The government is not doing enough to protect children’s rights, a campaign coalition has claimed.
In a newly published report, the Children’s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) claims the government has failed to take “decisive action” to protect children’s legal rights and continues to neglect the issue.
One key example highlighted in the report is the increasingly widespread treatment of young people with mental health problems on adult hospital wards.
No less than 202 children have been admitted to adult mental health wards over the last year the Coalition found, an increase of more than 40 per cent in just four years.
The report also calls on ministers to do more to prevent the use of bed and breakfasts as temporary accommodation for homeless families with children.
CRAE director Louise King said:
“The government must take immediate steps to tackle the increasing failure to protect the human rights of children in England. CRAE is calling on the government to introduce a child rights duty on public authorities so that when decisions are made which affect children, their rights are properly taken into consideration. This would ensure that the welfare of vulnerable children can no longer be ignored.”
The Children’s Rights Alliance for England is a coalition of voluntary and statutory organisations focused on implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
You can read State of Children’s Rights 2016 here.
