AQW 6732/22-27

Ms Connie Egan
Alliance Party
North Down

Tabled Date: 16/02/2024
Answered On Date: 04/04/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the First Minister and deputy First Minister to detail the work of their departmental Children’s Champion in the last three years.

Answer:

Key work undertaken by the departmental Children’s Champion over the last three years includes:

Initial engagement with the NI Youth Forum and the NI Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) on issues such as establishing a regular mechanism for youth engagement on policy areas within the remit of TEO.

Supporting implementation of, and promoting the use of, Child Rights Impact Assessments (CRIAs) in the development of any new policy.

Development of Child Friendly questionnaires for gathering outcomes data on Good Relations Programmes.

Championing the participation of young people in policy development. Across TEO, youth consultation has played a key role in a number of policy developments including the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, the Covid Recovery Plan, the Refugee Integration Strategy, and the current review of the T:BUC Strategy.