FtSE Member News: Barnardo's - Queen’s Speech gives hope to vulnerable children

​Today, Her Majesty The Queen shared the UK Government’s plans for the coming year.  The Queen’s Speech promised some significant steps forward for the most vulnerable children and young people in the UK today.  

Our chief executive, Javed Khan, responded to the ambitious plans in a special blog on the Huffington Post.

While we share the Prime Minister’s high ambitions for children, the proposed legislative changes are not, by themselves, a fix-all.

We’re glad the Government has indicated improving children’s life chances is a priority, alongside tackling some of the UK’s deepest social problems. This has been Barnardo’s driving force for 150 years.

In particular, I support the drive to speed up adoption where it is the right decision for the child. A permanent, stable home is in every child’s best interests. Our worry is that this is the second adoption bill in as many years. It is well-intentioned, but this time it must translate into actual improvements in practice.

The speech today also talked about improving support for children leaving care. Barnardo’s has long called for care leavers to have a personal advisor until they are 25 years old, which we have already secured in Scotland, so we’re pleased the right to this crucial support will be extended to all young people in England.
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For all the legislative plans announced today, the devil, as always, will be in the detail and implementation of change. Our biggest questions are if these changes will translate into real improvements for the most vulnerable children in our society, and how success will be measured.

Read the full article on Huffington Post.

Source:
http://www.barnardos.org.uk

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