The joint call was made last week by Barnardo's, the Child Poverty Action Group and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) at the launch in Belfast of their blueprint for government, 'Our children, their future: a manifesto for children in Northern Ireland'. The document, a sister publication to one the charities recently published in England (News, 5 April), highlights problems children face and offers proposals for change.
The three charities said in the foreword, 'Northern Ireland has some of the worst deprivation in the UK. We also have the highest proportion of young people in Europe and a community emerging from years of conflict. Children's issues are now receiving greater political attention but Northern Ireland has not benefited from many of the UK policy initiatives designed to support families and children.'
The manifesto contains the steps needed to create a fully integrated strategy for children based on five fundamental provisions, namely, effective and independent powers for the new Northern Ireland children's commissioner; a minister for children with a children's unit based in the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister; systematic and regular analysis of child well-being indicators across Northern Ireland and the UK; children must be given a real say in the decisions that affect their lives; and greater financial provision for their families.
To underline its message, the document quoted official government figures that show in Northern Ireland one child in every three lives in poverty and that child abuse is endemic, with three children on average raped each week. It said the per capita spending on children's services in 1998-99 was 143 per child - 74 less than in England, while 50 per cent of all looked-after children leave school with no qualifications, half of all disabled children and their families live in unsuitable accommodation, and that up to 70 per cent of all traveller children are hospitalised at some time in their childhood.
Lynda Wilson, Barnardo's Northern Ireland director of children's services, said, 'We welcome recent government initiatives, but Northern Ireland has a long way to go to get things right for its children.'
NSPCC regional director Lynne Peyton added, 'Our manifesto spells out what the political parties in Northern Ireland must do if they are committed to protecting children. We urge all the main political parties to incorporate our five key calls into their own manifestos.'
