Submission to Belfast Regeneration Office from

The Children’s Law Centre regarding

Draft Strategy for BRO

June 2002

Introduction

The Children’s Law Centre is a voluntary organisation that was established in 1997. It aims to help young people, their parents and professionals work with and understand the laws, which affect children. Although based in Belfast, the centre has a Northern Ireland wide remit.

Current priority areas of work include education and training, legal advice and research, all of which have a rights based approach as their starting point. In addition to working directly with young people, much work is also carried out with adults involved in children’s lives through mechanisms such as training, involvement in conferences, inter-agency work and responses to draft government policy and legislation.

The Children’s Law Centre is founded on the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and seeks to ensure that the equality provisions of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 which relate to children are complied with. We are also working to promote greater awareness among Public Authorities of the implication for them of next year’s incorporation into domestic legislation of the European Convention on Human Rights, with particular reference to children.

Responsibility for Implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)

In 1991 the UK government ratified the UNCRC. This means that it agreed that children and young people up to the age of 18 have certain rights, which government and its agents would uphold.

With the devolution of power to the Northern Ireland Assembly the duty to implement the UNCRC now lies with the Assembly. In 2004, when the third report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is due, the Assembly will be asked to provide an account as to how it has progressed with the Convention’s implementation.

Article 12 of the UNCRC states that children and young people have the right to be involved in decision-making.

The Children’s Law Centre welcomes the opportunity to make this submission to BRO on its Draft Strategy.

Before commenting on future priorities we would like the following questions to be addressed:

1. Has the draft strategy been equality proofed and impact assessed?

2. How did BRO consult with children and young people in relation to this policy, as it is obliged to do under S75 of the NI Act 1998?

The following remarks refer to specific aims of the draft strategy.

1. To encourage investment and physical regeneration

On page 25 the strategy refers to public space in one of its objectives -

"To improve the quality and availability of public space in the City Centre to the level achieved in other similar sized cities"?

What is your definition of public space? Who do you envisage being the users of such public space? Young people often use public spaces in ways that are different to adults - do you see both the young and the old being able to use the same public spaces under your plans? If so how and if not why not?

2.To raise educational achievement

On p27 the draft strategy indicates that one of its objectives is "to support innovation in the design and delivery of education". Given that education in its shape, design and delivery is dictated by the Department of Education and CCEA it is difficult to see how BRO will have the power to influence this.

In this section there is no mention on how the youth service could potentially contribute through informal education.

There is no mention of adult education and life-long learning in this section on education.

To improve access to employment

One of the objectives in this section on p28 is "to promote skills development and employability in the ICT sector". What precisely does this mean? Does the ICT sector mentioned here involve high-tech highly-skilled jobs or does it mean employment in call centres where people might use ICT skills but in very limited ways, with little or no real skill enhancement.

Do you know what young people's perspective on this issue is?

To create safe, healthy communities

On p30 one of the Community Well-Being objectives is "to achieve over 75% satisfaction rating from residents in respect of their neighbourhood" while one of the Health Objectives is "to improve the health of residents with particular emphasis on the young, the old and parents".

The first of these objectives does not recognise that some people, such as members of the Travelling community, may not live in 'neighbourhoods' as defined by the settled population.

The second objective does not acknowledge the significant health differentials between the settled population and ethnic minorities such as the Travellers.

Concluding Remarks

A copy of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is enclosed for your information. Should you have any questions or require clarification on this submission, please do not hesitate to contact Teresa Geraghty on 028 90245704 or email teresageraghty@childrenslawcentre.org.