New Office of the Children's Commissioner for England, Chris Keates General Secretary of the NASUWT the largest teachers' union, said:

"There are no surprises in the announcement save for the comments of the Minister of State for Children and Families, Sarah Teather.

"The Minister asserts that: ‘since taking office, this Government has introduced many changes that will have a positive effect on the lives of children and that will strengthen our record on the UNCRC.'

"This simply is not true.

"The cuts to education expenditure and to broader services for children, seen, for example, through reductions in the number of Sure Start Children's Centres and the scaling back of youth and community services, can hardly be seen as consistent with a genuine and purposeful children’s rights agenda.

"Neither can the Government call upon record youth unemployment, a reduction in financial support for students through the abolition of the EMA nor the winding back of commitments it inherited from the previous Government on child poverty, in defence of its position.

"Important though the work of the Children's Commissioner is, there is a far wider responsibility on the Coalition Government in terms of the impact of all its policies on the rights, wellbeing and life chances of children and young people.

"In this respect, the current Government is falling far short of what is required to meet children and young people’s legitimate expectations and entitlements."



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