Rights of children vital to success of recovery
Children and young people’s rights must be the priority for the Welsh Government as it plans for the country’s recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic, says a committee.
The Senedd’s Children, Young People and Education Committee fears that young people and children are at risk of being left behind after the far-reaching impact of Covid-19 on wellbeing, education and mental health, especially on the most vulnerable.
The committee has identified the main areas the Government’s efforts need to be focused: ensuring the continuation of education and childcare; the impact of coronavirus on vulnerable children, as well as on the physical and mental health of those children; and the pandemic’s impact on higher and further education.
Members have written regularly to the Welsh Government to highlight areas of concern and to ask for more clarity on its work and plans.
All correspondence has now been published in an interim report, detailing the committee’s scrutiny and Welsh Government’s responses so far and the issues will be debated by all members of the Senedd when they meet in Plenary today.
Committee chair, Lynne Neagle MS, says that prioritising the rights of children and young people is vital to the success of a recovery plan post Covid-19.
She said: “There is little doubt that Covid-19 and the measures taken to manage it have impacted the lives of children and young people significantly.
“Children don’t have a vote, they don’t have a trade union and they have been largely hidden in this crisis.
“We have to make sure their voices are heard loud and clear.
“We cannot afford to ignore the impact of the pandemic on their wellbeing and their prospects in education and beyond.”
