Lists of Issues - CRC - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

List of issues : United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 14/06/2002.

CRC/C/Q/UK/2. (List of Issues)

Convention Abbreviation: CRC
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
31st Session
Pre-sessional Working Group
10 – 14 June 2002

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

List of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the second periodic report of
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (CRC/C/83/Add.3)

PART I

Under this section the State party is requested to submit in writing additional and updated information, if possible, before 9 August 2002:

A. Data and statistics, if available for 1999, 2000 and 2001

1. Please provide demographic data of the under-18 population, disaggregated by sex, age, by devolved regions, and by national origin.

2. Please provide specific disaggregated data on UK and devolved regions' budgetary allocation and spending for social needs, as percentages of total UK and devolved regions' expenditures. In particular, how much was spent on:

d) child protection (for example institutional or foster care);
e) juvenile crime prevention and rehabilitation; and
f) other social services, including for unaccompanied minors, and asylum seekers.

3. For children deprived of a family environment and separated from parents, please provide information, disaggregated by sex and age, on the number of:

a) children separated from their parents disaggregated by reasons of this searation;
b) children placed in institutions;
c) children adopted via domestic or inter-country adoption; and
d) children in foster care.

4. Please specify the enrolment and completion rates, disaggregated by sex, age, and according to type of school (i.e. public, and private) in percentages of the relevant age group in:

a) pre-primary;
b) primary;
c) secondary; and
d) vocational schools.

In addition, please indicate the number, disaggregated by sex, age, and according to type of school (i.e. public, and private) in percentages of the relevant age group, of truant and excluded children.

5. Please specify the number of children with disabilities, disaggregated by sex and age:

a) living with their families;
b) in institutions;
c) attending regular schools; and
d) attending special schools.

6. Please specify the number of asylum seekers and unaccompanied children (disaggregated by sex, age) that:

a) have applied for asylum;
b) have pending cases;
c) were granted residency;
d) were granted refugee status; and
e) are in centres.

7. Please specify (disaggregated by sex, age, type of crime):

a) the number of children who allegedly committed a crime reported to the police;
b) the number of children who were sentenced by Courts to sanctions, and the nature of the sanctions imposed (e.g. fines, imprisonment, community service, other);
c) the number of children who are in prison or in detention centres;
d) the number of children who were sentenced to suspended sentences;
e) the number of children who were subject to civil orders like Anti Social Behaviour Orders (ASBO), child safety orders, parental orders (including length) and criminal sanctions for the violation of theses orders; and
f) the percentage of recidivism.

B. General Measures of Implementation

1. The Committee would appreciate receiving information on those recommendations contained in the Committee's previous concluding observations (CRC/C/15/Add.34, paras. 22-42, 15 February 1995) which are not yet implemented in particular the ones related to education (para. 32) emergency legislation (para. 34) and juvenile justice system (paras. 35-36).

2. In respect of the two declarations dealing with the definition of children and of parents, the Committee notes that the State party does not intend to withdraw them. Please explain the rationale behind this.

3. In respect to the reservations made upon ratification:
·
regarding nationality and immigration, the Committee notes that the State party does not intend to withdraw it. However, the Committee notes that the State party considers that its law is in conformity with the Convention. Please explain the rationale for maintaining this reservation.

· regarding separation of children from adults in detention, the Committee is aware of measures undertaken by the State party regarding this issue. Please provide further up-dated information on the development of these measures and on any possible timetable for the withdrawing of this reservation.

4. With respect to the implementation of the Convention - and in light of the competencies of the devolved regions of the State party - please indicate how the following are achieved:

a) intersectoral co-ordination and co-operation on child rights at and between the Government, the devolved regions and local authorities.

5. If any overlap or duplication exists in the areas of competence, inconsistencies in policies, or differences in implementing the Convention among the different devolved regions of the State party, what measures are undertaken to remedy this situation?

6. Please provide details, if any, of a comprehensive national plan of action or policy to implement the Convention.

PART II

Please provide the Committee with copies of the text of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in all official languages of the State party as well as in other languages or dialects spoken, when available. If possible, please submit these texts in electronic form.

PART III

Under this section, the State party is to briefly (3 pages maximum) up-date the information provided in its report with regard to new:

· bills or enacted legislation;
· institutions;
· implemented policies; and
· implemented programmes and projects, and their scope.

PART IV

The following is a preliminary list of major issues that the Committee intends to take-up during the dialogue with the State party. THEY DO NOT REQUIRE WRITTEN RESPONSES. This list is not exhaustive (and does not contain issues already covered in Part I) as other issues might be raised in the course of the dialogue.

The dialogue with the State party might include issues such as:

1. the impact of the Human Rights Act (1998) on legislation, policies and programmes for children's rights.

2. information about the implementation in practice (e.g., in court decisions, in decisions by administrative bodies, in developing national and local policies on children's issues) of the general principles of the Convention: non-discrimination (art.2), the best interests of the child (art.3), the right to life, survival and development (art. 6) and the right of the child to be heard (art.12).

3. policies and programmes promoting the participation of children.

4. discrimination against gypsy/travelers children, children belonging to ethnic minorities and policies of integration of children with disabilities.

5. right to life: use of plastic bullets, investigation of children death.

6. abuse and neglect, including sexual abuse within the family, and domestic violence. The use of corporal punishment in families, schools, care and other institutions.

7. family benefits; child workers and minimum wage and benefits entitlements for those between 16 and 17years.

8. the high rate of teenage pregnancy and suicide.

9. health, including mental health problems.

10. counseling for homosexual, bisexual and transgender adolescents.

11. poverty eradication strategy.

12. education: educational opportunities and outcomes for children in care, Roma/traveler children, ethnic minorities, asylum seeker and refugee children, children with special educational needs, children in juvenile justice institutions; school privatization; participation of children in schools; quality of education; school curricula, including children's rights; bullying; violence and abuse by teachers; exclusion procedures and alternative education for excluded children; psychological support in schools; national database on students; right to play and leisure, etc.

13. unaccompanied asylum seeking minors.

14. juvenile justice: minimum age of criminal responsibility, application of the juvenile justice system for all children below the age of 18 years, procedure, detention as a measure of last resort, conditions in custody, right to privacy, etc.

15. children affected by the situation in Northern Ireland: trauma treatment and rehabilitation for children.

16. recruitment of children in armed forces and their use in hostilities.