1. Thank you for inviting me to speak at your conference today. I accepted the invitation when I was a Minister in the Department of Health. I am now a Home Office Minister. But Government these days is much more "joined up" than it used to be - and honouring the commitment was an easy decision to take because the Home Office is of course responsible for the Human Rights Act.
2. I want to do two things this morning. First I want to talk about what the Human Rights Act means. Second I want to tease out some of its implications for children. I hope this will help to pave the way for this afternoon's speakers who I know will be looking in detail at topics such as family life, education, and protecting children from inhuman and degrading treatment.
The Human Rights Act
3. In our election manifesto we said we would "bring rights home". The Human Rights Act delivers that promise. It enables people to enforce their rights under the ECHR in our own courts. No longer will they have to face the cost and delay of taking a case to Strasbourg.
4. How does the Act work? In two main ways. The first is that all legislation must be interpreted as far as possible in a way which is compatible with the rights in the Convention. What this basically means is that if the courts can apply an Act of Parliament in two ways, one of which protects someone's Convention rights and one of which breaches them, they will have to choose protection rather than breach.
5. If Acts of Parliament don't comply with the Convention rights, the courts will still enforce them. But there will obviously be pressure to bring them into line. The Act provides a fast-track procedure for amending legislation.
6. The second way in which the Act works is that it will be unlawful for any public authority to act in ways which are inconsistent with the Convention rights. The Act does not define "public authority" but this will include central government, local authorities, and courts and tribunals. People whose Convention rights are breached by a public authority will be able to sue them in the courts and seek a remedy - including damages if appropriate.
7. The Act isn't just about giving people access to their Convention rights in our courts. It is also about creating a human rights culture in this country. That's a culture where individuals are aware of their rights and responsibilities. It's one where public authorities comply with the Convention rights - not only because they must, but because they believe in them.
8. Creating a human rights culture is not just for the Government. As some of you will know, we have established a Human Rights Task Force to help the Government prepare for the Human Rights Act. Leading lights of a number of human rights organisations will be on it. The Task Force will co-operate with other organisations in raising public awareness of the Convention rights - particularly among children. It has its first meeting in two days' time.
9. There will also be a new Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights. It will start work later this year and will look into a range of human rights issues, such as whether there should be an independent Human Rights Commission.
The right to respect for private and family life
10. The Act will definitely affect the way we make decisions involving children. Look at Article 8, which guarantees the right to respect for private and family life. Any decisions concerning children will have to take account of this right. A court making a residence order in favour of one parent will need to take account of the right to a family life for the child, and for both parents. It will often have to strike a balance between conflicting rights. There may not always be an obvious or easy answer.
11. Of course, parents as well as children have rights under the Convention. But that doesn't necessarily conflict with the welfare principle in the Children Act. It is certainly true that the ECHR approach is different from the approach followed under English law. But it may lead to the same conclusion. Interference with the right to a family life can be justified under the Convention if it pursues a legitimate aim and is and is proportionate to that aim. And the protection of a child's health and welfare is surely a "legitimate aim" in any society.
Immigration
12. Let's look at immigration. The Convention right to family life, and the other Convention rights, must be considered when deciding if a person can remain in the UK under the immigration rules. Sometimes children get caught up in the decision because of their parents' status.
13. The Immigration Rules allow in children of parents settled in this country, or coming for settlement. But there is no provision entitling a parent to enter or remain in the United Kingdom as a dependent of his or her child. Of course, we can exercise discretion where there are compelling compassionate circumstances. And, where it is necessary to refuse an application to stay, we do our utmost to ensure that a family remains as a unit. If necessary we offer to pay for family members to accompany the person abroad.
14. Compassionate factors, particularly those concerning children, may emerge only at the deportation stage. We believe there is scope for giving such factors a higher profile at every stage in the consideration of an application to remain. The Immigration White Paper, published in July, explained that we were developing criteria which would allow due weight to be given to compassionate factors in cases involving children.
Prohibition on inhuman and degrading treatment
15. Let's turn to Article 3 of the Convention. This says that no one shall be subject to inhuman or degrading treatment. UK legislation protects children from harm and abuse - and so it should. But does Article 3 mean that parents must not smack their children? Well, the European Court of Human Rights recently decided that existing British law, with its defence of lawful chastisement, did not provide sufficient protection for children from treatment contrary to Article 3. On the other hand the Court went on to say that its finding did not require the state to provide criminal sanctions against any form of physical rebuke, however mild, by a parent of a child.
16. There is a clear need here to balance the freedom of parents to bring up their children as they think best with their duty to protect children from abuse and physical harm. Loving discipline and the setting of clear boundaries are part of bringing up children properly. When the judgment was delivered I was still at the Department of Health. I made a statement to the effect that "degrading and harmful punishment inflicted on children can never be justified in any circumstances. It is right that the common law defence of lawful correction or reasonable chastisement should not be used to excuse it." I stand by that.
17. We are now working on a consultation paper which addresses the issues raised in this case. I hope that it will be published in the spring of this year.
Youth Justice
18. A word about youth justice. This is always an emotive subject - and one where striking a balance between rights and responsibilities is crucial. Criminal behaviour infringes the rights of others. The Government has embarked upon a massive reform programme in this area, beginning with last year's Crime and Disorder Act. Throughout the consultation and Parliamentary stages on that Act, the impact of human rights was high on the agenda. We were determined to ensure that the measures we introduced not only complied with the Convention rights set out in the Human Rights Act, but actively supported them.
19. Let me give you an example. There has been some concern about the proposals relating to local child curfews. Some have suggested that these measures aren't needed for such young children. I know that there has been much discussion and consultation since the proposals were first announced last September.
20. Local child curfews are part of an integrated response to reducing crime and disorder. They protect children and local communities. Children who are out on the streets late at night are at risk. They can become drawn into anti-social and criminal behaviour. We need to prevent children offending. And research shows that the younger the age at which children begin to "offend", the more likely they are to continue offending.
21. Let's not forget that unsupervised young children in public places at night can also cause real misery to local communities. All sections of the community have the right to live in a safe and free environment. Local child curfews will help local authorities address such difficulties. They don't have to use these powers. But if they do use them, they must be satisfied that they are appropriate and justified in the interests of maintaining order. The safeguards in the Act ensure that any scheme satisfies and fulfils a pressing social need.
Reporting restrictions
22. In the new Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Bill, we are extending existing reporting restrictions on the identification of juveniles. At the moment, children and young persons involved in criminal offences are protected from media identification only when proceedings begin. This means that youngsters who are suspected of committing crimes, but not charged, can see their names all over the newspapers.
23. How does this relate to human rights? Article 6(2) of the Convention provides that everyone charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty. Some of the pre-charge reporting that surrounds high-profile youth cases can be prejudicial and stigmatising. It may unfairly influence their chance of receiving the fair hearing guaranteed under Article 6(1).
24. The families of children accused of criminal acts are at times exposed to the full glare of publicity, when they have done nothing to bring this upon themselves. The measures will also protect young victims and witnesses. And they support the right to respect for private and family life in Article 8.
The role of schools
25. The last area I want to cover is the role of schools. They have a key role to play in helping young people to understand their rights and duties as citizens. Citizenship education is part of our drive to create a modern, inclusive society where everyone has a stake in the future and the opportunity to contribute. It will help to give our young people the understanding and motivation needed to survive in community life, to fulfil their responsibilities and to make political and economic decisions. It will help them to understand that in a democracy there are different points of view which should be respected. It will help them to appreciate that their actions have effects on others. And it will help them to recognise the value of democracy as a means of resolving competing interests.
26. David Blunkett's advisory group, under Professor Bernard Crick, published its final report last autumn. They suggest a set of learning outcomes, containing the key concepts and values which pupils should cover by the end of their schooling. These emphasise concern for human rights and the knowledge of human rights and charters. We are considering the report as part of the review of the national curriculum. We plan to take forward proposals later this year.
Concluding peroration
27. So there is a brief survey of the Human Rights Act and of what is already beginning to emerge from it. I hope I have said enough to show that the Act will make a real difference to children's lives - and to the working practices of all public authorities who deal with children.
28. Jack Straw has described the Human Rights Act as the most important law
of its kind since the 1689 Bill of Rights. And so it is. When we came to office,
we promised to be an inclusive Government - one truly of all the people, for
all the people, by all the people. The Human Rights Act is one of the first
fruits of that promise. It will help us all to build that inclusive society
- a strong, decent, forward-looking society which gives everyone, young and
old, responsibilities and the confidence to use them.