Children's Commissioner for England

The post of Children's Commissioner for England was established under the Children Act 2004. The Children's Commissioner had a duty to promote awareness of the views and interests of all children in England, in particular those whose voices are least likely to be heard, to the people who make decisions about their lives. The role of the Children's Commissioner has been strengthened by the Children and Families Act 2014. This Act has changed the primary function of the Commissioner from representing the views and interests of children and young people to promoting and protecting children's rights.

The current Commissioner, Anne Longfield, also has a duty to speak on behalf of all children in the UK on non-devolved issues which include immigration, for the whole of the UK, and youth justice, for Wales. In carrying out her function, the Children's Commissioner must have regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

The Office of the Children's Commissioner is a non-departmental public body.

The Office of the Children's Commissioner is a national organisation led by the Children's Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield. The post of Children's Commissioner for England was established by the Children Act 2004 with the intended purpose of becoming the independent voice of children and young people, thereby championing their interests and bringing their concerns to the national arena.

More than 130 organisations campaigned for the establishment of a Children's Commissioner for England for 13 years. Professor Al Aynsley-Green was appointed England's first Children's Commissioner in March 2005.

The commissioner has a legal duty to promote and protect the rights of all children in England with a particular focus on children and young people with difficulties or challenges in their lives, and in particular those living away from home, in or leaving care, or receiving social care services.

The Children's Commissioner states that they "will use our powers and independence to ensure that the views of children and young people are routinely asked for, listened to and acted upon and that outcomes for children improve over time". They say they will "do this, in partnership with others, by bringing children and young people into the heart of the decision-making process to increase understanding of their best interests".

Unlike the Children's Commissioner for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the Children's Commissioner for England cannot deal with individual cases but would conduct an investigation that affects the wider population. The relationship between the Commissioners in the UK is flexible and is left to the Commissioners to decide to work together to combat certain issues or whether to carry out the investigations independently.

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Wikipedia