Jersey’s children’s rights watchdog has warned that Government funding cuts will leave the independent service unable to deliver all of its legal duties this year – with a “knock-on effect” for the island’s youth.
Published today, the Office of the Children’s Commissioner annual report 2024 raised concerns about the future of the children’s rights watchdog.
It said: “There is insufficient resourcing to deliver on the statutory functions and duties of the Office of the Children’s Commissioner due to cuts in the budget from 2025 onwards.”
The report added that the Children’s Commissioner has raised concerns about funding cuts with the Children’s Minister for Children, the Accounting Office, and the Government CEO.
“A knock-on impact on children’s rights”
Children’s Commissioner Dr Carmel Corrigan told Express that she is worried about the impact these cuts will have on the island’s children.
She said: “I feel very strongly that if the Office of the Children’s Commissioner is not resourced to do its job effectively, then it will have a knock-on impact on children’s rights in Jersey because we are the only children’s rights organisation.
“If we’re not standing up for children’s rights and protecting and promoting them and informing and influencing government policy and law, providing opportunities for engagement, raising awareness of children’s rights, amongst children, amongst adults, among the professionals – then who else is? There is no other body to do it.
“Therefore, it will have a knock-on effect on children’s rights, and it will have a knock-on effect on children, because who else is going to take that right lens and critically scrutinise policy, law and provision on their behalf?”
Impact of ongoing recruitment freeze
The annual report also revealed that the Commissioner is struggling to recruit and retain staff with the necessary skills and experience – with the situation expected to worsen due to the Government’s ongoing recruitment freeze.
It comes just weeks after the Government confirmed that its recruitment freeze would be extended to include civil servants earning £53,500 or more until at least March 2026.
Dr Corrigan explained: “The issue of limited skills pool in Jersey is a result of the fact that the island has a relatively small population, and the experience of children’s rights here is relatively new.
“The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was extended to the island just 10 years ago, so it will take time for experience and knowledge specifically around children’s rights to build and become evident in the workforce.
“Hopefully, that is something that will become less relevant and less evident over time.”
She added: “What makes recruitment more difficult is the budget cuts and the recruitment freezes that we have been subject to.
“The risk of reduced funding is not related to an unwillingness on our behalf to work effectively and efficiently under tight budget constraints.
“We have always done that, and we are willing to do that.”
“We need to be adequately resourced”
Dr Corrigan pointed to the importance of “protecting and safeguarding” the Office of the Children’s Commissioner’s independence.
She explained: “We are the only human rights institution in Jersey, and our independence is enshrined in the law, and it’s absolutely essential.
“The government has a duty under the law to adequately support us to carry out our functions and duties, and that should protect us from having to restrict our ability to do that because of funding pressures from the government.
“If we’re genuinely going to protect children’s rights, then we have to remain empowered to challenge, scrutinise and act without fear or favour to anybody.
“But to do so, we need to be adequately resourced – and that’s the real question about being under budgetary pressure.”
Ongoing discussions
The Children’s Commissioner confirmed that discussions are currently underway regarding funding and recruitment.
Dr Corrigan said: “We’re currently in discussions with the Children’s Minister and government officials who are very heavily involved in this process about how we can meet our duties and function, and about the extent to which we can continue to take cuts without it affecting us meeting our statutory obligations, and also where we don’t have a lot of scope for economies of scale in our very small team.”
The Office of the Children’s Commissioner was created to promote and protect children’s rights and has powers to investigate breaches of children’s rights, advise Government, and represent young people both locally and internationally.